A new study shows that moderate drinking has no positive effect for the heart after all. During the past 30 years, many studies found that those who drink a moderate quantity of alcohol live longer than those who do not or than those who abuse it. The group of researchers from Australia, Canada and the United States analyzed 54 studies to find a link between drinking and the risk of premature death. They separated people who did not consume alcohol, for various reasons, from those who consume regularly and moderately, for the latter being found no decrease in the risk of dying. "The widely held belief that light or moderate drinking protects against coronary heart disease has had great influence on alcohol policy and clinical advice of doctors to their patients throughout the world. These findings suggest that caution should be exerted in recommending light drinking to abstainers because of the possibility that this result may be more apparent than real," said researcher Tim Stockwell, from the University of Victoria in Canada. The study does not prove that moderate drinking is not helpful, but it shows that its positive effects have been exaggerated. The benefits are not certain; there are risks which come with alcohol so drinking it to reduce the risk of heart disease is not recommended. "Yes, a little bit of alcohol may be beneficial, but we also know that too much is dangerous. You can get liver disease, bad blood pressure, high levels of blood fats - and that doesn't count car accidents and other drinking problems," stated Christie Ballantyne, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Prevention in Houston.