"Psychoactive drug"

Professional association changes recommendation for alcohol

(Bild: Robert Goodall - stock.adobe.com)

The German Nutrition Society advises against drinking alcohol. In doing so, it is changing a previous assessment. Even in moderation, alcohol is not healthy. "Alcohol is a psychoactive drug," writes the society in its new position paper.

There is no potentially healthy and safe amount of alcohol for safe consumption, writes the professional association. And adds: "Alcohol is a psychoactive drug", which has been identified as the cause of over 200 negative health consequences such as illnesses and accidents.

Position paper replaces previous reference value
The new position paper replaces the previous reference value for recommended alcohol consumption. If you still want to drink alcohol, you should above all avoid large quantities, advises the professional association. This applies in particular to young people. Children, adolescents, pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding should not drink alcohol at all.

Anyone who still wants to drink alcohol should avoid large quantities. This is especially true for young people.

Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung

107 long-term studies
This was also the conclusion of an analysis of various studies on the connection between alcohol consumption and health. The reason why studies have found health benefits with moderate alcohol consumption is due to distortions caused by flaws in the study design, as researchers from the Canadian University of Victoria discovered. They analyzed 107 long-term studies on the relationship between alcohol consumption and mortality.

Alcohol significantly increases the burden of disease and mortality
According to the German Nutrition Society, the relationship between alcohol consumption and health is complex. Risk-reducing associations with alcohol consumption have been observed for a few chronic diseases. Overall, the burden of disease and mortality caused by alcohol is considerable worldwide and particularly in Europe.

Short-term consequences
Alcohol consumption is associated with developmental disorders in unborn children, accidents, injuries, violence and "psychosocial impairments of people who drink alcohol and their social environment", writes the society. Short-term consequences include impaired coordination, attention and reaction time.

Risk of addiction
In the long term, alcohol not only poses a risk of addiction. According to the experts, alcohol also contributes to diseases: Cancer (especially breast and colon cancer), cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, diabetes mellitus as well as cognitive decline, Alzheimer's and other dementias.

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