This article shows benefits from moderate drinking for individuals at high risk of heart disease, not the population at large: For many people moderate drinkin

This article shows benefits from moderate drinking for individuals at high risk of heart disease, not the population at large: For many people moderate drinking has absolutely no benefit at all, Dr. Klatsky said. This applies to all adolescents: teenagers have a negligible risk of heart disease and for them the risks of heavy drinking vastly outweigh any benefits of moderate drinking. The same generally applies to men under 40 and women under 50, except for those with known heart disease risks. Pregnant women, people with liver disease, known drinking problems or a family history of alcoholism should never be advised to begin to drink for their health, he said. But for others with known coronary heart disease or a risk of heart disease because of obesity, cholesterol levels, or smoking, moderate alcohol use may be a way to reduce that risk. It is important to look at context when reading about these sorts of studies.