Gone are the days when we could enjoy a bottle of wine or a few beers with friends without experiencing a vague sense of guilt. Everywhere we look, we are told alcohol will increase our risk of cancer, liver disease and heart disease but this is in stark contrast to Mediterranean countries where a moderate intake is actively encouraged.
Excessive drinking is obviously detrimental to your health and that’s before anyone mentions the anti-social behaviour consequences of alcohol. But the story is not that simple.
Does it depend where you live? The French drink an average of 11.8 litres of alcohol, per person, per year and have the third highest life expectancy compared to other high-income countries. We Brits drink a similar amount yet have worse health outcomes. The UK has some of the most stringent (if not the most stringent) drink guidelines insisting there is no safe limit for alcohol consumption. Contrast that with Chile who believe six glasses per day or 49 units per week is considered ‘low risk’. Making sense of this is hard work. In 2018 a study compared 600,000 drinkers from several countries, and it appears the sweet spot for safe/protective alcohol consumption appeared to be one to two small units per day. Doesn’t that just take us straight back to how alcohol is drunk in Mediterranean countries?
No one is disagreeing that too much alcohol is DEFINITELY bad for us but if you’ve been put off enjoying a glass of wine, let the current evidence reassure you.
The risks from drinking a glass of wine per day are low and the evidence for total abstinence is weak.
Santé