While recent news reports suggest that having one or two alcoholic drinks per day can have a beneficial effect on heart health, the adaptation of a healthy lifestyle can yield similar benefits without the risk of alcohol’s side effects, one health expert said.

Dr. Alan Handysides, health ministries director for the Seventh-day Adventist world church, said that following the healthy lifestyle promoted to and among Adventist Christians “will produce all of the heart benefits—without the risks.”

In a pair of news articles on Dec. 30, 2002, The New York Times, one of the world’s leading newspapers, rekindled interest in the subject touting the benefits of “moderate” daily alcohol consumption as a preventative for heart disease. Several physicians and researchers were quoted as endorsing the concept, although the newspaper conceded that such views have been—and remain—controversial in many circles.

Noting that alcohol is a drug, Handysides noted that regular consumption of alcohol is likely to cause serious health problems—addiction or cirrhosis or other conditions—in one of every 15 people. A medicine submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval with such a ratio would not be approved, he said.

“Depending on the degree of adherence to a healthy lifestyle, people can add seven to 14 years to their life,” Handysides said. “By exercising, changing the nature of fats in their diet, eating more nuts, people can live healthier and longer, and we have statistical evidence of that.”

The health researcher and policy specialist noted that the promotion of so-called “moderate” drinking could be good news for the alcohol beverage industry, with potentially billions of dollars at stake in North America alone. However, promoting drinking to people can unleash other, unintended consequences.

“Alcohol is a carcinogenic compound,” Handysides said. “People who have more than two or three drinks a day will increase their stomach cancer risk.”

Moreover, while the consumption of alcohol may help some in middle age to avoid various heart problems, endorsing moderate drinking can send a wrong signal to young adults, many of whom tend towards so-called “binge drinking,” where massive amounts of liquor are consumed at one time.

“Our real problem and concern is that young people do not drink in moderation,” Handysides said. “And binge drinking has a particularly strong association with developing drinking problems such as alcohol addiction.”

This doctor’s prescription? Abstain from alcohol and embrace a healthy lifestyle, to live longer without a morning-after hangover.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church operates 169 hospitals and sanitariums worldwide and is committed to promoting a healthy lifestyle.