With all the press coverage of studies showing the benefits of a glass of wine or beer lately, one can be excused for wondering, “Could it be that drinking alcohol is actually a healthy habit?”

Before we get to the possible health benefits of alcohol, let’s begin by saying something no one can dispute - drinking too much is a bad thing. That’s because alcohol is basically a poison, and if you ingest too much, either at one time or over the years, it will damage most of the organs in your body. So what’s “too much?”. Well, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s more than an average of one drink a day for women, and more than an average of two drinks a day for men. A “drink” is defined as 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.

Here’s a list of just some of the physical problems that excessive drinking can cause:

Heart Disease

Cancer

Stroke

Alcoholic cirrhosis

Brain Damage

High Blood Pressure

Osteoporosis

Now for the good news. Moderate drinking (less than the one drink/two drink levels stated previously) can be beneficial to one’s health. While heavy drinking increases the risk for a number of types of heart disease, moderate drinking appears to lessen the possibility of coronary heart disease and heart attack, raise levels of good cholesterol, and reduce the risk of a number of types of dementia, including Alhzeimer’s.

More about how healthy alcohol is