A daily glass of wine may not be the health tonic many had hoped for, according to new research.
Previous studies had suggested that a regular drink might help people live longer, with compounds called polyphenols, especially in red wine, thought to boost health for moderate drinkers.
However, a recent study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs has found that much of the pro-drinking research was flawed. It often compared moderate drinkers with alcoholics or those who had given up alcohol for health reasons, creating a skewed picture.
“That makes people who continue to drink look much healthier by comparison,” said Dr Tim Stockwell from the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria.
Dr Stockwell’s team analysed data from 107 published studies, which initially appeared to show that moderate drinkers had a 14 percent lower risk of dying compared to abstainers. However, when looking at high-quality studies that did not count former drinkers as abstainers, this supposed health benefit disappeared.
“If you look at the weakest studies, that’s where you see health benefits,” Stockwell noted. “There is simply no completely ‘safe’ level of drinking.”
