If you have a few drinks, does the alcohol in your bloodstream act as medication against any microbes in the body?
鈥� There can be a protective effect, but only if the alcohol concentration is high enough. A is one of the few to confirm the benefits of drinking alcohol with a meal. During an oyster-borne outbreak of hepatitis A, those drinking alcohol of 10 per cent strength or higher experienced a protective effect.
I would argue that for the sake of your health total daily consumption should be moderate, the equivalent of two glasses of table wine.
Advertisement
Lewis Perdue, Sonoma, California, US
We pay 拢25 for every answer published in New 杏吧原创. To answer this question 鈥� or ask a new one 鈥� visit newscientist.com/lastword. Terms and conditions apply.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淒isease-proof鈥�