Not even a single drop of alcohol is healthy, new analysis shows

SALT LAKE CITY — A new analysis reported by The New York Times shows that alcohol is never healthy for us, in any amount. Earlier this year, the Dave & Dujanovic Show on KSL NewsRadio spoke with the University of Utah Health’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tom Miller about the analysis. 

 

“We can no longer entertain the idea that a moderate or small amount of alcohol intake improves health or longevity,” said Miller. “We just can’t do that. And I think what they’ve finally done with this multi-study analysis is put the French ‘red wine paradox’ that started 40 years ago to rest.”

What’s ‘a drink’?

“Moderate drinking is generally looked over a week as one drink per day for women, and two drinks per day for men. But what’s ‘a drink’?” said Miller. “So, ‘a drink’ is a 12-ounce bottle of beer, between 5-6% standard alcohol, five ounces of wine, or one mixed drink. When we go back to the statistics, even moderate drinking can increase cancer rates and other organ damage. In the long run, you have to make a decision as to whether that’s really so bad.”

 

What is defined as heavy use?

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports 61 million Americans reported “binge drinking” in the last month.

The survey defines binge drinking as a pattern of consuming alcohol to a level where your blood alcohol level reaches above .08 or more.

“The problem with alcohol is sometimes it becomes easier to have that next drink after the first one,” said Miller.

Randall Carlisle calls himself a recovering alcoholic. He’s a former journalist at ABC 4 Utah and now works at the Odyssey House of Utah, which is dedicated to helping people through substance abuse issues.

“If I’m a heavy drinker and I see a study like that, it probably isn’t going to deter me from drinking,” said Carlisle. “This may deter my mother, who’s 97, and drinks a glass of red wine every night because she thinks it’s healthy, but I don’t think it would deter someone who’s an alcoholic.”

 

Carlisle said his alcohol addiction started as a coping mechanism.

“I drank to deal with any tough emotion that would come up,” he said. “If I was having a problem with a girlfriend or wife, it was my go-to for decades to just numb my emotions so I wouldn’t have to deal with it.”

The rates of recovery from substance abuse

When it comes to recovery, the Centers for Disease Control reports more than 22 million Americans, or one in 10 adults, have lived through some sort of recovery from substance use disorder.

“Towards the end of my drinking days, I just kept getting more and more depressed,” Carlisle said. “I used to go out to bars and drink with friends at those yuck-yuck parties, but towards the end, I was drinking by myself, in my condo, and I remember thinking, ‘Do I want to live the rest of my life like this?’ At that point, I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to do something about this. But I’m an alcoholic, and I’ll need help.’ So, I checked into an intensive outpatient program twice and have now been sober 13 years.”

If you or anyone you know is struggling with thoughts of substance abuse, you or they can call 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline or the Huntsman Mental Health Institute (1-801-583-2500).