Want to avoid the worst health effects of alcohol? Drink wine, says study
New research has revealed that alcohol is bad for health even in small doses except for wine which helps to prevent coronary heart disease.
Dr Schutte, of Anglia Ruskin University, is disputing previous studies into alcohol which suggested low levels of alcohol consumption can be beneficial. Data collected from 446,439 people over seven years concluded that even in small doses beer, cider and spirits are bad for health increasing the risk of cardiovascular events by 30 per cent.
Wine was something of an outlier. Schutte confirmed “there is an undeniable protective beneficial relationship between coronary heart disease and consumption of both red and white wine.”
However, while previous studies attributed the positive health effects of wine to its alcohol content Schutte said the benefits came from grapes with alcohol free wine proving just as effective at reducing health risks.
Schutte questioned the methodology of previous research which identified a ‘J-shaped curve’ indicating that low levels of alcohol consumption were healthy.
“Researchers commonly use coronary heart disease as a standard measure for health and this is one of the reasons we see so many studies claiming the health benefits of ‘alcohol,’’’ explained Schutte.
He continued by criticising the use of non-drinkers as a control group to measure the health effects of alcohol pointing out that many individuals who abstain from drink do so because of pre-existing conditions.
The study found that even drinking within levels deemed safe by the NHS, approximately 14 units per week, is damaging to health.
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