The public’s conception of alcohol relating to health appears to reflect the mainstream medically established propaganda. The mainstream claims that alcohol is detrimental to the health, and there is a general concerted effort to reduce alcohol consumption amongst the population as a whole. It is well established in the scientific literature that a high alcohol consumption does have detrimental effects. In particular, a high chronic alcohol consumption may induce the synthesis of fatty acids in the liver which results in the development of alcoholic fatty liver disease. Alcoholic fatty liver disease is characterised by the accumulation of fatty tissue in the liver, and this causes a deterioration in the normal function of the liver. As the condition worsens steatohepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver can develop. However, evidence in the nutritional literature shows a number of beneficial effects for moderate alcohol consumption. In particular, moderate alcohol consumption has been shown to be inversely associated with body weight (here and here).
Alcohol consumption may be beneficial to the health. The exact reason for this is not known, but there is a significant reduction in the risk of myocardial infarction for 24 hours subsequent to alcohol consumption. Other evidence suggests that alcohol may alter the metabolism of essential fatty acids, increasing the metabolism of alpha linolenic acid to its metabolites eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. As both eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid may have beneficial effects at reducing inflammation, this could also explain the beneficial effects of alcohol. Alcohols are known to increase membrane fluidity, and as essential fats accumulate in cell membranes, this may be the mechanism by which alcohol can have an effect in this regard.
The association between alcohol and body weight may explain the reduced risk of a number of disease with moderate alcohol consumption. For example, in one study moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. This might be expected because as body weight increases, the risk of type 2 diabetes also increases. However, the same study showed that high intakes of alcohol were not associated with a protective effect against type 2 diabetes, but interestingly they were also not associated with an increased risk of the disease. Therefore moderate alcohol consumption may be beneficial to the health. The real question of interest should therefore be, what is a moderate consumption of alcohol that would provide these effects? This will likely differ for each individual, and although estimates can be made based on studies that have been performed, it must be stated that this level is not known. Current indications suggest that it might be much higher than was previously considered.
Eat Well, Stay Healthy, Protect Yourself
RdB
