More Americans have opted for moderate drinking over the last two generations instead of heavy drinking, according to a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Medicine.

The findings are more than wonderful considering the fact that heavy drinking was often associated with heart disease, stroke or even Alzheimer’s if associated with smoking or even alone. On the other hand, previous research has shown that moderate drinking could be more beneficial on one’s health than complete abstinence or excessive drinking. Moderate drinkers are less likely than both heavy drinkers and teetotalers to die of heart disease especially when they follow a healthy diet and a regular program of exercising.

The new study conducted by Dr. R. Curtis Ellison, a professor of medicine and public health at Boston University School of Medicine, reveals that more Americans chose moderate drinking although a cause for this positive behavior wasn’t particularly given. A possible explanation was given by David L. Katz, director of the Yale University School of Medicine Prevention Research Center who said messages encouraging moderate drinking promoted by doctors finally have an impact on people.

“It looks like moderate drinking has been increasing, heavy drinking is down a little bit, and total alcohol consumption is down a little bit. It is encouraging news that more people are drinking moderately, and the average intake is coming down rather than shooting up,” Dr. Ellison said.

The findings were based on estimates of alcohol consumption reported every four years from 1948 through 2003 from the Framingham Heart Study, which involved 8,000 participants born from 1900 through 1959. The participants were asked about their lifestyle and health, including their alcohol use.

As they get older, men and women in each generation drank less and each generation drank less than previous generations with heavier drinking giving way to moderate drinking, the study found. “People drank about a third more back in the ‘50s and ‘60s than they did in the ‘70s up to 2004,” Dr. Ellison said. By the time they reached their 80s, more than 40 percent of men and 60 percent of women said they dropped alcohol for good. “They’ve understood that a little alcohol is OK, but a lot is not good,” Dr. Ellison added.

As people got old, they switched from beer to wine but the average intake decreased. When looking of the consumption of liquor, it remained pretty much the same, the study found.

However encouraging the findings were, the risk of alcohol dependence or other alcohol-related disease such as alcoholic cardiomyopathy or alcoholic cirrhosis remained nearly constant across all age groups. More exactly, nearly 13 percent of men and 4 percent of women reported problems across the study span. That’s why Yuqing Zhang, of Boston University School of Medicine, another lead investigator in the study said continuing efforts at preventing alcohol-related illnesses is warranted.