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Drinking Alcohol in Moderation: Better Health & Longer Life
by David J. Hanson, Ph. D.
Well known medical authority Dean Edell, M.D., asserts that “you would have to be living on another planet not to know that alcohol -- in moderation -- is good for your health.” 1
But exactly how good for health is drinking in moderation? The medical research evidence is that:
- The risk of dying in any given year is 25 percent lower for those who consume moderate amounts of alcohol. 2
- The risk of morbidity and mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) is 40-60 lower in moderate drinkers. 3
- The risk of a heart attack among moderate drinkers with diabetes is 52 percent lower than among nondrinkers. 4
- The risk of dying in the four years after a heart attack is 32 percent lower among those who were moderate drinkers in the year before the attack. 5
- Moderate drinkers are over 30-40 percent less likely to develop diabetes. 6
- Moderate drinkers have a 54% lower chance of developing dementia than abstainers. 7
- Moderate drinking reduces the risk of stroke by about one-half. 8
- Women who drink in moderation have a 15% lower chance of developing high blood pressure than teetotalers. 9
- Men who drink in moderation tend to live about two years longer than abstainers. 10
Moderate consumption of alcohol appears to be beneficial to reducing or preventing even more diseases and health problems:
- Angina Pectoris 11
- Bone Fractures and Osteoporosis 12
- Digestive Ailments 13
- Duodenal Ulcer 14
- Erectile Dysfunction 15
- Essential Tremors 16
- Gallstones 17
- Hearing Loss 18
- Hepatitis A 19
- Kidney Stones 20
- Liver Disease 21
- Macular Degeneration (Blindness) 22
- Pancreatic Cancer 23
- Parkinson's Disease 24
- Poor Cognition and Memory 25
- Poor Physical Condition in Elderly 26
- Rheumatoid Arthritis 27
- Stress and Depression 28
- Type B Gastritis 29
The benefits of drinking in moderation begin early in life 30 and they apply to beer, wine, and liquor or distilled spirits (gin, vodka, whiskey, tequila, rum, bourbon, etc.) Drinking any of these alcoholic beverages heavily or abusively is associated with poor health and reduced longevity.
Nothing on this page constitutes medical opinion or advice. For medical diagnosis, opinion, advice or treatment consult a qualified physician.
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