We shouldn’t drink more than seven units of alcohol a week – and not more than a single unit per day. That is what a new major study says, and it shows that we shorten our lifespan if we exceed these limits.
The new study, which was recently published in The Lancet, is a review of results from 83 different studies. The studies show that it doesn’t require an excessive weekly intake of alcohol to affect one’s health and lifespan.
If you drink more than seven units of alcohol each week, you can expect to shorten your life by half a year. If you drink 10 or more units of alcohol a week, you will on average shorten your life by two years – and if you reach 17 units a week, you will shorten your life with five years.
Mostly bad news
Surprisingly, the study showed that those who drank more than seven units a week had a lower risk of suffering from blood clots. However, the study also showed that those same people has a higher risk of having a stoke and other heart related issues. Therefore, even if there is some good news, the negative effects far outweigh the positive.
What does earlier studies say?
Earlier studies have showed that a limited intake of alcohol can have different positive effects on your health. The studies have, among other things, showed that alcohol protects against cardiovascular diseases – something which the new study more or less disproves; while alcohol lowers the risk of blood clots, other forms of cardiovascular diseases are more frequent in people who indulge in alcohol.
Similarly, it has been proved that a limited consumption of alcohol can lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, because alcohol strengthens the glymphatic system in the brain - the function of which is to transport harmful waste, including substances that can lead to dementia. The new study about life expectancy has not examined alcohol’s effect on the brain.
Why is the new study something special?
The new study is, so far, the most ambitious of it’s kind. It includes data from almost 600.000 individuals from 19 different Western countries. This is possible since the study is a review of 83 different studies.
The study was published on the 13thof April 2018 in the esteemed scientific journal The Lancet. It disproves some of the positive effects, previously ascribed to alcohol. At the same time, it highlights that exceeding an intake of 7 units of alcohol a week is detrimental to one’s health.
