THE ESSENTIAL
- In France, more than 41,000 deaths are attributable to alcohol each year according to the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm).
- In France, more than 41,000 deaths are attributable to alcohol each year according to the National Institute of Health and Medical Research.
- In all, the consumption of this drink would be responsible for more than 200 diseases and various injuries.
Ideally, a maximum of two glasses of alcohol should be consumed per day, not every day, and a maximum of 10 glasses per week, according to the recommendations of Public Health France. The reason is simple: alcohol promotes the direct development of certain diseases – such as alcoholic cirrhosis – but is also a risk factor for many pathologies such as cancers, arterial hypertension or even cognitive disorders. And, according to a study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition, any alcohol consumption, even if it is very low, might have harmful effects on our health, especially at the cardiovascular level.
A study of 350,000 people over 7 years
During their work, the scientists followed more than 350,000 patients, aged 40 to 69, for seven years. All drank alcohol and were, at some point in the study, hospitalized for cardiovascular problems. But the authors on the other hand excluded the participants who had already had a cardiovascular history because their objective was to be able to precisely evaluate the impact of alcohol. The evaluation of the alcohol consumption of the participants was carried out through questionnaires which they had to fill in each week, indicating the types of alcoholic beverages they drank.
23% increased risk of having a cardiovascular problem
When you go out to a bar or restaurant, a standard drink equals one unit of alcohol. In the UK, health authorities recommend drinking a maximum of 14 units of alcohol per week. And yet, even following this instruction would not be enough. Indeed, according to the researchers’ results, for people who drank less than 14 units of alcohol per week, for each additional 1.5 pints of beer consumed – whose alcohol level was 4, it that is, relatively low – was associated with a 23% additional risk of having a cardiovascular problem later. The degree of alcohol corresponds to the quantity of pure alcohol contained in 100 ml of drink. In this example, this means that there were therefore 4 milliliters of alcohol for 100 milliliters of beer.
An increased cardiovascular risk even with low alcohol consumption
Researchers believe that even low or moderate alcohol consumption can be dangerous. “Among beer, cider and liquor drinkers in particular, even those who consumed less than 14 units per week had an increased risk of ending up in hospital due to a cardiovascular problem involving the heart or blood vessels. , says Dr. Rudolph Schutte, one of the study’s authors. Many people believe that wine drinkers have a lower risk of developing coronary heart disease, but our data shows that the risk of having cardiovascular problems is not reduced.”.
The authors believe that further studies should be conducted to estimate the real dangers of low or moderate alcohol consumption… And perhaps consider reviewing the health recommendations currently in force.
