Diabetes is bad news for the eyes

On the front page of its Science Times section, the New York Times (6/16, D1, Rabin) reports, "Study after study suggests that alcohol in moderation may promote heart health and even ward off diabetes and dementia." In fact, the "evidence is so plentiful that some experts consider moderate drinking...a central component of a healthy lifestyle." But skepticism abounds because apparently no one has "ever proved a causal relationship between moderate drinking and lower risk of death -- only that the two often go together. It may be that moderate drinking is just something healthy people tend to do, not something that makes people healthy." There are also concerns about "the financial relationships that have sprung up between the alcoholic beverage industry and many academic centers, which have accepted industry money to pay for research, train students, and promote their findings." In light of these things, some are calling for "a large, long-term randomized controlled clinical trial, like the ones for new drugs." (courtesy AOA)