Moderate drinking benefits blurred by other factors

Any bartender can recite the recipe for a martini: a chilled glass, fine gin, a touch of vermouth, garnished with an olive. If only doctors could so precisely calculate alcohol’s effects on the body.

In a report released this summer, researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism conclude that, overall, a drink or two a day can be beneficial. But researchers note that alcohol affects people in different ways, based on age, sex, genes and other factors.

While wine may protect a 65-year-old man with high cholesterol, it may offer no help to a 22-year-old. The young have a low risk of heart disease, but a high chance of dying in accidents. And alcohol’s benefits cannot be banked for the future.

“Whereas alcoholic drinks may be standardized,” researchers concluded, “drinkers are not.”

Alcohol’s benefits for cardiovascular disease — the USA’s leading killer — usually outweigh its negative effects. According to a study cited in the report, if all current drinkers went on the wagon, the country would suffer an additional 80,000 deaths a year.

But should alcohol get all the credit? Moderate drinkers tend to be more health-conscious, while abstainers tend to be poorer and eat fewer vegetables, says Lorraine Gunzerath, one of the study’s authors. Some scientists question whether wine lovers are healthier because they drink Bordeaux or because they can afford to join a gym.

Scientists disagree, too, about why alcohol seems to promote health. Some credit antioxidants in red wine. Other experts, like Gunzerath, note that beer and spirits appear to offer just as much protection.

Research now suggests that drinking patterns are as important as total consumption. Alcohol passes through the body relatively quickly, so drinking small amounts every day stretches out the benefits. Bingeing, on the other hand, poses a number of risks. People who want help weighing the odds should consult their doctors, Gunzerath says. And she notes that people can get just as much benefit — without the risks — from regular exercise.