Is light social drinking harmful for the body?

Answer:
It depends on what you are drinking. Beer has alot of calories and adds belly fat (hence the phrase "beer belly")

Hard liquor is hard on the body.

Your best bet is wine. They say one glass of wine a day is beneficial for your heart and over all health. My wife drinks a peticular type of wine and it gets rid of her migraines.

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2 drinks a day for me and 1 drink per day for women is considered OK

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I have seen some studies reported on the news that light drinking is actually healthful. Light drinking seems to be good for the veins. Light is the important part. Probably no more than a single drink a day. And no driving afterwards!

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no

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Not if its fermented from clean and good sources.

Good whole bear is a great carb, red wine is full of antioxidants... but coors or bud light or mixed sugary drinks are not good for you.

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A lot of the experts say that a drink of wine per day is beneficial to our bodies.

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little bit is good especilly wine. It is good for the heart. I believe there must be balance.

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Nothing is wrong with LIGHT social drinking. It's when you drink in excess, and it stops becoming just a social thing that it turns into a problem.

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no. only when you drink heavily all the time are you at a high risk.

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No, not at all

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One drink per day is healthy, anything over that may not be. This includes not only wine as it was believed but also beer, hard liquor etc.

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Any drinking is harmful to the body. Obviously light drinking is not as detrimental.
The antioxident characteristics found in wine are not due to the alcohol content, but to the flavenoids in the grape skin. The same, if not more, cardiovascular benefits can be enjoyed by drinking a glass of red grape juice or better yet pomogranate juice daily. The fruit juice is even better than the wine because it spares you the nitrates, sulfites and other toxins and preservatives commonly found in wine.
Alcohol is not only a toxin to the body, but it also creates long term cognitive compromises. Earlier dementia, an increased risk for short term memory loss are known side effects of even light drinking.
Also a gradual weight gain and geriatric obesity are directly attributed to the effects of even mild alcohol use due to liver/insulin involvement.
Generally speaking, socially, physically, cognitively or emotionally, one is better off not consuming alcohol. I know people don't like to hear that, but it's a scientific fact. Even the benefits have other downsides as i mentioned and none of the benefits are exclusive to alcoholic beverages.
Great question, especially at a time when we're only seeing a glamourization of drinking. In reality drinking is not pretty.

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If it was, why are many doctors prescribing a glass of red wine to patients able to tolerate alcohol? Originally known as the "French paradox": red wine is high in an anti-oxidant called resveratrol. Been proven to help fight certain types of cancer, stave off heart disease, the neuro-degenerative effects of Alzheimer's and parkinson's; in white wine, studies have been done on the positive effects the consumption of Chardonnay has on osteoporosis. Even studies on yeast in beer...On the flip side, is it counter-productive? There ARE carbs in alcoholic beverages after all. And pomegranate juice has high levels of resveratrol too.
The question really should be, how do you define "light social drinking"? Drinking can have health benefits, but overconsumption, well, duh! Moderation is the key, and sadly, a lot of folks don't know how to turn it in the lock. Oh, and that myth about wines from overseas having no sulfites? Puh-leeze. Don't get me started...

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