The health benefits of
alcohol is a popular subject. News features, blogs, and
social media posts touting alcohol’s benefits are ubiquitous. Every time
I see a friend on Facebook sharing an article about how good red wine is for
you, it is all I can do to resist being the contrarian know-it-all and making
a comment.
In her groundbreaking book on alcohol addiction, This
Naked Mind, author Annie Grace explains how writers need
readership. So they write about popular subjects. People want to read that
alcohol is good for them, so they read articles about that. That makes sense.
But if you look at the stats, something interesting is revealed. There are
only a handful of scholarly studies on the health benefits of alcohol, yet
there are many, many people reading articles on those studies. On the other
hand, there are many, many scholarly studies on the health risks of alcohol,
multiple times more than those on the benefits, but only a handful of people
want to read articles on those studies.
So I thought I would try something fun that everyone can read and
relate to. I found some common health claims in favor of alcohol consumption.
I am going to list them here. Then, for each claim, I am
going to list ways that you can get the same benefits from whole, clean,
plant based foods and-or herbs, that are easy to acquire and enjoy, sans the
alcohol. Then, I am going to list some of the known risks of consuming even
moderate amounts of alcohol. You can get the enjoyment of learning how good
your wine is for you, while, in all fairness, also
learning why you may want to think twice about drinking that wine. Let’s get
started!
Purported Health Benefits of Alcohol
& Some Alternatives
1. Promote Heart Health & Reduce Risk of
Cardiovascular Disease
A number of research studies have found that light drinking may
reduce the risk of coronary artery disease and of heart attacks.
Antioxidants in red wine, higher levels of high-density lipoprotein,
HDL, or ‘good’ cholesterol, and reduced blood clotting are just a few
examples of findings.
Fortunately, consuming alcohol is not the only way to support good
heart health. According to articles published by the Huffington
Post, Cleveland
Clinic, and Web
MD, you can enjoy this awesome list of heart healthy foods and put
the cork back on the wine bottle without regrets: Wild caught
salmon, almonds and walnuts, dark berries, cranberries, &
pomegranates, flax seeds, oats & whole grains, dark beans, avocado,
chickpeas, spiralina, spices like turmeric & cinnamon, colorful
orange, yellow, & red vegetables, spinach, asparagus, tomatoes,
broccoli, and even dark chocolate! Just make sure the chocolate is
at least 70% good healthy cocoa. And, at the end of the day, if you want to
go right to the source of what makes red wine healthy, just eat
some red grapes!
2. Decrease Risk of
Stroke
This guy, Dr. David
J. Hanson of State University of New York, is referenced in
numerous publications, both promoting alcohol, and also blogs that promote
good health, because of his statement that people who consume one or two
alcoholic drinks daily, including whiskey, have a 50 percent lower chance of
having a stroke or developing dementia in old age. Even I would be lying if I
said I wouldn’t sometimes be tempted by a sexy glass of
whisky.
But let’s look at the abundance of whole food alternatives
that help reduce the risk of stroke: Chocolate
(again!! yippee!!), tomatoes, whole grains,
citrus, berries high in antioxidants, magnesium rich beans & leafy
greens, wild caught salmon, and switching your red meat and dairy protein to
plant based protein sources. Again, you could eat these foods
all day and help reduce the risk of stroke, but could you drink whisky all
day?
3. Decrease Cancer
Risk
Another popular claim is one made by Dr. Jim
Swan. Alcohol contains ellagic acid, an antioxidant that destroys
cancerous cells. According to a study presented by Dr. Swan and colleagues at
the 2005 EuroMedLab conference in Glasgow, Scotland, whisky contains enough ellagic
acid to provide notable cancer cell-fighting antioxidants, or at least
notable enough to present to an entire conference. People love reading that
whisky fights cancer! Who wouldn’t?
Well, if you are thinking you might want to avoid that whisky,
rest assured there are plenty of whole food alternatives. According to
this health.com
article, here are some whole foods that are believed to fight
cancer: Broccoli, berries, tomatoes, walnuts, garlic, &
beans. And this is just a place to start.
4. Reduce Risk of Diabetes
This
study by the American Diabetes Association, among others,
suggests a 30% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in moderate alcohol
consumers. We are going to discuss that loaded word “moderate” a
little later.
But before we do that, consider again, all the whole food
alternatives for reducing diabetes risk: Berries, flax seeds, lean
organic meats, wild caught fish, vegetables that grow above ground, nuts,
berries, apples, and avocados.
5. Improved Libido
This one just makes me giggle! If you have ever been completely
sober and clear headed, trying to have sex with a drunk person, you know
exactly why I am laughing. But for the sake of fair and balanced journalism,
let’s have a look. In a 2009 study
published in the Journal
of Sexual Medicine, researchers found that the chances of
erectile dysfunction were reduced by 25 to 30 percent among alcohol drinkers.
The lead researcher, Kew-Kim Chew, an epidemiologist at the University of
West Australia, conducted the study with 1,770 Australian men. However, if
you read further along in his study, Chew cautiously noted that he and his
team are not advocating for men to drink more, and that further research
is needed to accurately connect impotence and alcohol consumption. So, does
alcohol reduce erectile dysfunction or not?
While the doctors are figuring it out, let’s explore some
proven romance enhancing foods that you can go out and enjoy today. Taken
partly from a list published in Reader’s Digest, you are going to discover
that there is a super yummy power-libido feast waiting to be had out there:
Cherries, pomegranate, chai tea, oysters, chili pepper, avocado,
chocolate (again with the chocolate, wow!),
bananas, honey, watermelon, pine nuts, figs, strawberries, artichokes,
cardamom, & pumpkinseeds. Okay, all you have to do is
serve some fresh figs with some honeycomb and pine nuts sprinkled on top, and
you will get so much positive attention you won’t need to worry about your
libido.
The Slippery Slope of Moderation and Alcohol’s Not
So Healthy Dark Side
Every single one of these numerous articles that I scaled over
used the word “moderation” as the caveat. What is moderate
drinking? And, can you moderate alcohol successfully over your lifetime? More
and more information is coming out saying that anyone, not just an
“alcoholic” is at risk of addiction to alcohol and serious health
consequences, if they drink more than a moderate amount. According to
the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans, moderate alcohol consumption
is defined as having up to 1 drink per day for women and up to 2 drinks per
day for men. This definition is referring to the amount consumed on any
single day and is not intended as an average over several days. But here is the
clincher: The Dietary Guidelines also state
that “it is not recommended that anyone begin
drinking or drink more frequently on the basis of potential health benefits
because moderate alcohol intake also is associated with increased risk of
breast cancer, violence, drowning, and injuries from falls and motor vehicle
crashes.”
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), which conducts the annual National Survey
on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), defines binge drinking as drinking 5 or
more alcoholic drinks on the same occasion on at least 1 day in the past 30
days. And they define heavy drinking as drinking 5 or more drinks
on the same occasion on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days. So, in
other words, if you “tie one on” with your friends more than 5
times a month, you are a heavy drinker, and therefore at
risk. Here is a list of what you could be doing to yourself when
you have that “drink to your health.”
Top 10 Health Risks of
Alcohol
Besides the obvious risk that alcohol is highly addictive, and
drinking moderately for health can slip into full blown alcoholism over time,
here is a good list to start with. This list was sourced from an article
written by the New
Bridge Foundation.
1. Liver Disease: Alcohol
metabolizes mainly in the liver, which is why the liver is especially
susceptible to alcoholic liver disease. The severity of this disease is
dependent on how much and for how long someone drinks. At least 90% of people
who drink heavily will develop alcoholic fatty liver, an early and reversible
consequence of excessive alcohol use. Chronic drinking enhances the liver’s
natural breakdown of fats and this results in the excess that ends up
accumulating in the liver.
2. Pancreatitis: Pancreatitis is
a very painful inflammation of the pancreas that often requires
hospitalization. A five to ten-year period of chronic drinking typically
precedes an initial alcoholic pancreatitis attack.
3. Cancer: Alcohol is a known
carcinogen. Chronic alcohol consumption also contributes to the risk of
developing different cancers, including cancers of the mouth, esophagus,
larynx, stomach, liver, colon, rectum and breast. Both acetaldehyde and the
alcohol itself are implicated as the causative agents for the heightened
risk.
Simultaneous cigarette or tobacco use, which is common among
drinkers, increases alcohol’s effects on the risk for cancers of the upper
digestive and respiratory tract.
4. Ulcers and Gastrointestinal
Problems: Stomach ulcers, acid reflux, heartburn and
inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis) are also common byproducts of
chronic alcohol use.
Alcohol is quite toxic to the digestive tract as it passes
through. Overall, the gastrointestinal tract sustains a considerable amount
of damage from alcohol and can also lead to dangerous internal bleeding from
enlarged veins in the esophagus.
5. Immune System Dysfunction: Alcohol
causes a drop in the white blood cell count with each episode of heavy
drinking reducing the body’s ability to ward off infections for up to 24
hours after the body’s exposure to alcohol. Drinking too much also weakens
the immune system, making the body vulnerable to infectious diseases such as
tuberculosis, common colds and pneumonia.
6. Brain damage: Alcohol alters brain
receptors and neurotransmitters and interferes with cognitive function, mood,
emotions and reactions on multiple levels. Because alcohol is a central
nervous system depressant, it causes difficulty with processing information
and creates issues with simple problem-solving. In
other words, alcohol makes you
dumb!
7. Malnourishment and Vitamin
Deficiencies: Chronic drinking also leads to
malnourishment and several vitamin deficiencies as people who drink heavily
often have a poor diet. Even if a drinker eats a healthy diet, nutrients
aren’t broken down properly, they’re not adequately absorbed and aren’t used
effectively by the body’s cells.
8. Osteoporosis: Chronic heavy
alcohol consumption, particularly during adolescence and young adulthood, can
dramatically affect bone health and may increase the risk of developing
osteoporosis (loss of bone mass) later on in life. Osteoporosis increases the
risk of fractures and broken bones.
9. Heart Disease and
Stroke: Heavy drinking triggers the release of certain
stress hormones that constrict blood vessels, which leads to high blood
pressure. It’s also linked to multiple cardiovascular complications,
including cardiomyopathy (weakened and overstretched heart muscles),
irregular heartbeat and heart attacks.
10: Accidents and Injuries: Drinking
alcohol in any amount is linked to car crashes, boating accidents, bicycle
incidents, falls, drowning, occupational injuries, suicide and homicide.
Driving ability is impaired with as little as one drink and people who drink
usually end up with more severe injuries during an accident. Alcohol use
continues to be the leading cause of injuries treated in emergency
departments.
The Bottom Line
No pattern of drinking is entirely risk-free, and there is no
reliable method of predicting how or when an individual will be harmed as a
result of drinking alcohol. When you justify a drink for the health
benefits, taking all the data into consideration, it just doesn’t pan out.
So if you are going to drink, just do it because you
want to. That sounds a little crazy coming from a
nutrition coach, but isn’t that what it boils down to?
Again, whole, minimally processed, and lots of plant based foods
win out in the quest for better health. If you enjoyed reading about
this, and are wondering of the health implications of your relationship to
alcohol, you’re welcome to contact me for a consultation. I’d be happy to
teach you an evidence-based awareness of what role alcohol plays in your
personal nutrition and wellness goals- no judgement, just facts and sound
solutions to a healthier path. You can start with a complimentary phone
consultation. You can schedule
it here!