How likely are you to reduce (or stop entirely) your alcohol consumption based on the findings of the above study?
“…results show that the safest level of drinking is none,” reported a team of researchers in a recent study, funded by the Gates Foundation and published in the Lancet Medical Journal. The meta-analysis of more than 1,000 studies found alcohol to be responsible for nearly 3 million deaths per year globally. These deaths include—among other things—heart disease, cancer, and accidents. While studies that demonstrate the beneficial effects of alcohol receive much popular media attention, Robyn Burton of King’s College London believes, “the conclusions of the study are clear and unambiguous: alcohol is a colossal global health issue.” According to the study, in 2016, alcohol consumption was the single largest risk factor for early death in people ages 15 to 49. Party on, Wayne. Party on, Garth. And other Wayne’s World quotes. [Warning: semi-mature, stupid, adolescent humor]
Here at InsightCity we’ve tossed around the idea of including a semi-regular section called Coffee, Alcohol or Chocolate. It essentially would just cover whatever substance of those three is the latest to blame for cancer, early death, superpowers, etc. Well, we’re calling for a moratorium on the coffee studies at least, because we want this one to be the last one. A study of half a million UK citizens has found that drinking coffee is good for you, hands-down. The study looked at a wide range of coffee factors like amount consumed, sub-types (e.g. decaf, instant,) and participants’ caffeine metabolisms. Essentially, even if you’re drinking 8+ cups of coffee a day, you’re still getting the health benefits of the world’s favorite bean soup in the form of decreased mortality. Cheers.
The Moderate Alcohol and Cardiovascular Health Trial (MACH15) was designed to observe the effects of moderate drinking versus being a nerd responsibly abstaining. But the National Institutes of Health has shut down the study after compromising contacts between scientists and alcohol industry executives were exposed by The New York Times. The NIH conducted its own internal investigation of the claims that scientists had courted these executives to fund the study through a nonprofit—which itself is a violation of government policy. The investigation found staffers “hid facts” from team members, apparently to frame the study in a pro-alcohol light. Talk about beer goggles. Score one for ethics in research at least.