There seems to be evidence that moderate alcohol guards against heart disease but worsens cancer risk.
Some people are more prone to one risk than the other and should consider that.
Further, inflammation is a risk factor for both illnesses and the rest of the diet is very important.
Drinking alcohol on top of a redneck high animal fat / high red meat / high fructose / high processed food diet is probably a very bad idea because that diet is high in inflammation.
Drinking alcohol in moderation as part of a Mediterranean diet may be a net win to the extent that it include anti-inflammatories and anti-oxidants. It is better the more highly colored the fruit & veg and the less the food has been processed with additives and nutrition removed.
It is probably better to drink beer than wine and wine than liquor, since that is a progression of higher and higher processing.
I am not a nutritionist, nor do I pretend to be one. Do your own reading. I have done so.
Numerous peer-reviewed studies found evidence that people who have a drink or two a day are less likely to have heart disease than people who abstain or drink excessively.
But the new study, while noting the lower risks of heart disease from moderate drinking, as well as a dip in the diabetes rate in women, found that many other health risks offset and overwhelm the health benefits. That includes the risk of breast cancer, larynx cancer, stroke, cirrhosis, tuberculosis, interpersonal violence, self-harm and transportation accidents.
“Current and emerging scientific evidence does not suggest that there are overall health benefits from moderate drinking,” said Robert Brewer, who directs the alcohol program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and was not involved in the new research. He pointed out that alcohol studies have long been dogged by “confounders” — factors that create a misleading impression of cause and effect.
“People who report drinking in moderation tend to be very different from people who don’t drink at all. They tend to be a healthier population, they tend to exercise more, they tend to be more affluent, they tend to have more access to health care,” Brewer said.
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