Can Light Drinking Shorten Your Life?
Remember those studies that suggest a glass of wine is great for your health? A new study is suggesting that even light drinking can shorten your life. This includes daily light drinking at levels that are considered safe by United States standards. Those who drink 1-2 drinks four times a week have a 20% risk of dying prematurely higher than that of people who drink three days a week or less.
Honestly, the evidence here, as with many studies, seems to correlate with but not cause the risk. Many of those surveyed were veterans who may have already been suffering from PTSD, injuries and other issues, and of course drinking four days a week would be more likely to cause you to be a bit more careless. Four days of drinking out of seven seems more than "light" drinking to me, especially if it's more than one drink each day. Who set up these standards anyway?
Studies that show that wine is good for you still say to go easy on the drink, after all, but where is that sweet spot? It likely varies by individual. What do you think is a healthy amount of alcohol to consume in a week?