Light drinking less healthy than thought

A glass or two of booze is good for your heart, according to long-standing medical advice that drinkers are often fond of citing.

But, according to a study published on Friday, this cherished invitation to say “cheers” is well off the mark.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, researchers carried out an overview of 50 published studies into the drinking habits and health of more than 260,000 people of European descent, Medical Observer says.

They looked especially at those with a key variant of a gene called ADH1B.

Previous research has found that a single change in the DNA code in this gene makes people less sensitive to drink, and thus less at risk from alcoholism.

The new study discovered that individuals with the variant drank 17 percent fewer units of alcohol per week and were 78-percent less likely to binge-drink than those without it.

They also had a 10-percent lower risk of coronary heart disease and enjoyed lower systolic blood pressure and body mass index (BMI).

Independent commentators said the study was interesting, not least because it challenged what is now almost a dogma.

But, they cautioned, the debate was far from over.

They noted the study was based only a statistical approach — it was not designed to explore exactly why those with the ADH1B variant were healthier.

There could be causes that apply only to them, and not people without the variant, which makes general advice on drinking a risky business.

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