To
Drink Or Not To Drink?
by Tanya Zilberter,
PhD
To what
extent does alcohol consumption affect our health,
metabolism and weight? That depends on whom you ask. In France, where
wine
is the beverage of choice, there is no association between men's
alcohol
intake and their weight. Women are different...
Is that glass of wine with dinner or that beer at the ball game the key
to your undoing or a toast to good health? The fact is we may not have
enough facts. Debates continue as new studies are conducted. And, each
person's body
responds differently to alcohol: Some people can down a six pack and
barely
be phased, others get tipsy after half a wine spritzer. All I can do is
present
you with what facts there are and ask you to let your conscience -- and
your
body -- be your guides.
As Mark Twain once said, everything should be taken in moderation
-- even moderation.
To what extent does alcohol consumption affect our health,
metabolism
and weight? That depends on whom you ask.
Clinical studies have clearly demonstrated that the human body
cannot efficiently use the energy from alcohol -- this is undisputed.
The
debate centers on how much influence moderate alcohol consumption (less
than
5 percent of the total daily caloric intake) has upon our metabolism
and
body-weight regulation. Let?s see what the experts have to say.
Alcohol's Effects on Health
The American Journal of Public Health reports that both beer
drinkers
and spirit drinkers reduced their risk of heart disease, but men who
reported
wine drinking did not receive this same health benefit. . -- Am J
Public
Health 1999, 89(5):685-90
The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta also found that
light
to moderate alcohol consumption appears to reduce the risk of stroke in
young
women -- Stroke 2001,32(1):77-83
Data from Harvard Medical School indicates that healthy men
who
consume light to moderate amounts of alcohol have a subsequent
decreased
risk of type-2 diabetes.-- Arch Intern Med 2000,10;160(7):1025-30
Moderation is key, as other
studies
have shown that immoderate -- and, sometimes, little or no alcohol
consumption
-- can increase the risk of cancer and high blood pressure:
A 1999 study conducted by Zurich University Hospital?s
Department
of Internal Medicine revealed that there is an optimal consumption:
between
13 and 26 grams [approximately 0.5 oz to 1 oz] of pure alcohol (or an
equivalent)
a day. Those who drank less or more than this amount showed a higher
rate
of general health risks. The rate of risk and the amount of consumption
were
independent of age, physical activities and the type of alcohol
consumed
-- Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax 1999, 23;88(39):1555-61
Drinking three or more glasses of alcoholic beverages daily
appears
to increase breast cancer risk, as reported by International Journal of
Cancer
-- Int J Cancer 1994, 1;58(3):356-61
Reports showed that alcohol consumption (1 to 3 oz. alcohol
per
week) increases the risk of prostate cancer, and that this risk is not
limited
to any specific type of alcohol. -- Ann Epidemiol 2000,10(6):361-9
Blood pressure also increases as alcohol intake increases;
the
good news is that "good" cholesterol HDL) also increases. -- Nippon
Koshu
Eisei Zasshi 1996,43(2):86-101
Alcohol's Effects on Weight:
The same Zurich University Hospital study showed that those
participants
who drank more or less than the optimal amount of 0.5 to 1.0 ounces of
alcohol a day weighed more than those who drank the optimal amount. --
Schweiz
Rundsch Med Prax 1999, 23;88(39):1555-61
The Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry also
notes
that non-drinkers were more likely to have problems with obesity and
stroke
than light to moderate drinkers (1-29 drinks per week.) The
non-drinkers
were also less likely to engage in regular exercise. -- J Neurol
Neurosurg
Psychiatry 1993,56(5):458-62
Drinking two glasses of red wine with dinner does not appear
to
adversely affect a person?s weight, according to the Journal of
American
Colledge of Nutrition . -- J Am Coll Nutr 1997,16(2):134-9
While alcohol consumption doesn?t
appear
to contribute significantly to overall weight gain, certain studies
show
that it does seem to target the abdominal area:
Abdominal fat accumulation -- the worst type of fat deposit
--
can result from consuming both wine and beer. -- Int J Obes Relat
Metab
Disord 1999,;23(2):138-45
In France, where wine is the beverage of choice, there is no
association
between men's alcohol intake and their weight. Women who consumed
moderate
amounts appear to have lower body weight than those who don?t drink or
who
consume immoderate amounts, but they have a higher waist-to-hips ratio,
indicating a greater abdominal fat accumulation, thus increasing health
risks. --
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1998,22(12):1178-83
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