The German Society for Nutrition advises against drinking alcohol. This changes an earlier assessment. Even in moderation, alcohol is not healthy. “Alcohol is a psychoactive drug,” the specialist association writes in its new position paper.
There is no potentially health-promoting and safe amount of alcohol for safe consumption, the association writes, adding: “Alcohol is a psychoactive drug” that has been identified as the cause of more than 200 negative health outcomes, including illness and accidents.
Position paper replaces the previous reference value
The new position paper replaces the previous reference value for recommended alcohol consumption. If you still want to drink alcohol, you should avoid large quantities, the association advises. This applies especially to young people. Children, teenagers, pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding should not drink alcohol at all.
107 long-term studies
An analysis of several studies on the link between alcohol consumption and health also came to this conclusion. The reason that studies have shown that moderate alcohol consumption has health benefits is bias due to flaws in study design, researchers from Canada’s University of Victoria have found. They reviewed 107 long-term studies on the link between alcohol consumption and mortality.
Alcohol significantly increases the burden of disease and mortality
According to the German Nutrition Society, the relationship between alcohol consumption and health is complex. Risk-reducing associations with alcohol consumption have been observed for a number of chronic diseases. Overall, the burden of alcohol-related diseases and deaths is considerable worldwide, and especially in Europe.
Short-term consequences
Alcohol use has been linked to developmental disorders in unborn children, accidents, injuries, violence and “psychosocial impairments of people who drink alcohol and their social environment,” the association writes. Short-term consequences included impairments in coordination, attention and reaction time.
Danger of addiction
In the long term, alcohol not only poses a risk of addiction. According to experts, alcohol also causes diseases such as: cancer (especially breast and colon cancer), cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, diabetes mellitus and cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
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Source: Krone
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