In many places of the world, drinking alcohol is considered a socially acceptable activity. According to some medical professionals, moderate alcohol use may even be beneficial to your health, particularly for your heart. However, they contend that these health advantages must to be weighed against the numerous health hazards associated with alcohol consumption. We’re reporting on a few of the problems related to alcohol consumption today.
Millions of people around the world enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, a beer at a sporting event or an alcoholic drink at a party. The use of alcohol dates back more than 10,000 years. Since then, it has played an important role in human civilisation. It has been used in cultural and religious ceremonies, at social gatherings and even for medicinal purposes. Records of the effects of alcohol date back to ancient times. Alcohol has been both praised and condemned. Medical experts continue to debate its value.
Alcohol is produced through a process called fermentation. During fermentation, yeast turns sugar into ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol. Different types of sugar are used to produce different types of alcoholic drink. For example, sugar from grapes is used to make wine. Sugar from grain is used to produce vodka and gin. Sugar from sugarcane or molasses is used to produce rum.
Alcohol affects every organ in the body. When alcohol enters the body, some of it is absorbed immediately by the stomach and enters the bloodstream. The rest, around 80 per cent, goes to the small intestine and is released into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the heart pumps the alcohol throughout the body.
The liver is responsible for detoxifying the alcohol and removing it from the blood. However, the liver can only process a small amount of alcohol at a time. The rest continues to circulate around the body. It mixes with the water in tissue. It also enters the central nervous system and the brain. Ethanol acts as a drug, affecting coordination, emotions, and the ability to think.
Last year, a study suggested that drinking small amounts of red wine may lower women’s risk of developing breast cancer. Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in California studied 36 women. Each woman drank a glass of red or white wine daily for almost a month. The researchers collected blood samples from the women twice a month to measure their hormone levels.
The following month, the women who had previously drunk red wine were instructed to drink white wine instead. Those who had been drinking white wine were told to drink red wine instead. The researchers found that those who drank red wine had lower levels of the female hormone oestrogen than those who drank white wine. Estrogen is known to increase the growth of cancer cells in the body.
Glenn Braunstein helped prepare a report on the study. He said that red grapes contain chemicals that are not found in white grapes. He added that the findings suggest these chemicals may help lower the risk of breast cancer.
The report was published in the Journal of Women’s Health. Both Dr Braunstein and the study’s organiser, Chrisandra Shufelt, called for larger studies to measure the safety and effectiveness of red wine in reducing the risk of breast cancer. However, they also noted that other recent studies have suggested that even small amounts of alcohol can generally increase the risk of breast cancer in women.
Researchers at Harvard University carried out one such study. They found that women who drink four small glasses of wine a week increase their risk of breast cancer by 15 per cent.
Many studies have examined the harmful effects of alcohol on the body. Medical experts say that the deciding factors are how much alcohol you drink and how frequently. For instance, having three drinks in one day is not the same as having one drink a day for three consecutive days.
Alicia Ann Kowalchuk is the medical director of an alcohol and drug intervention programme called InSight at the Harris County Hospital District in Houston, Texas. She is also an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine.
“We now think of substance use issues as existing along a continuum, ranging from abstinence to healthy use, misuse, abuse, and dependency. For healthy adult use — defined as men under the age of sixty-five — this equates to no more than four drinks in a day and no more than fourteen drinks in a week. For women of all ages, it’s no more than seven drinks per week and no more than three drinks per day.”
She says that, to reap the health benefits associated with alcohol, men and women should limit their drinking even further.
“Pretty much all the literature I have seen shows that, on average, going above one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men under sixty-five starts to negate all those positive health benefits.”
Dr Kowalchuk says that staying within these limits is considered safe or non-hazardous drinking.
‘Misuse’ means drinking above these limits without experiencing many consequences. Once you reach the level of abuse, you start experiencing consequences, yet you continue using despite them. So that’s the hallmark of abuse: continuing to use alcohol for at least a year despite experiencing consequences such as a DUI (driving under the influence), health issues, work issues or family issues.”
She adds that alcohol dependency is further marked by a complete loss of control over alcohol use.
The size of the drink matters.
Kim Dennis is the Medical Director at Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Centre in Illinois. She highlights another important point when discussing alcohol limits.
‘When we talk about an alcoholic beverage, we need to be very clear about what we’re referring to, because many of my patients at Timberline Knolls would consider a thirty-two-ounce glass of beer to be one alcoholic beverage. When we talk about having one alcoholic drink, we’re referring specifically to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor.”
She says whether or not drinking alcohol is a good choice for you depends on several factors. “If a person has risk factors for developing alcoholism, such as having family members with alcoholism, having had difficult early life experiences or having other addictive disorders, the risk-to-benefit ratio of drinking alcohol for that person would be very high.”
Excessive alcohol consumption has been associated with chronic conditions such as cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatic disease and cardiovascular disease. It has also been linked to many forms of cancer, including cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, oesophagus, breast, colon and rectum. According to the World Health Organization, the harmful use of alcohol results in 2,500,000 deaths each year. This figure includes over 300,000 individuals aged 15–29. The WHO states that alcohol use is the world’s third leading cause of disease, after childhood malnutrition and unsafe sex.
A recent survey suggests that an increasing number of young people are becoming aware of the dangers of alcohol use. The study found that three out of four American high school students say they do not drink alcohol.
Almost 700 students were questioned. One reason given by teenagers for choosing not to drink was that underage drinking is illegal. They also cited the effect of alcohol on health and academic performance as other reasons. Furthermore, over half of the teenagers questioned said they would be less likely to befriend or socialise with someone who drinks underage.
Last month, the organisation Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) reported these findings. MADD and the State Farm insurance company collaborated to organise an event called Red Ribbon Week. The aim was to raise awareness of the dangers of drugs and alcohol among young people.
According to MADD, the survey shows that most students are making sensible decisions regarding alcohol use. However, it notes that approximately 4,700 Americans still die every year as a result of underage drinking.