The long-standing belief that moderate drinking offers health benefits is now being challenged by a new wave of scientific research, according to Stanford Medicine experts. For decades, moderate alcohol consumption, like enjoying a glass of red wine with dinner, was thought to protect against heart disease and diabetes, and even lengthen life. However, recent studies reveal that these perceived benefits may be based on flawed science, and that any amount of alcohol increases the risk of serious health problems.
Stanford health experts emphasize that new epidemiological studies, carefully controlling for confounding factors, consistently find the so-called protective effects of moderate drinking disappear. Dr. Randall Stafford, professor of medicine at Stanford, notes that older studies typically lumped individuals who quit drinking due to illness together with lifelong abstainers, skewing results in favor of moderate drinkers. Once these biases are accounted for, the purported health benefits vanish.
Recent evidence paints a stark picture: even low-level drinking raises the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. For instance, a 2024 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association tracing over 135,000 older adults linked even moderate alcohol intake to elevated death rates, largely due to cancer and heart disease. Alarmingly, the American Association for Cancer Research reports that over 5% of all U.S. cancers stem from alcohol use, with risk escalating at all consumption levels, starting with the first drink.
The harms of alcohol extend beyond cancer. Ethanol, the alcohol in beverages, metabolizes to acetaldehyde, a compound that directly damages DNA and increases vulnerability to a range of cancers, especially in the digestive tract. Genetics play a significant role: an estimated 8% of people worldwide, particularly those of East Asian descent with the ALDH2 gene variant, are far more susceptible to alcohol’s toxic effects and related diseases even at low consumption.
Public health guidelines are evolving in step with emerging science. While the U.S. Dietary Guidelines still recommend up to two drinks daily for men and one for women, other countries like Canada warn against exceeding two drinks per week, and the World Health Organization maintains that no level of drinking is truly safe. As the public becomes increasingly aware of these risks, there is growing support for warning labels and a cultural shift toward reduced consumption, or abstinence altogether.
Stanford’s experts advise that, despite social norms and industry messaging, the evidence is unequivocal: the safest option is not to drink, but those who choose to consume alcohol should do so with informed caution.
