People who drink in moderation may outlive teetotalers, according to a new study (2024)

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People who drink in moderation may outlive teetotalers, according to a new study? ›

People who drink in moderation may outlive teetotalers, according to a new study. A new study suggests people who drink in moderation are less likely to die early than people who never drink. But this doesn't mean teetotalers should start drinking again.

Since moderate drinkers live about as long as those who never drink, but no longer, the study implies that there are no health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption, at least when looking at all causes of death lumped together.

The study, based on the healthcare records of more than 53 000 people, is the first to show that drinking moderately, defined as no more than one alcoholic drink for women and two for men per day, may be heart protective, said Dr Kenechukwu Mezue, a fellow in nuclear cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and the ...

"There's good evidence that, in general, moderate drinkers who average one to two drinks a day tend to live longer," says Eric Rimm, professor of epidemiology and nutrition and director of the Program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

If you are a man with no history of alcoholism who is at moderate to high risk for heart disease, a daily alcoholic drink could reduce that risk. Moderate drinking might be especially beneficial if you have low HDL that just won't budge upward with diet and exercise.

Long-Term Health Risks. Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including: High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems. Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon, and rectum.

For example, studies have found light to moderate drinkers live longer than lifetime teetotalers, but also, even light drinking is linked with an increased risk of cancer.

Having an alcoholic drink or two per day is not healthier than abstaining, study shows. An analysis of 107 studies found that, when it comes to lowering mortality risk, some drinking is not better than none.

If you choose to drink, having only a moderate (limited) amount can lower your risk for health problems caused by drinking. Some people shouldn't drink at all, like people younger than 21 years, people who are pregnant or might be pregnant, and people with certain health conditions.

Despite limitations in the current study (see below), these data suggest that moderate drinking not only fails to benefit neurocognitive health, but may alternatively be associated with greater neurostructural degeneration and more rapid cognitive decline (independent of age).

Are there any benefits to drinking alcohol? ›

If you're in good shape, moderate drinking makes you 25% to 40% less likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or hardened arteries. This may be in part because small amounts of alcohol can raise your HDL ("good" cholesterol) levels. Heavy drinking, on the other hand, boosts your risk of heart disease.

Drinking alcohol is a health risk regardless of the amount. Research on alcohol suggests a sobering conclusion: Drinking alcohol in any amount carries a health risk. While the risk is low for moderate intake, the risk goes up as the amount you drink goes up.

Moderate drinkers and nondrinkers report similar rates of sadness, but both groups are slightly less likely than heavy drinkers to experience sadness. Still, while heavy drinkers and nondrinkers report similar levels of positive emotions, heavy drinkers report experiencing more negative emotions than nondrinkers.

There are indications that light to moderate consumption is associated with lower risk for depressive conditions when compared with abstinence, with risk increasing again for heavier drinkers, resulting in a J-shaped relationship—a finding supported by a recent meta-analysis (9).

Drinking heavily may be the key to staying happy and healthy in later life, a study has found.

Moreover, alcohol is addictive and affects judgment, making it difficult to control the amount within two drinks. Once more than two drinks each time and three times a week, the life expectancy in males may reduced by 6.86 years compared with nondrinkers in this study.

When compared with people who drank less than seven drinks per week: Adults drinking seven to 14 drinks per week could expect, on average, a six-month shorter life expectancy as of age 40. Those drinking 14 to 25 drinks per week could expect a shorter life expectancy by one to two years.

While 69 percent of the abstainers died during the 20-year time span of the study, only 41 percent of moderate drinkers passed away. (Moderate drinkers were also 23 percent less likely to die than light drinkers.) But here's the really weird data point: Heavy drinkers also live longer than abstainers.

Alcohol is linked to age in lots of ways. You have to be old enough to drink it legally, and once you are, it can age you faster than normal. Heavy drinking can have a direct effect on certain parts of your body and on your mental health as you get older.