Alcohol and Health
Is a Daily Schnapps Healthy? What Research Says Today
No, by current scientific understanding, there is no amount of alcohol that reliably benefits health. The WHO Regional Office for Europe stated in 2023 that no amount is safe, and the German Nutrition Society has recommended abstaining from alcohol since 2024. That applies to fruit brandy just as much as to wine.
A Small Glass Never Hurt Anyone: Where Does This Belief Come From?
A small glass never hurt anyone, goes the old saying. For a long time, science seemed to back this up. Observational studies found that people who drank alcohol in moderation died less often from cardiovascular disease, on average, than people who never drank at all. Plotted on a graph, this produced a J-shaped curve, making moderate drinking look like a protective factor.
Brandies, too, picked up their share of this reputation. Sometimes herbal schnapps was said to strengthen the heart, sometimes fruit brandy was said to stimulate circulation, sometimes kirschwasser after a meal was said to settle the stomach. Older people love to tell stories of grandparents who lived to a ripe old age on their daily nip. Such stories are understandable on a human level. But they prove nothing, since nobody tells stories about the grandparents who fell ill early.
Why the J-Curve Is Controversial Today
Critics point to a flaw in many older analyses. The group of non-drinkers often included people who had quit due to illness. They pulled the average for abstainers downward, making moderate drinkers look healthier by comparison. On top of that, people who drink the occasional glass often tend to live healthier lives overall, exercising more and enjoying better living conditions.
More recent analyses that account for these distortions mostly find the protective effect has disappeared or is, at best, weak. Some researchers consider the debate unresolved and warn against overly sweeping conclusions. But on one point, the major professional health bodies agree: nobody should start drinking in order to improve their health.
What the WHO and the German Nutrition Society Recommend
In January 2023, the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe published a clear statement in the journal The Lancet Public Health: no amount of alcohol can be considered safe for health. The main reason given is cancer risk. Alcohol is classified as carcinogenic and linked to several types of cancer, and no threshold below which this risk disappears is known.
The German Nutrition Society (DGE) followed suit in August 2024. It withdrew its earlier guideline value for a tolerable amount of alcohol and now recommends avoiding alcoholic drinks altogether. Those who still choose to drink should above all avoid large amounts and binge drinking. Children, adolescents, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers should not drink alcohol at all.
This doesn't mean that every glass instantly makes you ill. It means that risk increases with quantity, and that there is no level at which alcohol acts as medicine. So if you drink, you do it for pleasure, not for your health.
Fruit brandy, Cognac, Grappa: Is any spirit healthier?
For your health, it makes no difference whether the alcohol comes from a Kirsch, a Cognac, or a beer. What matters is the amount of pure alcohol. A spirit at 40 percent contains a lot of it in every sip, even from a small glass. The fruit in a fruit brandy changes nothing, neither does the wood aging of a Cognac, nor a high price.
A spirit is not allowed to advertise health benefits anyway. The EU Regulation on Nutrition and Health Claims from 2006 bans such claims for drinks with more than 1.2 percent alcohol. An herbal schnapps once sold as a stomach remedy can no longer be marketed that way today. Those who appreciate spirits enjoy them for what they are: a pleasurable indulgence that carries risk. Those seeking the flavor without the alcohol can now also find alcohol-free distillates.