The vast majority of reliable and unbiased scientific studies (hundreds of them) have consistently shown for decades that those who consume alcohol in moderation are, on average, either just as healthy as non-drinkers or are actually slightly healthier. Despite the claims of some groups, “the science” in this regard has not changed. Here is a compilation of such recent studies.
Studies continue to show the same results: those who drink in moderation have the same or better life expectancy than those who do not drink at all.
Leading Recent Scientific Studies Confirming Health Effects of Moderate Consumption
#1. Best and Most Recent: NASEM Report 2025
The NASEM Report finds that moderate drinkers have a 16-23% lower risk of all cause mortality than non-drinkers. It also found that moderate drinkers have an 18-23% lower risk of cardiovascular death than non-drinkers. It found a 5-10% increased risk of breast cancer for moderate drinkers. This is a Peer-Reviewed ‘Gold Standard’ Report produced by 14 of the leading scientists in the United States (Harvard, Cornell, Stanford, Johns Hopkins)
National Academies Science Engineering Medicine, Review of Evidence on Alcohol and Health (2025) PDF Available Here
#2. Harvard Medical Study 2023
The Harvard Study found that “alcohol drinkers experience less anxiety” and that moderate drinkers have a 20-40% reduction in major adverse cardiac events over non-drinkers.
Kenechukwu et al., “Reduced stress-related neural network activity mediates the effect of alcohol on cardiovascular risk” in Journal of the American College of Cardiology 81, no. 24 (2023)
#3. UK Biobank/China Study 2026
The UK Biobank/China Study found that moderate wine drinkers have a 21% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than non-drinkers. See summary here.
Li, “Alcohol Use at Mid-Life and All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality” (2026) American College of Cardiology Conference
#4. MORGAM Europe Study 2022
The MORGAM Europe Study found that moderate drinkers have an 11% lower risk of dying than non-drinkers.
Di Castelnuovo et al., 2022 , Alcohol intake and total mortality …https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.15593
Additional Resources:
Tian et al., 2023, Alcohol Consumption and all-cause mortality …
https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-023-02907-6
Kopec et al., 2022, Impact of 51 Risk Factors …https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9332720/pdf/ijerph-19-08958.pdf
Fisher et al., 2022, Comparison of mortality hazard …
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-12849-y
Daya et al., 2020, Alcohol Consumption … https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32524620/
Harkanen et al., 2020, Estimating Expected Life Years … https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/3/e033741
Van den Brandt et al., 2020, Alcohol consumption in later life … https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32037449/
Li et al., 2020, Healthy Lifestyle …
https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.l6669
Kaprio et al., 2019, Longitudinal Patterns of Alcohol Use …https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924977X17304959
Kunzmann et al., 2018, Association of Lifetime Alcohol Use … https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29920516/
Wood et al., 2018, Risk threshholds for alcohol consumption … https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29676281/Hartz et al., 2018, Daily Drinking …https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acer.13886
There is also a summary of the issues in these articles:
Laura Catena: In Defense of Wine
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