"The beneficial effects of alcohol are not only evident in cardiovascular disease, but also in reducing mortality from all causes."
http://www.medhelp.org/heart-disease/articles/Alcohol-Consum...
> In recent years we have seen that the results of similar “observational” studies were disproved when subjected to a “randomized controlled trial”—the standard bearer of scientific proof. A good example of this is female hormone replacement. For decades it was believed that female hormone replacement was beneficial. But a randomized controlled trial, called the Women’s Health Initiative, demonstrated that the exact opposite was true. The study was stopped in 2002 because women taking the study pills of estrogen plus progestin were developing heart disease and breast cancer at increased rates compared to those taking the placebo or inactive pills."
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/01/red-wine-good-heart-brai...
http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol/AlcoholAndHealth.html
That page cites 188 articles, almost all of them finding health benefits to drinking alcohol. Without having gone into all of them to look for methodological flaws, that hints at a very consistent pattern of correlation.
That page alleges that it is maintained by a professor emeritus, who at least at this time, does not have nor need any funding from e.g. the alcohol industry. That's far from an exhaustive proof that he's free of bias, but it clears the most obvious source.
So I'm not sure how a doctor can say with a straight face that 1-2 drinks a day has no detrimental effect on your health at all.
No one is saying that alcohol doesn't have negative effects on health. It's just that the positive effects of moderate consumption are stronger, enough so that overall mortality is reduced (at least according to the available scientific evidence, which I admit may not tell the whole story).