There Is No Safe Amount of Alcohol
I know I won’t be very popular for this one.
More than 75% of my visits with patients end with the same question: “Doc, is it okay if I still have a glass of wine?” It’s usually followed up by, “It helps me sleep.”
The honest answer is simple, but not always easy to hear: there is no safe amount of alcohol.
The truth, as hard as it may be to digest, is that alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance. It has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer—the same category as tobacco and asbestos. And importantly, it’s the ethanol itself that drives harm, not whether it’s wine, beer, or a skinny margarita.
Alcohol has been linked to at least seven types of cancer, including breast and colorectal cancer. As the body metabolizes alcohol, it produces compounds like acetaldehyde that can damage DNA and interfere with normal cellular repair.
Some may say that the dose makes the poison, but it’s not only people who consider themselves “heavy drinkers” who are at risk. Data suggest that a significant proportion of alcohol-related cancers occur in people who would be considered “light” or “moderate” drinkers.
And at the same time—there’s nuance. Alcohol is often tied to connection, celebration, and social rituals. And we know that social connection itself is protective for health and loneliness carries real physiological risk.
This is where individual decision-making comes in. Not from a place of guilt or restriction, but from awareness.
What I know to be true is this: alcohol is not a health-promoting behavior. It’s a trade-off. Understanding that allows you to make decisions more intentionally, rather than based on outdated narratives like “a little is good for you” or “it’s full of resveratrol.”
If you’re looking for an alternative, one of my go-to’s: soda water, bitters, and lime. Recipe below!
