CASUAL/ MODERATE ALCOHOL INTAKE

Light-to-moderate drinkers (approximately 1-2 units of alcohol a day) are generally healthier and live longer compared to heavy drinkers, but also compared to non-drinkers.

It was first observed in 1786, by William Heberden, that alcohol seemed to have ameliorative effects on the cardiovascular system, specifically relieving angina. Since then, countless studies have found that regular light consumption of alcohol is associated with reduced incidence of coronary artery disease.

This protective effect seems to become evident at intakes of around 5-10 grams per day, with no advantage at higher intake, and ultimately greater risk with heavy consumption.

Alcohol may keep platelets from sticking together and aggregating. This blood-thinning effect, rather similar to that of aspirin, would be expected to reduce the formation of blood clots in arteries, which is what causes heart attacks and other health complications associated with major blood vessel blockages.

Additionally, alcohol raises high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. HDL is popularly known as “good” cholesterol because it pulls excess cholesterol molecules away from the artery walls, a function known as cholesterol efflux. However, it is worth noting that there is now significant doubt about the long-term cardiovascular benefits of raising HDL

People want to believe that what we do or what we ingest is either completely healthy or completely unhealthy, but that is seldom true. Everything comes with trade-offs, and that certainly seems to be the case with alcohol.

So how do we weigh these risks and benefits?

Should you, in theory, accept a slightly reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, if it comes along with an increased risk of cancer?

Public health does not evaluate alcohol the same way they might assess French fries or processed meat. Alcohol is an addictive substance, and overconsumption comes with severe acute risks. Research like what we see in the Global Burden of Diseases is no doubt, in part, weighing the iffy and relatively small benefits of low level consumption against the risks of binging and excessive drinking, not to mention the dangerous behaviours that often accompany that. These are important considerations on a population level

None of us has a life that is totally free of risk. I don’t have a statistical model for this, but it is entirely possible that my daily commute to the gym is a more perilous endeavour than my alcohol intake. I’m sure you can think of a number of relatively mundane activities in your life that come with a certain degree of risk.

It becomes a judgment call based on the magnitude of the risk, and how much it is worth it to you.

That brings me to a final important point. I have been discussing different levels of alcohol consumption as if it were merely a question of whether or not it makes us healthier. As if it were like choosing between brown or white rice, or between diet soda or regular soda. But if we are being totally honest, our investment in alcohol is totally unlike any other nutritional components.

Drinking moderately often occurs in a social context, with friends and family, in celebration, in good times.

Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensue discussion or debate.   

Thank you …I’m not going to pretend that alcohol is intrinsically healthy. But the bottom line is that those of us who are healthy enough to drink are likely to do so anyway – for reasons that are largely unrelated to health.

So is there a way that we can continue to drink, that minimizes the apparent risks while maximizing any potential benefits associated with it?

We do know, for instance, that low-to-moderate consumption of red wine seems to have been historically associated with good health, or at least that it is possible to live a long healthy life while drinking that way.

Additionally, red wine is a rich source of bioactive compounds which fight oxidative stress, cancer, and other maladies. In particular, polyphenols in red wine may augment the vascular benefits of alcohol, and combat the elevation in triglycerides that often accompanies alcohol intake. We can glean from this that red wine is perhaps one of the best, if not the best, choices as far as alcoholic beverages.

Want to add word or two?

It is possible to enjoy alcohol and still live a healthy life. The dose, as with all things, is key here.

Dry Wines only provides wines that contain between 10% to 12.5% alcohol. That way, you can drink a couple glasses with dinner, get a gentle buzz, and minimize any negative impact on your wellbeing and performance the next day.

Your comment ….? 

In the US, we generally do not see a nutrition label of any sort on wine bottles, because alcohol is not regulated by the FDA, for historical reasons that date back to Prohibition. Instead, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).

Unlike with food, nutrition labels on alcohol are optional, which of course means that you will seldom see them. The industry has little incentive to be transparent about what ingredients are being incorporated in their products.

Is wine healthy or not healthy?

Well, that depends on what you drink and how much of it you drink, as to whether it’s healthy or not. There’s a ton of studies showing that red wine, in particular, because of the nearly 800 polyphenols contained in red wine.

The polyphenols find their way into wine primarily from the skins and seed and so with white wine, white wine is just a free run juice. Red wine gets its colour from contact with skins and hence, that’s where most of the polyphenols come from.

We drink wine around the dinner table. What that wine does, what alcohol in the correct dosage does, is provide you with that gentle lift, that euphoria, a lowering of your vulnerability window.

This is the reason that we share and bond with people when we drink. It promotes love. I think anytime we can do anything that promotes love in the world, this is a great thing. This is the beauty of alcohol that gentle lift, when we have expanded creative expression and remaining cognitively connected.

However, the problem is, when the alcohol dosage gets too high, which is the reason I don’t drink spirits, when the alcohol dosage gets too high, we start to move away from cognitive connection and creative expression into the other side of which is just not as attractive and certainly not as much fun. It’s not as healthy.

Drinking a lower alcohol wine is the only way to get a healthy, low alcohol product.

The only two alcohol beverages below wine are ciders, which almost always filled with sugar, and beer.

Beer and ciders are your two categories of low alcohol below wine. I wouldn’t recommend drinking either of them for reasons we don’t have time to cover here. Anyway, low alcohol wine is your best choice if you’re going to have a low alcohol product.

Anything that will create the experience of reward in the brain will reinforce the desire to want to continue to consume that product. Whether that’s marijuana, alcohol, palatable food. You’re right! If something gives you that light buzz, its ability to encourage usage that is unhealthy is present.

Another really important point is the natural way that people will drink wine, is a glass to maybe three per night. If those glasses tend to be higher in alcohol consumption and sugar, then you’re adding a lot of additional calories. You’re taking in quite a bit more alcohol.

Anything that will create the experience of reward in the brain will reinforce the desire to want to continue to consume that product. Whether that’s marijuana, alcohol, palatable food.

You’re right! If something gives you that light buzz, its ability to encourage usage that is unhealthy is present.