4 ms·
It's still debated. The reason people think a glass per day might be helpful is observational studies, which show that people who don't drink are slightly worse
by carbocation 6y ago
It's still debated. The reason people think a glass per day might be helpful is observational studies, which show that people who don't drink are slightly worse off than those who drink a little. However, you can imagine how these can be confounded (e.g., not drinking because of terminal illness or some other exogenous harm). It's hard to properly adjust your model to fully eliminate this sort of problem.
In contrast, Mendelian randomization studies generally suggest that there is no safe level of alcohol intake.
I am mostly convinced by the MR studies and think that alcohol is harmful for physical health (while being mindful that physical health is just one of many competing things that people value).
- mstipetic 6y agoI think it mostly comes down to having a standard routine, whether it's a nice glass of wine with dinner (implying a regular dinner) or something similar. Most of the times people say the secret to my health is "i do this every day" I think that implies not having too much chaos in life and a stable environment
- arrow7000 6y agoThat's a really good observation. Thank you for that.
- rsync 6y ago"In contrast, Mendelian randomization studies generally suggest that there is no safe level of alcohol intake." I believe this is the case. The idea that moderate alcohol consumption is "healthy" or beneficial in some way is a misunderstanding of their data. What we see is the following: People who drink no alcohol at all and people who abuse alcohol have, generally, poorer health outcomes than people who drink, but do not abuse, alcohol. The poor health outcomes for the alcohol abusers needs no explanation. It is the poor health outcomes of the abstainers that is misunderstood: they're simply not robust, or constitutionally enabled, to drink even small amounts of alcohol without feeling bad. So my conclusion is that the abstainers are not having poorer health outcomes because of the absence of alcohol - they're having poorer health outcomes anyway.
- system16 6y agoCould it be those who abstain from alcohol tend to lean towards having other unhealthy vices that fill the gap? Poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, etc.?