New Delhi: Researchers have debunked the myth of ‘moderate drinking’.
Even a single drink a day on a regular basis can increase the risk of death, disability, and chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease, a recent study published in the Journal of Studies of Alcohol and Drugs has found.
“Even low levels of alcohol use come with health risks. And that risk continues to increase the more someone drinks,” lead author Kevin Shield, PhD, an associate professor at the University of Toronto said in a press release.
For the study, medical experts from the US and Canada reviewed more that 7,200 scientific articles on alcohol related diseases and to determine the risk of each one.
The data found that for people who consume approximately one drink a day the alcohol related mortality risk is 1 in 1000. This risk quickly climbs to 1 in 100 for people who drink around 8.5 drinks per week.
Unlike earlier studies that followed a single group of people to observe the effects of alcohol, this one combined multiple national datasets, federal health surveys, mortality records, alcohol consumption data, and disease statistics.
The definition of a ‘drink’ varies by beverage type, typically 12 ounces for beer, 5 ounces for wine, and 1.5 ounces for spirits, although that too can vary by alcohol concentration.
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The report was commissioned under the Joe Biden administration to help formulate the Dietary Guidelines for Americans from 2025-2030.
The new results contradict the earlier US recommendations of a permissible two drinks per day. While many may consider two drinks to be moderate, it could lead to a significantly higher risk of alcohol related chronic conditions. For people who have 14 drinks in a week, the study pegged a 1 in 25 risk of serious diseases.
Researchers also said that they observed hardly any protective or positive effect of alcohol on the human body.
In addition, the findings also suggested that how people drink is also as important as how much they drink. Consuming large amounts of alcohol on a single occasion can increase risks of breast cancer and cardiac issues among other such diseases.
(Edited by Stela Dey)