Study Contradicts Evidence That Social Drinking Is Healthy

A drink before dinner may be good for the cardiovascular system, but more than that could burden an otherwise health-conscious drinker with chronic ailments, including heart and liver disease, researchers warned Tuesday.

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation showed social drinking can bring about a marked release of bodily chemicals called oxidants, capable of damaging the tissues of major organs, including the heart, liver and brain.

“We looked at the direct effects of alcohol itself and demonstrated that alcohol is a pro-oxidant even when blood alcohol levels are in a range that is often attained socially,” said Dr. Garret FitzGerald, senior study author and chairman of pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.

Researchers from Penn and the Florida Institute of Technology also found patients with chronic liver disease could suppress their oxidant stress levels by roughly 50% if given 2,500 milligrams of the antioxidant vitamin C for 10 days.

That suggests antioxidant vitamins or drugs could help treat alcohol-related diseases.

Among healthy patients, the study found elevated levels of oxidant stress after participants drank enough of a grain alcohol solution to reach a blood alcohol level of 0.08%, the legal limit for driving in many U.S. states.

A 170-pound man would have to drink more than four beers in an hour to reach that level.