There have been a fair number of epidemiological trials
that show light (up to 2/day) to moderate (up to 4/day) drinking is associated
with reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and increased longevity [1,2,3].
Anything above 4 drinks a day and you are increasing your risk of cancer, liver
disease, stroke, etc [1]. This is what we call a J-shaped curve. At a lower
dose we see benefits but as the dose gets higher we see relative risk increase.
But these trials don’t actually prove alcohol reduces
certain risk factors, it only shows us an association that should be looked
into further. Enter the latest study [4]:
