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According to a study published in The Lancet, people over 40 may benefit from moderate alcohol consumption. Conversely, the youngest should not drink at all.
It is often believed – wrongly – that moderate alcohol consumption has little or no impact on health. According to a new global study published in The Lancet, young people under 40 should never drink. On the other hand, the elderly would derive certain benefits from moderate consumption.
Alcohol may help reduce the risk of stroke and diabetes
According to scientists, young people are more vulnerable to alcohol consumption than adults over the age of 40 and in good health.
Indeed, those under 40 do not derive any “health” benefit from this consumption, while their elders see their risks of ischemic heart disease, stroke and diabetes decrease.
“Our message is simple: Young people shouldn’t drink, but older people can benefit from drinking small amounts.“, reveals Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou, professor of health sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine and lead author of the study.
He also adds that the publication of this data must push “everyone to make informed decisions about their health”.
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No more than a tenth of a drink a day for the youngest
To arrive at this observation, the team examined the risk of alcohol consumption in men and women aged 15 to 95 between 1990 and 2020. Among other things, their injuries, cardiovascular diseases and cancers were notified.
Results ? The researchers found that the “ideal” amount of alcohol for people aged 15 to 39 was just over a tenth of a standard drink a day (before risking a deleterious impact on their health ) while it ranged from half a drink (0.527 standard drink for men and 0.562 standard drink per day for women) to two daily drinks (1.69 standard drink per day for men and 1.82 for women ) in older people.
For people over 65, the risk of loss of chance was reached beyond three drinks per day (3.19 drinks for men and 3.51 for women).
Although these results vary from region to region, one thing is certain: these results show that “the recommended level of alcohol consumption is still too high for younger people”conclude the researchers.
Santé Publique France recommends not to exceed more than 10 standard alcoholic drinks per week and not more than 2 standard alcoholic drinks per day (approximately 20 grams of alcohol), as well as not to drink alcohol for at least two days in the week.