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Recent large Jama study on alcohol/wine


               
2026 Jan 19, 10:16am   575 views  32 comments

by mell   follow (12)  

"Wine preference and drinking only during meals were associated with lower all-cause mortality only in participants with health-related risk factors (wine preference: HR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.87-0.97; drinking only during meals: HR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89-0.97), as well as in participants with socioeconomic risk factors (wine preference: HR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.78-0.90; drinking only during meals: HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.78-0.89) (Table 3). Drinking only during meals was also associated with lower cancer mortality in participants with health-related risk factors (HR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86-0.99) or socioeconomic risk factors (HR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.78-0.94) (Table 3). Furthermore, in individuals with socioeconomic risk factors, wine preference was associated with lower cancer mortality (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.80-0.99) and drinking only during meals with lower CVD mortality (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.75-1.00) (Table 3). Adhering to both drinking patterns was associated with lower all-cause, cancer, and CVD mortality in drinkers with health-related or socioeconomic risk factors, and to a lesser extent, with lower all-cause death in drinkers without health-related risk factors (eTable 2 in Supplement 1). Importantly, wine preference and drinking during meals modified the association of mean alcohol intake with mortality: the excess risk of all-cause, cancer, and CVD death for high-risk drinkers, of all-cause and cancer death for moderate-risk drinkers, and of cancer death for low-risk drinkers vs occasional drinkers was attenuated and even lost among individuals with these drinking patterns (Table 4). Analyses excluding participants with prevalent cancer at baseline for cancer mortality, or those with prevalent CVD at baseline for CVD mortality showed consistent results (eTables 3-6 in Supplement 1)."

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22   Patrick   @   2026 Jan 21, 7:06pm  

Grok:


Acetaldehyde → Acetate (via aldehyde dehydrogenase, or ALDH enzyme, primarily ALDH2 in mitochondria): Acetaldehyde is rapidly converted to acetate (acetic acid), which is much less toxic and harmless in small amounts.

Acetate is then further broken down into water and carbon dioxide (or used for energy via the Krebs cycle).

The critical factor is that ALDH is extremely efficient in most people:It has a very low Km (high affinity for acetaldehyde), meaning it works quickly even at low concentrations.

Acetaldehyde levels remain very brief and low (typically in the micromolar range, e.g., ~1–5 μM in normal individuals after moderate drinking).

Dose matters hugely: Moderate intake (e.g., 1–2 standard drinks) produces acetaldehyde at levels the body's ALDH can handle quickly. The toxin is detoxified almost as fast as it's produced.
23   mell   @   2026 Jan 21, 8:41pm  

clambo says


Alcohol in the body is converted to acetyl aldehyde, which is poisonous.

Aldehydes are all toxic; would you drink a shot glass of formaldehyde (formalin)?

There is no level of alcohol consumption which is entirely safe; how much poison you like your body to process is up to you.

The any amount of "poison" is harmful assumption has been contradicted by empirical studies. Apart from the fact that it's quickly broken down during low to moderate consumption, the same has been said about radiation.

However studies have shown that people often live longer (with lower cancer mortality rates) in places with moderate to high background radiation. Hormesis is believed to be a major factor for this phenomenon.

There is likely something similar at play for alcohol, which would explain the Mediterranean/French paradox.
24   clambo   @   2026 Jan 21, 9:31pm  

Why do you have a hangover?
Because you consumed a toxic chemical previously.
25   Patrick   @   2026 Jan 21, 9:46pm  

Too much of it.
26   Ceffer   @   2026 Jan 22, 12:39am  

Sorry to burst the alcohol industry propaganda bubble. Maybe they should buy her off.

I would say the nicotine stuff makes it a daily double.


original link
27   HeadSet   @   2026 Jan 22, 3:14pm  

clambo says

Why do you have a hangover?
Because you consumed a toxic chemical previously.

Actually, the hangover is from dehydration, which in addition to the other deleterious effects.
28   HeadSet   @   2026 Jan 22, 3:15pm  

Patrick says

Acetate is then further broken down into water and carbon dioxide (or used for energy via the Krebs cycle).

More for making a beer belly.
29   HeadSet   @   2026 Jan 22, 3:18pm  

Patrick says


Too much of it.

If you can feel any effects, that is enough to do damage.
30   mell   @   2026 Jan 22, 3:55pm  

HeadSet says

Patrick says



Too much of it.

If you can feel any effects, that is enough to do damage.

Again this is not a scientific method. You could say the same thing about exercise, but the interim side effects (soreness, tiredness, even hypoxia) make you stronger in the long run.

There are plenty of meds which can cause herxheimer reactions or similar interim effects but actually heal your body.

Its totally possible and conceivable that there is a sweet spot at a specific dosage, and it may not 100% coincide with whether you feel any side effects or not, though often side effects indicate a problem, esp. when severe.
31   Patrick   @   2026 Jan 22, 5:04pm  

Literally the oldest human ever, Jeanne Calment, drank port every day and lived to be 122.

That anecdote is special because she is the record holder, and definitely drank alcohol.

But it also holds statistically. People who never drink alcohol are certainly reducing their own life expectancy. Brave AI:


Light drinkers have a lower risk of premature death compared to teetotalers, according to multiple studies analyzing large populations. A key study published in PLOS Medicine using data from nearly 100,000 U.S. adults aged 55 to 74 found that individuals who consumed seven alcoholic drinks per week—about one drink per day—had the lowest combined risk of dying or developing cancer over a nine-year period. This group showed a 7% lower risk of early death or cancer diagnosis compared to lifelong teetotalers.

However, this protective effect is seen only in light drinkers. Heavier drinking—three drinks per day—increased the risk of cancer or premature death by 20%.
32   Patrick   @   2026 Jan 22, 5:06pm  

https://theconversation.com/light-drinkers-at-a-lower-combined-risk-of-earlier-death-or-developing-cancer-98404



Graph is somewhat contradictory to previous comment, not showing the 20% increase in death at 3 drinks per day, but the general idea still holds that a small amount of alcohol has some protective effects.

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