> Could it be that the reason alcohol seems to have
> health benefits is because some populations have
> adapted to it? Could it be that a similar study on a
> *non*-adapted population would not show any benefits?
> Has there been any such study?

A friend of mine naturopath wrote a book about desintoxification and was
explaining how a little bit of alcohol was helping the liver in some of its
desintoxification process.
i never drinked alcohol myself a part the rare times where i tried apple
cider or beer when young , as french i never tasted wine . But everytime i
sipped some alcohol to taste i felt right away my shoulders getting funny.
as an ex heavy fruit eater i suppose i had my own alcohol factory going on
in my intestine .
despite my ancestors have been drinking wine heavelly for eons and i am half
breton that are known for their legendary alcoholism ( apple ciders and
calva ) it still don't do good to me who have not been trained to adjust to
it .

to say the least we can do easelly without it .
jean-claude