San Francisco -- A large, ever-growing body of evidence suggests
that moderate drinking -- a glass or two of wine a day, a beer (or
even a martini) after work a few times a week -- may help people
live longer and healthier.
That's probably good news to folks who booze it up a bit over
the holidays, assuming they don't overdo it on the eggnog or
Champagne. But the evidence isn't quite strong enough, and the
risks associated with drinking alcohol are serious enough, that no
one's recommending non-drinkers start a new habit.
And binge-drinking? Pretty much always a terrible idea, say
public health experts.
Alcohol is a fuzzy topic in public health. There are undoubtedly
some health benefits and most people can drink safely and enjoy it.
But it's also connected to tens of thousands of deaths every year
-- from drunken car crashes, mostly, but also alcohol poisoning,
liver disease and various types of accidents.
"If you're looking to reduce your risk of a stroke or heart
attack, take a baby aspirin a day. It's more effective than alcohol
and there's no risk of addiction," said Keith Humphreys , a
research scientist and professor of psychiatry at Stanford
University School of Medicine. "These studies on the health
benefits just let those of us who like a glass of wine now and then
justify it."
Some of the most recent reports on health benefits associated
with alcohol come from the Nurses' Health Study , a database of
more than 84,000 nurses who have been followed for more than 20
years to study a variety of health behaviors and outcomes.
Study results released in November showed that women who had
about two drinks a day were up to 28 percent more likely to live to
age 70 or older than women who drank only once or twice a week, or
who drank in occasional binges. Another study, also released last
month, found that women who had about one drink a day had a 20
percent lower risk of stroke compared with women who never drank.
Research has shown a connection between reduced rates of disease
and alcohol consumption for decades -- but "connections" aren't
the same as hard scientific evidence, many scientists point out.
"The problem with the studies is they're not double-blind,
placebo-controlled studies," said Dr. Don Mordecai , director of
mental health and chemical dependency services for Kaiser
Permanente Northern California. "These people who are light to
moderate drinkers, they tend to be healthier in a lot of different
ways, and they tend to have healthier habits."
The main argument that public health experts use against
drinking -- or at least against encouraging people to drink --
isn't the threat of alcoholism or long-term organ damage from heavy
drinking. It's that some people, especially this time of year,
drink more than they should. And they do really stupid things when
they're drunk.
In October, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
put out new warnings against binge drinking, which they label as a
cause in more than 79,000 deaths a year in the United States. The
CDC reported than more than 15 percent of adults engage in binge
drinking every year.
Binge drinking is defined as having more than four drinks at a
time for women, and more than five drinks at a time for men -- or
essentially, reaching the legal limit for being too drunk to drive.
Even one episode of binge drinking a year is considered unhealthy,
according to the CDC.
That may seem a little extreme, some doctors and public health
experts say. But the CDC and other public health groups are looking
at binge drinking on a national scale, and evidence shows that
people who drink too much in one sitting are simply more prone to
injury or death.
"It's just epidemiology," said Humphreys. "We're just trying
to give people accurate information. You look at the group of
people who drink that way, you add up the car accidents, the
stumbles down the steps, and someone in that group will have more
incidents. It's also a fact that many, many people in that group
are fine."
Even staunch public health advocates admit that it's no fun to
tell people they can't ever overindulge in alcohol.
And there's even an argument to be made for drinking to loosen
up social behaviors, said Selena Bartlett , director of the
preclinical development group at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and
Research Center at the University of California at San Francisco.
The center, which takes its name from the wine maker who was also a
longtime university donor, conducts research into addictive
behavior.
For some people, a drink or two makes them a little more
outgoing and relaxed -- and if that means they engage with other
people more and make more friends, that might not be a bad thing.
Within reason.
"More and more research demonstrates that social interaction
provides a lot of health benefits. Some people find it hard to
engage socially and with one drink, now they can," Bartlett said.
"But it's a tricky line to go over, because some people can have
one and feel great and that's it, and for others, there's no
stopping."
c.2010 San Francisco Chronicle