Mouthing Off | Alcohol is bad for you in any quantity, new study says. How are we to know what health advice to believe any more?
- New research in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests all alcohol, including red wine, is harmful when consumed in any amount
- Previously we were told that a glass of red wine a day actually helped reduce cardiovascular risks and coronary diseases. Who should we believe?

It is impossible to know what’s healthy and unhealthy any more. Foods are so often vilified and then redeemed, suddenly going from zero to hero and back again.
Eggs, milk, butter and pork all used to be deemed ingredients too high in fat or excessive cholesterol and we were told we should limit our intake. But some nutritional guidelines are OK with them. Also, it seems that consuming fats can actually help us absorb fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K.
However, that glass of red wine you are having with your butter-fried pork schnitzel? Maybe you should put a hold on it. New research in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests all alcohol, including red wine, is harmful when consumed in any amount.
I remember before the ’90s, health authorities launched campaigns against the overconsumption of booze. Studies were published purporting a steady rise in deaths from drink-driving, excessive drinking, cirrhosis, and cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx and liver. People who downed more than one alcoholic drink a day were deemed to have a greater chance of dying from injuries, suicide, poisoning and haemorrhagic stroke.

Then, around the turn of the millennium, researchers zeroed in on the topic and re-concluded that a single glass of red wine a day wasn’t necessarily a bad thing – and that actually it seemed to help reduce cardiovascular risks and coronary diseases. Red wines, which include the grape skins as part of the winemaking process, apparently possessed health-enhancing antioxidants.