I’ve read that part of the reason that moderate drinkers appear on average to be in better health than teetotalers is that many people who abstain entirely from

I’ve read that part of the reason that moderate drinkers appear on average to be in better health than teetotalers is that many people who abstain entirely from alcohol used to be heavy drinkers, and may have quit because it was impacting their health. If you omit recovered/recovering alcoholics from the calculation, the alleged effect on heart health largely disappears. If you want to drink, go for it—for better or worse, it’s often a big part of social life. But as you say, there’s essentially no “safe” amount, just the amount of increased risk you’re personally willing to accept when it comes to addiction, risk-taking behaviour, depression, anxiety, heart disease, insulin resistance, organ dysfunction, cancer, systemic inflammation, brain damage, and so on. Someone who doesn’t drink should absolutely not start drinking under the guise of health.