A latest study supports the idea that consuming alcohol in moderation is good for health.
The study by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University shows that moderate alcohol intake could boost immune system, at least in rhesus macaques.
These monkeys have an immune system that is comparable to humans. For the study researchers trained 12 monkeys to consume 4 percent ethanol mixture.
Researchers vaccinated all monkeys in the test against small pox and then separated them into two groups. One of the groups had access to sugar water while other got alcohol. All monkeys in the test were given water and food.
Study results showed that there was a high variability in rhesus macaques' alcohol consumption; some drank large volumes of ethanol solution while others drank in moderation.
The study team then divided alcoholic monkeys based on their level of ethanol consumption as 'heavy drinkers' or 'moderate drinkers'.
At the start of the study, all monkeys had similar response to the vaccination. However, after alcohol exposure, monkeys showed a different reaction to the vaccine. The scientists found heavy drinkers to be less responsive to the small pox vaccine while control group had higher responsiveness. Surprisingly, animals with moderate alcohol exposure had better response to vaccination than the control group.
"It seems that some of the benefits that we know of from moderate drinking might be related in some way to our immune system being boosted by that alcohol consumption," said Kathy Grant, Ph.D., senior author on the paper, a professor of behavioral neuroscience at OHSU, according to a news release.
But, don't take this study as an excuse to start drinking alcohol.
"If you have a family history of alcohol abuse, or are at risk, or have been an abuser in the past, we are not recommending you go out and drink to improve your immune system. But for the average person who has, say, a glass of wine with dinner, it does seem in general to improve health and cardiovascular function. And now we can add the immune system to that list," said Ilhem Messaoudi, the lead author of the paper, a former assistant professor at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute at OHSU.
The study is published in the journal Vaccine.
Moderate alcohol consumption is not only considered safe, but also linked with health benefits including an improvement in quality of life in old age. A recent study had shown that alcohol consumption, even in moderate amounts, could be associated with increased risk of cancer.