Wine and Health
|
Is a drink or two of wine a day good for one's health?
Before we try to answer the question let's look at some facts about alcohol consumption in general. Alcohol consumption causes of approximately 100,000 deaths annually in the United States including at least 16,000 alcohol-related fatalities. Some 16 million Americans meet the diagnostic criteria for abuse or dependence on alcohol and only about one and a half million of these seek and receive treatment. Heavy drinkers also have higher death rates from injuries, violence, suicide, poisoning, cirrhosis, bleeding, certain cancers and probably hemorrhagic strokes. On the other hand wine consumption in moderation which means one to two glasses of wine per day, where a glass is defined as 4 ounces, seems to have some protective effect against coronary artery disease and other forms of atherosclerotic disease. One estimate concluded in 1994 that possibly 80,000 deaths are prevented each year because of those who have moderate wine consumption reduce their chances of having a sudden myocardial infarction or sudden death. Some of the difficulty in trying to define moderate wine consumption at 4 ounces is that for some people one glass of wine is 8 or 10 ounces and for another a glass might be 2 ounces. In addition each individual has their own genetic makeup and their ability to metabolize alcohol varies with this makeup and their weight. Consequently one glass of wine for one person may have a much stronger effect than one glass of wine for another. This has led some to say that for women they should have a limit wine consumption to just one glass a day whereas for men two glasses a day. Another problem in interpreting these studies is that people who do drink one or two glasses of wine daily often have different habits than people who abstain. For example, they tend to exercise more frequently, which makes it difficult to interpret the results of such studies. Another variable, which should be taken into consideration, is age since it is more likely that one would see the beneficial effects of wine consumption in those over 50 and they would have a greater risk of heart disease. Wine seems to have certain advantages over other types of alcohol since it is rich in antioxidants. We also do know that as the consumption of wine goes way beyond the two drinks per day the incidence of damage to the heart leading to congestive heart failure increases dramatically even if the liver is not damaged. Also dangerous heart rhythm disturbances with excessive consumption become very prevalent. Thus we see that the answer to the question we posed is not clear. A recent study, which will discuss next time, shows that reducing salt intake by just moderate amounts can cut deaths by up to 100 thousand per year. More definitive studies on wine consumption and health are in process. Always check with your own doctor on these issues before you act.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
see comments or
post your comment
see previous blog
go to next blog
If already in website just click Home on left pane.
Go TO Full MDMAZZ WEBSITE