Is drinking alcohol bad for your health? New dietary guidelines will weigh risks and benefits

CNN — Most adults in the United States drink alcohol, but there is steadily growing public concern about the health effects of moderate drinking. But recent studies have found that even low levels of drinking may be harmful, and the World Health Organization has said that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.” The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, from the US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of Agriculture, say that men should limit their daily alcohol intake to two drinks or less, and one drink or less for women. “There are some conditions where we did see a benefit or an inverse relationship at very low levels, but they’re really outweighed by the conditions where you see not a benefit.” Dr. Ned Calonge, chair of the committee that wrote the National Academies report, warns that the link his group found between lower all-cause mortality and moderate drinking should not be interpreted as a summary of the relationship between alcohol and health – quite the opposite, in fact. The National Academies report addressed this in their finding about breast cancer risk, noting that higher amounts of drinking are associated with higher risk of breast cancer than lower amounts – even within levels considered to be “moderate.” The gold standard for scientific research is a randomized controlled trial that actively monitors direct comparisons between scenarios with little external variability, but most studies on alcohol’s effects are based on observation without intervention. “If you choose to drink alcohol, make sure it’s done in moderation, and also put it in the context of other lifestyle factors so that you can further buffer the potential adverse effects.” Despite broad support of a new warning label on alcoholic beverages, US adults are virtually split on whether the government should provide health recommendations to the public or leave it to Americans to make up their own minds, according to the new CNN poll.