Drink to Your Health

Ivanhoe Newswire
Tuesday, December 12, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- There's more evidence it's healthy to have an alcoholic drink once in a while. A new study reveals moderate consumption of alcohol reduces the overall risk of death, not just death from heart disease.

Previous research has focused on alcohol and cardiovascular disease. Italian researchers looked at overall mortality. Researchers analyzed the results of 34 recent studies. The research included data on more than 1 million people.

Study authors report drinking in moderation is associated with a nearly 18-percent reduction in mortality. In this case, moderate drinking means two to four servings for a man per day and two servings for a woman. Drinking more than this makes the benefits disappear and the risk of death actually increase, especially for women.

Researchers also report the way people drink alcohol can affect their health. The right way to drink is little amounts, preferably with meals.

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SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2006;166:2437-2445