Updated research on the potential benefits of consuming a small amount of alcohol shows that it may not be all that healthy. After pouring over ten years’ worth of information, scientists believe they have located the original study’s mistakes and how these mistakes may have led to an increased amount of people consuming alcohol, buying into the notion that a glass of wine a day is good for your heart.

Researchers today say that the study promoting wine for heat health was poorly ran and made some glaring errors. The first error was that they combined people who have never consumed alcohol in the same group as people who used to be drinkers. Former alcoholics are likely to have health problems and experience depression. So, when researchers compared the health of people who consumed moderate amounts of alcohol to a group of people that consisted, in part, of former alcoholics they mistakenly came to the conclusion that those who drank in moderation were healthier.

“Given the harms attributed to alcohol use, it is not surprising that reports showing possible mortality benefits for low level users attracted enthusiasm among consumers, the media the alcohol industry. In health as elsewhere, if something looks too good to be true, it should be treated with great caution,” explained Craig Knott, lead author and researcher of the new meta study.

Ensuring that the public has the right information is vital. People who are inclined to drink too much are likely to use any excuse to justify this behavior. If a study comes out stating that some alcohol is healthy for a person that is just the reason someone may need to continue drinking and making poor decisions. Additionally, the perception that alcohol is healthy goes against what most people believe in the first place.