A recent British study saying that 2 1/2 alcoholic drinks a day may reduce the risk of heart disease by 26 percent must have been greeted with a sigh of relief by many drinkers. They could now put any nagging guilt aside and claim that their consumption of alcohol was good for them. Worse, non-drinkers might be encouraged to take up the practice.
But there is another side to alcohol that every person ought to be aware of. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services points out that measurable high blood pressure, cirrhosis of the liver and, yes, even heart problems are associated with as few as three drinks a day.The federal government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans notes that alcohol beverages provide no health benefit, are linked with many health problems and can lead to addiction - known as alcoholism - in a certain percentage of drinkers.
"Their consumption is not recommended," the guidelines say.
Numerous scientists question the idea that drinking is good for the heart, pointing out that exercise, not alcohol, increases the so-called "good cholesterol" that apparently protects against coronary heart disease.
Federal government data show that even moderate drinking has adverse effects on heart rhythm, hypertension, stroke, and sudden death in supposedly healthy people. Alcohol includes anesthetic and cell-damaging properties in addition to the addictive ones. It also can aggravate emotional disorders.
If alcohol is so good for people, why is it called the "most abused drug in America" and why are moves afoot in Congress to require warning labels on all alcoholic beverages?
All things considered, the risks associated with alcohol seem to vastly outnumber any benefits.
As the director of the UCLA Alcohol Research Center declares: "Abstinence remains the safest option for anyone." It would be hard to say it any clearer than that.