(SeattleTimes) - While moderate amounts of alcohol can certainly fit into a healthful diet (for most people), it appears alcohol might not be healthful in and of itself.

ON NUTRITION
So you enjoy a glass of wine, a pint of craft beer or a dry martini (shaken not stirred) every so often — or maybe quite often. How can you tell if you’re helping or harming your health? If you’re confused about whether imbibing a bit is good for you or not, you’re not alone.
For years, many research studies suggested that moderate amounts of alcohol have some health benefits, particularly for the heart and arteries (cardiovascular health). Consumption of red wine has frequently been offered up as the explanation for the “French Paradox” (i.e., that the French enjoy cheese and other rich foods often, yet aren’t dropping dead of heart attacks en masse).

While moderate amounts of alcohol can certainly fit into a healthful diet (for most people), it appears alcohol might not be healthful in and of itself. Here’s the problem: Research has observed there is an association between moderate drinking and better health, but just because two things happen together doesn’t mean that one causes the other. Association is not causation.

Ironically, a 2010 study of 149,773 French adults challenged the notion of lifting a glass for the health of your heart, concluding it’s not moderate consumption of alcohol that lowers the risk of heart disease. It turns out that moderate drinkers also share other characteristics that really deserve the healthful credit: better general health, more exercise, less depression and higher social status than never drinkers or heavy drinkers.

A 2015 meta-analysis (a study of previous studies) concluded that when it comes to risk of death from all causes, moderate drinkers have no advantage over lifelong abstainers or occasional drinkers.

Moderate alcohol consumption, red wine in particular, is part of the traditional Mediterranean diet, which is based on whole or minimally processed plant foods — vegetables, fruit, beans and lentils, whole grains, nuts and seeds, olives and olive oil. The healthfulness of this eating style has been supported by massive amounts of research, but red wine is only one small part of it. Mediterranean-diet experts agree that it’s the abundant vegetables that matter most.