Health
Doctors reveal what ‘reasonable’ drinking looks like — and who should avoid alcohol
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With 40% of adults resolving to drink less alcohol in 2026, according to a recent survey, some may be struggling to find a healthy balance.
Health experts agree that each person’s relationship with alcohol is unique, based on history, tolerance and lifestyle.
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a Pennsylvania-based oncologist and author of the new book “Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life,” has noted that indulging in certain activities – like eating ice cream or drinking alcohol – may not be healthy to do every day, but can provide some benefits in moderation.
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“There has been a lot of research on alcohol,” he said in a recent interview with “CBS Sunday Morning.” “The safest level is probably zero. There are some studies … where it’s half a cup a day, three cups a week.”
“On the other hand, 60% [to] 65% of the public drinks,” he went on. “You’re not going from 65% to zero, so you have to give people reasonable advice.”
A doctor shared “reasonable” drinking advice for striking a balanced relationship with alcohol. (iStock)
Emanuel advised against binge-drinking or drinking alone, both of which are “really bad for you.”
“[But] if you’re using alcohol as a lubricant for social interaction, which many people do, that’s probably good,” he said. “You’re getting some benefit from the social interaction.”
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When social drinking becomes risky
While drinking’s stress-relieving factors may be helpful for some, indulging in alcoholic drinks can be risky for those with a pre-disposition to addiction, experts caution.
In a recent episode of “The Huberman Lab” podcast, Dr. Andrew Huberman and guest Dr. Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine, discussed the fine line between indulging for pleasure and potentially fostering an issue.
Experiences with alcohol can be different for every individual, experts say. (iStock)
According to Huberman, who is also a Stanford University neuroscientist, up to 10% of people experience alcohol as a “dopaminergic,” making them feel “spectacularly good.”
Others may drink and experience a cue to stop, like dizziness, nausea, “blacking out,” severe hangovers or other negative effects.
“The safest level is probably zero.”
“Some people really can drink five or six drinks, and then the next day they’re at work hammering away,” he said. “The conversation becomes very difficult to have, because it sounds like it’s highly individual how people will react.”
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High-risk groups
One of the greatest risk factors for becoming an alcoholic is having your first drink before the age of 14, according to Huberman.
“I find that some people will have their first drink, and it’s like a magic elixir for their physiology,” he said. “And there are very few things that can get somebody like that to stop drinking, except the risk of losing everything.”
While drinking’s stress-relieving factors may be helpful for some, indulging in alcoholic drinks can be risky for those with a pre-disposition to addiction, experts caution. (iStock)
Humphreys said the biggest indicator of personal risk is whether alcoholism runs in someone’s family — particularly if their parents were alcoholics.
“The father-to-son link is the strongest one you see in genetics,” he said. “Men drink more than women do … whether they’ve got an alcohol problem or not.”
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Drinking alcohol has been shown to be particularly harmful for women, as the risk of developing hormone-related cancers substantially increases.
Risk vs. benefit
For those who are not predisposed to addiction, Huberman noted that some studies suggest that certain types of consumption are OK in moderation, such as drinking red wine or having a maximum of two drinks per week.
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“I would love to believe [red wine] is healthy,” Humphreys responded. “It’s not … Why would there be a benefit to red wine that wasn’t in other alcoholic beverages?”
“There might be some cardiac benefits, but we don’t get to live our lives as single organs. We have a whole body,” he went on. “If that’s true, it’s smaller than the cancer risk. So, your net is you’re not going to get any mortality reduction from drinking alcohol.”
“I would love to believe [red wine] is healthy,” one expert said. “It’s not … Why would there be a benefit to red wine that wasn’t in other alcoholic beverages?” (iStock)
Drinking two drinks per week — such as a 12-ounce beer, 4-ounce glass of wine or a 1-ounce shot of liquor — poses only a “very small risk” of health complications, but it’s not something Humphreys would recommend, as it’s “just not good for you,” he said.
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Despite the risks, however, the experts acknowledged the stress-relieving and social benefits of having a drink.
“Getting together with friends is enjoyable, enriching,” Humphreys said. “Good food and good wine taste good, and I value those things. And there are many other decisions we make like that where we endure some risk because we care about something else.”
“It’s dangerous for someone my age to hike up a mountainside probably, but if the view is spectacular, I can say, ‘Oh, I’m going to accept that risk.’”
“Good food and good wine taste good, and I value those things.”
What’s become most dangerous about social drinking, according to Humphreys, is that some people feel they need to explain themselves when they stop.
Huberman echoed, “If you don’t drink at parties, or you refuse an offer of alcohol, people think there’s something wrong with you.”
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Given recent data on the risks of alcohol consumption, Humphreys said it should be simple to say no, much like opting not to smoke a cigarette.
“Health is a reason people still accept, I think, as a legitimate [reason] for changing behavior,” he added.
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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Older adults classified as “SuperAgers” generate at least twice as many neurons in the hippocampus than their typical aging peers, a new study has revealed.
These findings, released on Wednesday by the University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University, could help explain why SuperAgers have exceptional memory and cognitive resilience even well past 80 years old.
Northwestern has been studying SuperAgers for decades, defining them as “extraordinary individuals aged 80 and above whose memory performance rivals that of people three decades younger.” The researchers use special memory recall tests to make this determination.
In this study, they analyzed post-mortem brain tissue — nearly 356,000 individual cell nuclei — with a focus on the hippocampus, which is essential for forming new memories and supporting learning and spatial navigation.
They compared tissue from SuperAgers, typical older adults, older adults with early dementia/Alzheimer’s and younger healthy adults.
SuperAger Ralph Rehbock sits with his wife in his home. New findings from the University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University could help explain why SuperAgers have exceptional memory and cognitive resilience well past 80 years old. (Shane Collins, Northwestern University)
The researchers found that SuperAgers produced at least twice as many new neurons compared to “cognitively normal” older adults and those with Alzheimer’s pathology.
They also found that changes in certain brain support cells (astrocytes) and key memory cells (CA1 neurons) are linked to preserved cognitive ability, helping to keep the brain sharp with age.
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The SuperAgers also had different genetic activity patterns in their brains compared to those in Alzheimer’s disease.
“SuperAgers have more immature neurons and neuroblasts in the hippocampus, which is an indication of stronger neurogenesis when compared with other groups,” study co-author Changiz Geula, research professor of cell and developmental biology and neuroscience at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital.
Northwestern University study co-author Ivan Ayala examines a SuperAger brain sample on a slide. (Shane Collins, Northwestern University)
“The study also showed that specific cells in the hippocampus show unique gene expression profiles that relate to neuronal function and transmission and are associated with superior cognitive function.”
The findings were published in the journal Nature.
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“We’ve always said that SuperAgers show that the aging brain can be biologically active, adaptable and flexible, but we didn’t know why,” said co-author Tamar Gefen, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a neuropsychologist at Northwestern’s Mesulam Institute for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, in the release.
“This is biological proof that their brains are more plastic, and a real discovery that shows that neurogenesis of young neurons in the hippocampus may be a contributing factor.”
Dr. Tamar Gefen examines a slide of a SuperAger brain. (Shane Collins, Northwestern University)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, commented that the study discovered signs of plasticity and regeneration in SuperAgers.
“It confirmed not only preservation of brain tissue in the hippocampus, which is crucial for memory and cognition, but also regeneration and increased development of brain cells in that area,” Siegel, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
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“This is an important study because it may lead to certain cell gene treatments that could lead to more SuperAgers,” the doctor said. “It may also lead to more advanced testing to determine who will be a SuperAger and guide clinical treatment and management.”
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The study did have some limitations, primarily that the research relied on tissue samples taken at one specific point, instead of tracking changes over time.
Brain samples are fixed in blocks of wax so they can be stored and examined. (Shane Collins, Northwestern University)
Geula noted that studies using human brain tissue typically involve fewer cases than animal research, which can be a limitation. However, he emphasized that each case in this study was analyzed thoroughly.
“While these findings are not directly translatable to changes in everyday life and activities, they suggest that cognitive resilience is associated with greater integrity of many brain systems,” he told Fox News Digital. “This implies that attending to brain health is crucial for maintaining cognitive function in old age.”
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“Thus, maintaining good overall health by keeping systemic diseases in check, maintaining a healthy diet and exercise, and ensuring the elderly remain mentally active assume more importance.”
The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.
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