A bottle of wine a day is not bad for you and abstaining is worse than drinking, scientist claims
Former World Health Organisation expert reportedly believes alcohol is only harmful when you consume over 13 units in a day
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
The recommended daily allowance for alcohol consumption in Britain may well be around the size of a medium to large glass of wine depending on your gender, but a leading scientist in the field has claimed drinking just over a bottle a day would do no harm to your health.
Former World Health Organisation alcohol expert Dr Kari Poikolainen has analysed decades of research into the effects of alcohol on the human body, The Daily Mail reports.
His conclusion - drinking is only harmful when you consume more than 13 units a day - that’s four to five pints of beer or more than a bottle of wine - which typically contains around 10 units.
He also believes that drinking more than the current recommended daily intake may in fact be healthier than being a teetotaler.
“The weight of the evidence shows moderate drinking is better than abstaining and heavy drinking is worse than abstaining – however the moderate amounts can be higher than the guidelines say,” Dr Poikolainen reportedly told The Mail.
Responding to the comments, Julia Manning from think-tank 2020Health, told the newspaper: “This is an unhelpful contribution to the debate. It makes grand claims which we don’t see evidence for. Alcohol is a toxin, the risks outweigh the benefits.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments