Cheers to moderation (Image: Gemma Amor)
Finally, some news we can raise a glass to: being sober is not just boring; it’s dangerous. According to the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, heavy and moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. Researchers found that over a 20-year period, mortality rates were highest among alcohol abstainers, second highest for heavy drinkers and lowest for moderate drinkers (those who consume one to three drinks per day).
The revelation doesn’t come as much of a surprise to Time magazine, though, which points out that abstainers usually come from a lower socio-economic bracket (avoiding booze for cost reasons) and generally have more stresses in their lives. Not only that, but the general lameness of the straight-edge set probably means they have fewer family members and friends to a) keep them happy and b) help them detect health problems. Conversely, drinkers have a social edge and can enjoy the well-known health benefits of drinks like red wine. Of course, alcohol brings about its own set of woes, which is probably why the heavy drinkers don’t fare quite as well as the moderate ones.
In other news, fitness and boozing have been melded into one drink. If we weren’t nursing such a hangover, we’d say that alcohol just might be the key to immortality.
• Why Do Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers? [Time]
This is the best news I’ve heard all year. It would be wise to print this one and file it.
September 1, 2010 at 12:58 pm | by RichAlcohol abstainers come from lower socio-economic backgrounds? WTF? Have they seen the prices in US liqour stores?
September 1, 2010 at 1:39 pm | by mattagascarliquid lunch anyone?
September 2, 2010 at 11:03 am | by harbourfrontseriously. A handle of taaka is like 3 bucks.
September 13, 2010 at 7:08 pm | by DurrDoes this mean that muslim lives are considerably shortened by abstinence? Email this article to your imam!
As much as I want to believe this study, I think it’s a lot of BS. My grandparents hardly drank at all except for celebratory occasions and they lived into their late eighties.
November 27, 2010 at 12:29 am | by Eva