[jholman]

The concern about drawing conclusions from correlation is legitimate, but it's more than "an" (i.e. one) observational study.

http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol/AlcoholAndHealth.html

That page cites 188 articles, almost all of them finding health benefits to drinking alcohol. Without having gone into all of them to look for methodological flaws, that hints at a very consistent pattern of correlation.

That page alleges that it is maintained by a professor emeritus, who at least at this time, does not have nor need any funding from e.g. the alcohol industry. That's far from an exhaustive proof that he's free of bias, but it clears the most obvious source.

[ekianjo]

Well you'll have to explain me how you fit "greater longevity" claimed by the page you linked with the indisputable fact that alcohol consumption drives the rate of cancers, which are one of the leading causes of death in the developed world. There is clear evidence that alcohol contents cause mutations, which in turn cause cancers when out of control. A number of deadly cancers are directly correlated with alcohol intake, such as oesophagus, stomach and digestive tract cancer. Plus, all alcohol drinks contain some amounts of formaldehyde which is a powerful poison for humans (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/materials/formaldehyde_508.p...).

So I'm not sure how a doctor can say with a straight face that 1-2 drinks a day has no detrimental effect on your health at all.

[wes-exp]

The explanation of greater longevity is simple. Heart disease and stroke, at least in the US, together account for slightly more deaths than cancer. Suppose that moderate alcohol consumption increases cancer risk by 5%, but decreases heart disease and stroke risk by 10%. Although there would be more cancers due to alcohol, the overall death count would still be reduced, because of the protective effect on the cardiovascular system.

No one is saying that alcohol doesn't have negative effects on health. It's just that the positive effects of moderate consumption are stronger, enough so that overall mortality is reduced (at least according to the available scientific evidence, which I admit may not tell the whole story).