THE BRITISH MEDICAL ORGANIZATION, UK FACULTY OF PUBLIC HEALTH, CALLS FOR A HEALTH "WARNING" LABEL ON BOTTLES OF WINE AND SPIRITS WHILE "THE DRINK BUSINESS" LISTS THE TOP 10 STUDIES ON THE BENEFITS OF MODERATE DRINKING...

Is alcohol good or bad for you? It may be too black and white but it is a recurring question that does not have only one answer. Although the prevailing trend is that abuse is obviously harmful, moderate consumption, especially of wine, can even be beneficial to health.

In England, where alcoholism is a real plague, the UK Faculty of Public Health, an organization of more than 3.000 doctors, are seeking the introduction of a "warning" on bottles of wine, beer and spirits in general, indicating the possible damages of alcohol to the body, like on packages of cigarettes. The famous magazine "The Drink Business", instead, has compiled the "Top 10" scientific studies demonstrating the benefits of moderate drinking.

For example, the California Men's Health study conducted on 84.000 people, which explains how men who drink a couple glasses of red wine a day may see the risk of lung cancer reduced, or the University of Calgary in Canada study, published in the British Medical Journal, which says that a drink a day helps to increase levels of good cholesterol in the blood. And also, the study of the U.S. Health Professionals which maintains that regular consumption reduces the risk of death following a heart attack by 40%, or the Boston University School of Medicine study that says two glasses of wine a day help to improve the quality of life in general, not only health wise.
And from Sweden there is a study that says drinking at least three glasses of wine a week reduces the risk of getting arthritis by 52% compared to those who never drink, and even the Whitehall Study in 1967, the results of which were published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, on 6.000 British civil servants, shows that at least one drink a week enhances cognitive skills and thinking. According to some doctors of the U.S. Archives of Surgery, people who have small amounts of alcohol in their blood have a better chance of survival from head injuries because alcohol lowers the body's inflammatory response to injury, while for the Oregon State University regular and moderate drinking would be healthy for women as it would reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

A study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry and curated by Purdue University (U.S.), affirms that substances like resveratrol in red wine block the development of fat cells and help weight maintenance or loss, while for some Australian doctors (although here, it must be said, we are at the limit of myth) claim to have actually successfully used, in an emergency situation, an IV of vodka to save the life of an Italian tourist poisoned by ethylene glycol, used as a liquid refrigerant in engines. In any case, there are many accredited studies showing the benefits of moderate drinking and all of them are unanimous in supporting the damage of abuse. As the saying goes, common sense and moderation go hand in hand and it helps to repeat this now and again...

Prosit!