Even light drinking is harmful to the elderly, the study warns

If you drink alcohol, you lose.

New research suggests that no amount of alcohol is good for your health or safe to consume as you age.

A 12-year UK study that tracked 135,000 adults aged 60 and over found that even light drinking was associated with an increase in cancer deaths. This increase was more pronounced among the elderly who live in low-income areas and have health problems.

These findings challenge the previous belief that small amounts of alcohol, especially red wine, are good for the heart. This belief is based on weak evidence that the wine-savvy French have lower rates of heart disease.

The new research, published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open, claimed that there was no reduction in heart disease deaths among light or moderate drinkers, regardless of their health or socio-economic status.

Lead study author Rosario Ortolá, an assistant professor of preventive medicine and public health at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, told The New York Times, “We found no evidence of a beneficial association between low drinking and [overall] mortality.”

Ortolá added that in addition to being good for you, drinking alcohol is likely to increase your risk of cancer “from the very beginning.”

The study found that heavy drinking, over 40 grams per day for men and over 20 grams per day for women, was associated with higher all-cause mortality. A standard American drink contains 14 grams of alcohol, equivalent to 12 ounces of regular beer or 5 ounces of wine.

These latest findings echo other research that suggests consuming just one alcoholic drink a day can cut your life expectancy by roughly two and a half months.

A separate study found that abstaining from alcohol – or reducing the amount consumed – can significantly reduce the risk of developing oral or esophageal cancer.

Researchers in the latest study noted that drinking wine and drinking it exclusively with meals lowers the risk of mortality, especially death from cancer. Ortolá suggests that the reduced risk may be attributable to slower absorption of alcohol, or may reflect other healthy lifestyle choices.

The US Dietary Guidelines state that “drinking less is better for your health than drinking more” and that women should limit themselves to one drink a day and men to two a day.

The 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are expected in the coming months, so scientific groups are preparing reports on the relationship between alcohol and health.

In January, the Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction unveiled updated health guidelines about drinking. Despite the century-old myth that a glass of wine is the key to longevity, Canadian officials reported that “no amount or type of alcohol is good for your health,” even in a “small amount.”

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that alcohol is a known carcinogen and alcohol consumption increases the risk of several types of cancer, including breast, liver, head and neck, esophageal and colorectal cancer.

Even at low levels of consumption, the WHO argues that alcohol “can pose health risks”, but adds that “most alcohol-related harm results from heavy episodic or continuous alcohol consumption”.