The fairy tale of healthy alcohol

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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It seems paradoxical: alcohol is poison for the body. Nevertheless, numerous studies seem to prove that at least moderate consumption could extend life. A critical look at the numbers, however, leaves little of the supposed health-promoting effects of beer, wine, etc.

C2H6O: two carbon, six hydrogen, one oxygen atom. The molecule that consists of the most important building blocks of life is a cell toxin: ethanol. Through the blood, the alcohol is distributed throughout the body and, in the long term and in large quantities, damages all organs, especially the liver and stomach, heart and brain. In addition, there is a higher risk of various types of cancer. Nevertheless, when the Germans toast, it is often about health and a long life.

Is a little alcohol healthy?

Numerous studies that have appeared in recent years and have received a lot of media attention suggest that this does not have to be a contradiction. According to them, people who consume moderate amounts of alcohol live longer than people who do not use alcohol at all. Of course, everyone likes to read this who likes to drink one - or several - glasses. And that is most of them: only 5.5 percent of the German population between 18 and 59 years of age abstain from alcohol.

There are various explanations for the phenomenon, in particular the protective effects of alcohol on the heart. It could have a positive effect on the level of good HDL cholesterol in the blood and reduce the tendency to clot. But can that really be enough to outweigh the many harmful effects of alcohol (including the heart)?

Studies put to the test

Tim Stockwell, a psychologist and addiction expert at the University of Victoria, at least was skeptical. Together with colleagues, he analyzed a total of 87 scientific papers on the subject of alcohol consumption and life expectancy in more detail. “The fundamental question is: who has the moderate drinker been compared to?” The scientist points out. Most studies fail to ask why the participating abstainers actually do not drink.

Troubled teetotalers

For example, a common reason for giving up alcohol is poor health. If, however, a disproportionately high number of abstainers are sick, this could explain their lower life expectancy - and not their abstinence from alcohol. Studies that took this bias into account could not prove any life-prolonging effect of moderate alcohol consumption, the meta-study shows.

And the researchers noticed another point on closer analysis: It was not the moderate alcohol consumers who really lived the longest, but those who only drank occasionally - more precisely, less than once a week. "But that's a dose of alcohol that doesn't matter biologically," says Stockwell. This means that other factors and not alcohol, for example, are likely to have a positive effect on life expectancy. For example, it is conceivable that those who drink little would otherwise also have a more moderate, low-excess, healthy lifestyle.

Abstruse connections

Such connections could also clarify the riddle why some studies even provide seemingly absurd results, for example that moderate drinkers have a lower risk of hearing loss or even developing liver cirrhosis than abstainers. "Either alcohol is a panacea, or moderate drinking is related to something completely different," says study director Stockwell.

Doubts are in order

Other studies, on the other hand, highlight the health benefits of certain alcoholic beverages, especially red wine, which is said to protect the heart. Such studies were not considered in the review study by Stockwell and colleagues. Nevertheless, the scientist doubts that it is actually the alcohol itself that has the beneficial effect on health. In fact, when it comes to the positive effects of red wine, the polyphenols it contains are particularly emphasized - and not the alcohol. Red grape juice would probably work just as well.

Meanwhile, Stockwell sums up the results of the meta-study as follows: “It has become a common notion that alcohol is good for us because it is read so often. But there are many good reasons to be skeptical. "

Source: Stockwell, Tet al .: Do "moderate" drinkers have reduced mortality risk? A systematic review and meta-analysis of alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2016 DOI: 10.15288 / jsad.2016.77.185

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