The time has come to talk about something that’s been bothering me. This would be…the recent study that has popped up where no amount of alcohol is safe for you. Insert gasping, crying, and angry emojis.
According to a study conducted in 2016 and recently published in the journal The Lancet, if you’re one of the third of all humankind who drinks alcohol, take note: There’s no amount of liquor, wine or beer that is safe for your overall health.
Given the name of my blog and the fact I absolutely love wine, when I saw this I went into immediate denial. I still am to be honest. I just don’t want to believe this to be true. Not only is wine a form of therapy for me, I am dedicated to building a business that shares tips and wine experiences for normal people that just want to enjoy their wine and balance a healthy lifestyle. Wine has provided me with a real connection to people across the world, and now you’re telling me it’s not safe to shoot the shit and drink our vino together?
Then, I started breaking it down. Are there enough facts here to let this get in my head? What does the data look like from the other side? For example, red wine’s potential heart-healthy benefits such as lowering risk of heart disease and lowering cholesterol, which I’ve previously expressed how I truly believe this works and I am living proof.
“But those benefits are outweighed by the overall adverse health impact of alcohol, even at moderate levels.” Says Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation. He states in this CNN article, “While there may be a slight benefit to heart and circulatory health from modest drinking, many studies have shown that the overall health risks of drinking alcohol outweigh any benefits.”
“Risks” in this study include cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases, stroke followed by liver cancer and heart disease.
So where does this leave us? It’s still a remaining question. For me, no one really knows if wine is a super-drug that keeps French people alive for centuries or a venom that’s slowly making us waste away. As with most things, we’ll probably be fine if you drink in moderation, drink mostly with food, and enjoy ourselves while drinking it.
My main takeaway is, arm yourself with the facts and do whatever you feel comfortable with.
I understand this is a controversial topic, however this is one that I’ve been dying to ask my wine community, family and friends on their POV.
So what might that be? Feel free to drop me a comment here or DM. I am very curious not only to see if our’s our aligned, but I want to continue to learn the facts and stay educated on this matter.
For more POV’s that may give you a sigh of relief, check out these articles from a few experts…
Is Any Alcohol Dangerous to Your Health? By Dr. David Katz (MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM)
Study warns no amount of alcohol is safe — but a risk expert says it’s nothing to panic about By David Spiegelhalter (ISI highly cited researcher)
Originally published at veggiesandvino.com