"Your body sees alcohol as a poison, or at least as something it doesn't actually want inside it."
The fact that the body attempts to break down and dispose of alcohol does not mean that the body, of necessity, considers it a poison. There are many substances in regular food that the body breaks down and disposes, and many foods, in sufficient amounts, could arguably be considered a poison.
The article points out that the effects of alcohol, while well studied, are still not well understood from a metabolic standpoint: such as the poor ability of young women to metabolize it. There could well be some metabolic by-product of the breakdown of alcohol that has distinct health benefits in sufficiently moderate amounts.
The fact that the body attempts to break down and dispose of alcohol does not mean that the body, of necessity, considers it a poison. There are many substances in regular food that the body breaks down and disposes, and many foods, in sufficient amounts, could arguably be considered a poison.
The article points out that the effects of alcohol, while well studied, are still not well understood from a metabolic standpoint: such as the poor ability of young women to metabolize it. There could well be some metabolic by-product of the breakdown of alcohol that has distinct health benefits in sufficiently moderate amounts.