NEW YORK (AP) – If you decide to have an alcoholic drink, it is best to limit yourself to one per day, either male or female.
That’s the new advice that experts recommend for the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which will be updated later this year for the first time in five years. The guidelines now say that men should limit themselves to two drinks a day, and that women should limit themselves to one. That council has been in place since 1990.
In a report released Wednesday, an expert committee noted that there is no adequate evidence to support the different alcohol recommendations for men and women, and that research supports setting the limit for men. US health agencies that issue dietary guidelines are not required to adopt the committee’s recommendations.
“As a nation, our collective health would be better if people in general drank less,” said Dr. Timothy Naimi, an alcohol researcher at Boston University and one of the experts on the committee convened by federal officials.
The proposed advice should not be interpreted to mean that not having a drink on Thursday means you can have two on Friday, Naimi said. One drink equals about a 12-ounce can of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or a shot of liquor.
The advice builds on the links the researchers observed between drinking habits and all causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, and car accidents, rather than the specific physical harm that alcohol could have. Such observational studies, common in food and nutrition science, do not establish a cause-and-effect relationship, but are often the best available evidence, so experts use them to provide guidance.
With alcohol, Naimi said two drinks a day were associated with an increased risk of death compared to one drink a day. She said the increase was modest, but noticeable enough for the committee to recommend updating the council.
It is unclear whether the proposed new advice would influence behavior. Many Americans have already broken current advice on alcohol limits, Naimi said. Still, she said that most people overall could benefit from any reduction in alcohol, even if they are not within the recommended limits.
The report noted that the guidelines may be aspirational, but they are important in “stimulating thinking about behavior change.”
The guidelines are based on the general health of a population, and an individual’s risk of drinking can vary depending on a variety of factors and health habits, said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, professor of nutrition at Tufts University.
Mozaffarian also noted that many people misinterpret current advice to say that they should have one or two drinks a day. The limits are for people who already drink. The guidelines do not recommend that people who do not drink alcohol start drinking.
Even if most Americans are unfamiliar with the details of the US Dietary Guidelines, they are subject to intense lobbying because of their power to shape the advice given by doctors and what is served in federal food programs, including school lunches.
Other changes recommended by the committee include adjusting the limit on added sugars to less than 6% of calories, below the previous limit of 10%. Federal officials are expected to issue the updated guidelines by the end of the year, after considering public comments and input from other agencies.
___
The Associated Press Department of Health and Science is supported by the Department of Scientific Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
