All concepts, explanations, trials, and studies have been
re-written in plain English and may contain errors. I am
not a doctor
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Alcohol - Is It Really Good?

April 19, 2005 - The government Centers For Disease Control has
now stated that a few drinks a day may not protect against
strokes and heart attacks after all. Some studies recently said
that moderate drinking was good for you.
	Researchers at CDC studied data on 250,000 Americans who
were in a 2003 telephone survey. It turns out that the nondrinkers
had many more risks for heart disease, such as being overweight,
inactive, high blood pressure, and diabetes than the moderate
drinkers.
	"We're feeling ... Americans are getting sort of the
wrong idea" on alcohol, said the study's lead author, Dr. Tim
Naimi. "The science around moderate drinking is very murky."
	This study showed that moderate drinkers were healthier,
better educated, wealthier and more active than the nondrinkers.
These factors lowered their risk of heart disease - not moderate
alcohol drinking.
	"It appears that moderate drinkers have many social and
life style characteristics that favor their survival over
nondrinkers and few of these differences are likely due to alcohol
consumption itself," the study said.
	The CDC says that Americans should limit daily alcohol
use to two drinks for men and one drink for women.
	Obviously, a well-designed, strict clinical trial is
needed to really show the effects of drinking alcohol on various
health areas.

Source: The Associated Press.