Alcohol’s purported health benefits have given way to a more sobering reality in recent years.
No level of alcohol consumption is safe for health, the World Health Organization warns, noting alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer.
To reduce the harm, the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend skipping alcohol altogether or drinking it in moderation, defined as two drinks maximum a day for men, one drink or less a day for women. Women’s drinking has been of particular concern.
People who don’t drink now shouldn’t start. In 2023, Canada began recommending people have no more than two drinks per week.
Still, if people choose to drink alcohol in moderation, there are some preferred go-to options, experts say.
“This is a fun indulgence, so choose wisely for taste, serving size and calories,” says NBC News Health and Nutrition Editor Madelyn Fernstrom, Ph.D., certified nutrition specialist.
“If you’re going to drink, there are better choices than others,” adds Ginger Hultin, a Seattle-based registered dietitian nutritionist who once worked as a bartender.
Is any alcohol healthy?
There’s not enough documented health benefit from any type of alcohol to impact short- or long-term health, even red wine, Fernstrom says. The small amount of mixer, such as kombucha, orange juice or tomato juice, people add to some drinks is also not enough to justify a “health benefit,” she adds.
So within the limits of moderation, choose the alcohol you enjoy, but keep in mind the calories in drinks, Fernstrom notes. For example, a bottle of beer can have up to 350 calories; a pina colada has more than 500.
“They go into your body like any other calories and get processed as such,” Hultin, author of “Meal Prep for Weight Loss 101,” tells TODAY.com.
Top healthiest alcoholic drinks
Given all the warnings about alcohol, think of this category as the least unhealthy alcoholic drinks:
A glass of champagne or sparking white wine
A glass of sparkling white…
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