A new study is challenging the conventional wisdom that a small, daily dose of alcohol might be good for your health.
The research, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, suggests that the safest amount of alcohol to consume is actually none at all.
If adults do choose to drink, the team of scientists recommends setting a limit of one per day.
This challenges older guidelines, which often suggested that up to two daily drinks for men was a safe limit.
“While the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines contain a useful ‘less-is-best’ message, they provide no quantitative framework,” study co-author Timothy Naimi, director of the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, said in a press release.
“Our study was designed to do just that across the drinking spectrum.”
Researchers reached their conclusions by analyzing data on alcohol-related injuries and illnesses and comparing it with large national health and demographic databases, according to a press release.
Using statistical models, they examined how regular alcohol consumption is linked to life expectancy.
“Even low levels of alcohol use come with health risks,” lead study author Kevin Shield, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, said in the same press release. “And that risk continues to increase the more someone drinks.”
After evaluating the cumulative risks for conditions like liver disease, stroke and certain cancers, the study suggests that the assumed benefits of drinking are heavily outweighed by the potential dangers.
For those looking to protect their long-term health, researchers emphasized that cutting back to one drink or giving up alcohol entirely appears to be the best strategy.
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, noted that this was an observational Canadian study looking at U.S. census data.
“It is massive, but still not proof,” cautioned Siegel, who was not involved in the study. “I am impressed with the endpoint, which is to assess alcohol-specific mortality,” he added.
The doctor called the research “convincing” in terms of showing that even lower levels of drinking carry a mortality risk.
“We are in the process of debunking previous research and public health statements that a small amount of alcohol is actually good for you, and replacing it with the more realistic and accurate notion that no amount of alcohol is good,” he told Fox News Digital. Alcohol affects multiple systems throughout the body, acting as a toxin that can compromise vital organs over time, according to the doctor.
Siegel warned that “alcohol is bad for the heart, the liver and the brain, and it increases inflammation and certain cancers, all of which lead to increased mortality risks.”
While the research offers an overview of public health trends, it is an observational study based on U.S. census data, meaning it can only show strong correlations and cannot prove direct cause and effect, the researchers acknowledged. Additionally, because the study relies on self-reported drinking habits, it is subject to the common limitation of individuals underestimating or misreporting their actual alcohol consumption
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