Moderate Drinking: Health Perk or Risky Business?
A new report from NASEM links moderate drinking to lower all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease risk, but raises concerns about an increased risk of breast cancer. Learn about Surgeon General Murthy’s call for cancer-warning labels.
It turns out that little glass of wine might be more than just a relaxing ritual—at least according to a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). Researchers looked at data from the past five to 15 years and found that moderate drinkers (defined as up to two drinks a day for men and one for women) generally had lower rates of all-cause mortality and a reduced chance of cardiovascular disease compared to people who never drink. But before you pour yourself a celebratory cocktail, know that the same report also found that moderate alcohol consumption is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer, a conclusion graded with moderate certainty. Meanwhile, it couldn’t definitively nail down the risk for other cancers like colorectal and esophageal—so the jury’s still out.
Adding to the buzz, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has suggested plastering alcohol bottles with new cancer risk warnings, pointing out that alcohol directly contributes to 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer-related deaths each year. He emphasized that even sticking within “safe” drinking guidelines (one drink a day for women or two for men) doesn’t necessarily eliminate risk. Ultimately, the final 2025 Dietary Guidelines could reflect these findings, but it’s clear from Murthy’s comments that the debate goes beyond how many drinks is too many—it’s about acknowledging the very real link between alcohol and various types of cancer, all while balancing that lowered mortality and cardiovascular risk. Cheers to moderation?
