Alcohol is a common topic in American culture. Obviously, overconsumption and/or abuse of alcohol is unhealthy for anyone and should be avoided at all costs. However, does moderate consumption of alcohol provide some health benefits?
We have all heard the saying that “a glass of red wine a day keeps the doctor away.” This saying might have some merit to it. According to Web MD, adults who consume between four and six alcoholic drinks, a drink being 5 oz. of wine or 1.5 oz. of 80 proof liquor, are 20% – 44% less likely to develop a fatal ballooning of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. This would support the common statement that red wine is good for your heart. The Harvard School of Public Health states that it makes biological sense that alcohol would have a positive effect on cardiovascular health. Moderate amounts of alcohol raises levels of high-density lipoprotein which have an association with more protection against heart disease. Alcohol in moderation has also been linked to greater sensitivity to insulin and enhancing factors that influence blood clotting. In addition to a healthier heart, there is some evidence that moderate alcohol consumption may be healthy for your kidneys. A presentation at the National Kidney Foundation showed that people who consumed less than a glass of wine per day were 37% less likely to develop chronic kidney disease. That being said, studies cannot prove causation and other factors could cause these results. For example, the people who are consuming alcohol might be have higher socioeconomic status and therefore eat healthier and have a better-functioning body.
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Alcohol has been accused of causing many types of cancer such as mouth, liver, and larynx. The National Cancer Institute has concluded that consuming three and a half or more drinks per day can double or even triple your risk of developing head and neck cancers. And apparently, 3.5% of cancer deaths in the US are thought to be caused by alcohol. I do not see how one could confirm this causation with certainty, and I feel that the texas sharpshooter problem could be a possibility in this situation. People are always looking for new causes to cancer and negative effects of alcohol, and they might have a drawn a false or exaggerated conclusion. On the other hand, alcohol is thought to lower the risk for kidney cancer and Hodgkins lymphoma. Overall, alcohol can be very dangerous especially for the increased risk of developing life-threatening cancer.
The message that I would takeaway from this blog post is that moderate consumption of alcohol, which is 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men, is acceptable if alcohol has already become a part of your life. But one cannot get to the point where they are abusing alcohol or the consequences could be life-threatening. If you are not already consuming alcohol, continue to avoid the temptation and do not start drinking. Although there is some evidence that moderate amounts of alcohol could provide some health benefits, it is not worth the risk to being drinking.
Sources Used:
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20140814/amount-alcohol
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/alcohol-full-story/
Stephen, I really appreciate your comment about how people, including myself, rely on anecdotes. Unfortunately, I am exposed to many anecdotes that support alcohol consumption which is definitely not valid evidence that it is effective. As a result, my bias is probably a little unjustified and I should have more negative views of alcohol. I am sure that alcohol serves as a placebo for some people who believe it provides health benefits such as limiting stress and killing pain.
Yvy5242, your last statement makes me think you believe that everyone should drink moderate amounts of alcohol. I would not encourage people to start drinking if they are not already hooked. Alcohol is an addictive drug and can lead you down a slippery slope. If you already consume alcohol, then I think it is perfectly acceptable to consume moderate amounts for health benefits. Overall, the benefits are not great enough to risk addiction, like Stephen said.
This is an interesting posting. I agree with your statement that appropriate amount of alcohol have many benefits for humans. Details can be found in here: http://www.medicaldaily.com/7-health-benefits-drinking-alcohol-247552. Also, I think alcohol is overestimated. “Alcohol” should be a neutral word, but a small percent (most people are not addict to it) of people abuse it make it become a bad thing. We should erase our bias and do the right thing: drink moderate amount can make us healthier.
Almost anything can have health benefits, but it always comes down to benefits vs. costs. The risks of consuming alcohol seem to be greater than whatever possible benefits. Sometimes, like you stated, it is just not worth the risk of the other factors that come with drinking. It is also possible the idea of the benefits come from anecdotes, which never really present evidence. Or benefits could be exaggerated by the Texas sharpshooter problem, like you stated.