Just one couldn’t hurt… but I’ve only had two… maybe one more please, to cap the night off. As an alcoholic, I always found a reason to have one more or why the last one didn’t count. Like a slinky at the top of the stairs, after taking that first step it was inevitable that I would keep going until I hit bottom. It’s the nature of the beast though; the intoxicating nature of alcohol can have even the most prudent of moderate drinkers rationalizing a way to drink just one more.
One of the most used excuses to imbibe, especially red wine, is that it is good for the heart. Now beyond the fact that new studies show that even moderate alcohol use has been linked with cancer , doctors are also pointing out that people need be careful about how they define moderate.
“Either consciously or subconsciously, some people omit the word ‘moderate’ and come away with the idea that drinking is good for you,” says Tim Naimi, M.D., M.P.H., an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “The concept of moderate drinking tends to be adjusted elastically at the level at which one already drinks.” ~ MSN Health
Personally I put more stock into the doctors’ advice about moderate drinking than I do that of the studies on both the positive or negative effects of alcohol. Moderation of all food and drink is generally considered a good idea- it’s just a lot harder with alcohol because of our elastic standards when it comes to drinking.
