A few beers likely won’t negate an otherwise healthy lifestyle
Adam Cohen and Dr. Hal Scofield
Adam’s Journal
Here’s a question from a reader:
About 15 years ago at my yearly check-up, my physician asked if I drink alcohol. When I replied that I enjoyed a beer or two, he said that one or two beers a day (but not more) had real health benefits. I was thrilled!
Then, last summer, I heard that new studies suggest no amount of alcohol is beneficial. (So my mother was right?)
I really like those beers, especially on days in which I put in a vigorous workout and feel virtuous. Are one or two beers a few times a week undoing all my other efforts to be healthy?
— Name Withheld by Request
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Dr. Scofield Prescribes
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults should not drink, or if they should do drink, only to do so in moderation. The guidelines define moderation as no more than two drinks a day for men, and no more than a single drink a day for women.
However, these guidelines, which have not changed for some time, are increasingly at odds with most experts’ recommendations.
Indeed, after years of confusion and mixed messaging about alcohol use, a strong, research-based consensus has emerged: The less you drink, the better.
We now know that health risks from drinking can come with even moderate consumption. Even a few drinks a week can raise your chances of high blood pressure, heart disease and certain types of cancer. And the more you drink, the greater these — and many other — health risks.
That’s why Canada has adopted new, much more stringent guidelines for alcohol use. Our northern neighbor has defined abstaining as the only “no risk” approach, and it’s determined that “low risk” means no more than two drinks per week.
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Having a beer or two a few times a week would work out to something in the neighborhood of three to six drinks a week. On the Canadian scale, which I believe is based on the best evidence we currently have, this constitutes “moderate risk.”
At this level of drinking, your chances increase of developing several different types of cancer, including breast and colon cancers. There can also be an uptick in your risk for high blood pressure and heart disease.
If you are otherwise healthy and exercise regularly (as our reader does), these risks may be manageable. Alcohol consumption at this level will not negate an otherwise healthy lifestyle. But it is not risk-free.
Scofield, a physician and medical researcher, is a professor at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and associate chief of staff for research at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center. Cohen is a marathoner and OMRF’s senior vice president and general counsel. Submit your health questions to [email protected].
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