00:00 Is science now saying boo to booze? No amount of alcohol is good for your overall health, not even a little bit.

03:44 Alcohol's effects on health have been a topic of debate for decades, with conflicting opinions and research, but a study in the 1970s suggested that alcohol might actually be good for you, leading to further investigation.

08:07 In the 1980s, a study found that any amount of alcohol lowered the risk of heart disease in men, with the more they drank, the stronger the effect, and the risk reduction was similar to that of exercising regularly.

11:32 Alcohol has been found to lower the risk of heart disease in both men and women, as it can raise good cholesterol and prevent blood clots, but not everyone agrees with this conclusion and argues that comparing drinkers to unhealthy non-drinkers skews the results.

15:36 When researchers only looked at studies that didn't include "sick quitters," they found that alcohol wasn't actually good for your heart, which has led to confusion and conflicting research on the topic.

19:06 Alcohol is still a topic of debate among scientists, with some studies suggesting that it is good for the heart, but newer research shows that the benefits may not be as strong as previously thought, and there is no safe amount of alcohol when it comes to cancer.

23:39 Drinking alcohol, even in low amounts, increases the risk of various types of cancers, including mouth, throat, and breast cancer, and the more you drink, the higher the risk; alcohol can cause cancer by reacting with DNA and proteins, triggering mutations and preventing damaged cells from dying, and while alcohol is not as bad as smoking in terms of cancer risk, it still accounts for about 6% of cancers in the US.

27:45 Drinking alcohol can reduce the risk of heart disease but increases the risk of cancer, and while the experts on the podcast don't completely cut out alcohol, they do drink in moderation.