Is drinking alcohol really that bad for your health?

OAKLAND, Calif. - There's nothing quite like popping a bottle of champagne at a celebration with your loved ones or cracking open a cold beer on a hot summer day, but is it really that bad for your health?

In short, yes. And Americans are catching on. A new Gallup poll says 45% of Americans say having one or two alcoholic drinks a day is bad for you. That's a far cry from the "one glass of red wine a day for heart health" narrative many people have become familiar with over the past few decades.

Fox Medical Team's Dr. Mike Cirigliano says that old beliefs about alcohol being good for you have been debunked.

"The data now suggests that pretty much any amount of alcohol can be detrimental for your health, starting from your head down," Dr. Mike said.  

Moderation is the key, but that won't make drinking risk-free, Dr. Mike says. Even with moderate alcohol intake, specifically for those over the age of 60, people had an increased risk of cancer.

(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

"You need to know that the more alcohol you take in and the more acetaldehyde that's produced—that's how alcohol is metabolized—it's carcinogenic among other negative health effects," he said.

So how can you enjoy alcohol in a way that maintains your health? And does jumping on the "Dry January" bandwagon make a difference?

"Any amount of time that you decrease the alcohol intake, you're going to notice a couple of things: your sleep is better, you have more energy, cognitively you're going to be much more alert, and you're going to feel better," Dr. Mike said.

Keep in mind that any time you binge-drink, it can be detrimental to your health, even if you only do it every once in a while.

"I have patients who don't drink during the week, but then they go insane on Friday and Saturday night. That's actually been found to be more dangerous than little bits of alcohol every day," he said.

When finding new ways to wind down, younger generations in particular have embraced a wave of "mocktail" culture. According to Dr. Mike, they are much better off as a result.

"Young people are really making a big thing of 'mocktails' because they know that there are negative effects when it comes to the alcohol," he said.