Even moderate alcohol consumption is harmful to health: scientists have made the final verdict

The more alcohol you drink, the higher the risk of hypertension and stroke. This statement has never been argued. Still, it was believed that there is a certain "safe" dose of alcohol. Which, according to some reports, Alcohol consumption and stroke: benefits and risks, even knows how to prevent ischemic stroke.

However, these data have been refuted. The results of the recently concluded large study, published by Conventional and genetic evidence on alcohol and vascular disease aetiology: a prospective study of 500,000 men and women in China in The Lancet, unequivocally prove that there is no safe dose of alcohol.

How much can you drink without harm to health

The answer to this question is categorical: not at all. Scientists analyzed data on the health of about 500 thousand people - adult Chinese of both sexes. And they found an unambiguous link between the consumption of alcoholic beverages and vascular disorders.

People who drink in moderation have a 10-15% higher risk of stroke compared to those who do not drink alcohol.

Moderate means no more than one serving (approximately 10–20 ml of pure alcohol) per day. Translated into popular drinks, Fact Sheets - Alcohol Use and Your Health means about 350 ml of beer, 150 ml of wine, or 40-50 ml of cognac, whiskey, vodka or other spirits.

If you consume more, your personal risk of stroke rises to 35%.

Who is threatened by alcohol?

According to the Harmful use of alcohol kills more than 3 million people each year, most of them men by the World Health Organization, 2.3 billion people use alcohol. At the same time, the average daily dose of alcohol per person is 33 ml - about twice the "moderate" value. These people include both Europeans and Americans or Chinese.

The study focused on the Chinese, but for one reason only. Among the representatives of the Asian race, one can objectively choose a control group - formed from people who do not drink alcohol at all. Some Chinese people have a genetic intolerance to alcohol. Among other races, there are no people with a similar feature.

It was the comparison of the sometimes drinking majority with the control, never drinking group that allowed scientists to unequivocally establish the harm of any, even the smallest, doses of alcohol.

You can, of course, say: "Where are the Chinese - and where are we …". But that would be a delusion. The research team, which includes scientists from Oxford and Peking Universities, as well as the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, confidently states that the findings presented are the same for everyone in the world.

Summary: Drinking is bad. And this is the final verdict.