Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was a talk show host and current administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, joined Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a briefing at the White House on Wednesday and expanded on new federal guidelines that actually recommend moderate alcohol consumption.
the The Trump administration’s newly released 2025-2030 nutrition guidance has removed the long-term guidance that Americans limit alcohol consumption for two drinks or less for men and one drink or less per day for women.
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Calling alcohol a “social lubricant that brings people together,” Oz said they’ve “generally gotten away” from that stated limit because “there’s never been really good data to support that quantity of alcohol consumption.”
“That data was probably primarily confounded with broader data about social connection,” he added.
In the new guidelines, alcohol is mentioned briefly, with the USDA noting that people should “consume less alcohol for better overall health” and avoid alcohol if they are pregnant, take certain medications or have a family history of alcoholism.
The new guidance also does not mention that alcohol is a known carcinogen that can cause and increase the risk for several types of cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute.
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On Wednesday, Oz made the case that booze can be used as a social outlet, which he suggested could have beneficial effects on health.
“In the best case scenario, I don’t think you should drink alcohol, but it allows people an excuse to connect and socialize, and there’s probably nothing healthier than having a good time with friends in a safe way,” he said.
Oz’s comments came after a reporter asked him to “explain the science behind” the new language.
He cited the world’s “blue zones”, which include certain regions of the world, such as parts of Greece and Japan, where people are thought to live significantly longer and healthier lives as an example of healthy alcohol consumption, adding that they consume “small amounts taken very judiciously and usually in a celebratory way.”
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“So there is alcohol in these dietary guidelines, but the implication is that you don’t have it for breakfast,” he continued. “This should be something that is done in a small amount, hopefully at some kind of event that may have added alcohol.”
Watch the White House briefing below. (Dr. Oz makes his remarks around the 30:54 mark).
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