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posted by chromas on Saturday August 25 2018, @04:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the this-news-is-terrible-and-I'm-gonna-need-a-drink dept.

No alcohol safe to drink, global study confirms

A large new global study published in the Lancet has confirmed previous research which has shown that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. The researchers admit moderate drinking may protect against heart disease but found that the risk of cancer and other diseases outweighs these protections. A study author said its findings were the most significant to date because of the range of factors considered.

The Global Burden of Disease [open, DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31310-2] [DX] study looked at levels of alcohol use and its health effects in 195 countries, including the UK, between 1990 and 2016.

Analysing data from 15 to 95-year-olds, the researchers compared people who did not drink at all with those who had one alcoholic drink a day. They found that out of 100,000 non-drinkers, 914 would develop an alcohol-related health problem such as cancer or suffer an injury. But an extra four people would be affected if they drank one alcoholic drink a day. For people who had two alcoholic drinks a day, 63 more developed a condition within a year and for those who consumed five drinks every day, there was an increase of 338 people, who developed a health problem.

One of the study authors, Prof Sonia Saxena, a researcher at Imperial College London and a practising GP, said: "One drink a day does represent a small increased risk, but adjust that to the UK population as a whole and it represents a far bigger number, and most people are not drinking just one drink a day."

Related: The Truth We Won't Admit: Drinking is Healthy
Study Shows 3 Drinks a Day May Cause Liver Cancer
Even Moderate Drinking Linked to a Decline in Brain Health
American Society of Clinical Oncology: Alcohol Use Increases Risk of Cancer


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 25 2018, @06:17PM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 25 2018, @06:17PM (#726285)

    Drinking alcohol foe nutrition is beyond stupid. There may be a little psychological "buzz" effect but still why poison yourself if you dont actually get the real effext?

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Saturday August 25 2018, @06:24PM (5 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 25 2018, @06:24PM (#726289) Journal

    The "nutrients" contained in wines and beers are pretty much available nowhere else. Both have benefits that have been acknowledged by countless health and nutrition authorities. And, the alcohol itself is a nutrient, whether you care to admit it or not.

    The person who drinks a single drink per day is generally healthier than those who don't drink, or those who drink like fish. The old adage, "Everything in moderation" applies.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 25 2018, @06:50PM (4 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 25 2018, @06:50PM (#726300)

      Citation needed, alcohol has no nutritional value. Those other nutrients can be filtered out and taken sans alcohol and that would be done if there were actual truth to the old wives tale that alcohol has health benefits.

      Most of what you're seeing is a side effect of people that drink in moderation being less likely to have illnesses like diabetes and other ones that prevent drinking.

      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday August 25 2018, @07:37PM (3 children)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 25 2018, @07:37PM (#726322) Journal

        Your body metabolizes alcohol, extracting energy from it. That makes it a nutrient, just as refined white sugar is a nutrient. White sugar is far easier to extract energy from than a hunk of red meat. Alcohol is, in turn, far easier to extract energy from than a blob of refined white sugar.

        Myth: Alcohol makes you fatter. Excess calories make you fatter, period. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram and can be used as an energy source by the body just like carbs, protein, and fat can, (4, 4, and 9 calories per gram respectively). The only catch is that the body must burn the alcohol calories first, before it can move on to the other food you’ve eaten. However, don’t forget to consider your mixer, or how dark your beer is, as this will add carbs/sugars and additional calories to your alcoholic beverage. When you order that Margarita or Bloody Mary, you’re drinking a lot more than just alcohol.

        http://maxwettsteinfitness.com/Library/Alcohol.htm [maxwettsteinfitness.com]

        You may reasonably argue that alcohol is one of the poorest nutrtients known to man, but it really is a nutrient.

        As for filtering out those other nutrients - I suppose it's possible. But, why?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 25 2018, @08:08PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 25 2018, @08:08PM (#726334)

          You may reasonably argue that alcohol is one of the poorest nutrtients known to man, but it really is a nutrient.

          I once had to take some kind of intelligence test given to me by the state with a question like:

          Which is not a nutrient?
          A) Sugar
          B) Protein
          C) Fat
          D) Alcohol
          E) All of the above

          There was another time that a question required me to believe mushrooms were a type of plant.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 25 2018, @08:32PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 25 2018, @08:32PM (#726341)

          You'd filter them out because alcohol is toxic.

          I guess technically it is a nutrient, but it's definitely toxic and definitely messes with a person's body chemistry and interacts with many medications. Which would be the point. You could also use the unused alcohol as fuel.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 27 2018, @10:37PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 27 2018, @10:37PM (#727160)

            I guess technically it is a nutrient, but it's definitely toxic and definitely messes with a person's body chemistry and interacts with many medications. Which would be the point. You could also use the unused alcohol as fuel.

            All of these points apply to essentially any chemical that can be metabolized by your body.

            I guess technically glucose is a nutrient, but it's definitely toxic [LD50 of about 30g/kg] and definitely messes with a person's body chemistry and interacts with many medications. Which would be the point. You could also use the unused glucose as fuel.