Moderate drinking makes heart tougher per study

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The sixth decile consumes .63 drinks per week. That's a little over half a drink, or 32 drinks a year. So, 60 percent of Americans aged 18 and over consumer half a drink or less a week. Surprising? (It was to me--based on the square footage of the beer and wine section at the grocery store I assumed the number would be a little higher.) Moving on: The seventh decile consumes 2.17 drinks per week. And right about now the alcoholic beverage industry thinks, "Are we really getting a return on all our advertising spending?" The eighth decile consumes 6.25 drinks per week. Finally we're close to a drink a day or a number of drinks on Friday night.) People who have a glass of wine a beer with TV are in the top 30% of adults in terms of alcohol consumption. While one drink a day isn't much--especially since some health experts say a glass of red wine a day can reduce the risk of heart disease--that still means this decile drinks more than 70% of Americans. The ninth decile consumes 15.28 drinks per week. Two drinks a day, top 20% in terms of alcohol consumption. But let's say you're a high achiever and always want to be at the top of any list. Say your goal is to reach the tenth decile and land in the top 10% of American drinkers. Here's what you need to do: The tenth decile consumes 73.85 drinks per week. That's right, 73 drinks a week. Basically 10 drinks a day. Forget a glass or two of wine with dinner--you need to drink roughly two bottles of wine with dinner. Forget a couple beers--you need to pound down close to a 12-pack of beer every day. (Tell me your bladder and your wallet don't hurt just thinking about it.) Here's what all this means: The top 10% of drinkers account for more than half of all alcohol consumed in the U.S. The median consumption is 3 drinks per week among those who do drink (tossing out the 30% who don't drink at all.) According to Cook, "... the heaviest drinkers are of greatly disproportionate importance to the sales and profitability of the alcoholic beverage industry. If the top decile could be induced to curb their consumption to that of the next lower group (the ninth decile) then total ethanol sales would fall by 60%."

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However, drinking excessively has the opposite effect and makes the heart more vulnerable than not drinking at all.

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to be in the top 10% you have to drink 10 or more drinks aday

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Moderate drinking

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A nurse told me that when someone self reports use of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs, the rule of thumb is to double whatever amount the person tells them.

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