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Alcohol and Health: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The fermentation process produces ethanol, a clear liquid also known as grain alcohol or ethyl alcohol. The ethanol content of beer is about 5% while it ranges between 8% and 15% for wine. Distilled spirits usually have an ethanol content of 20% to 40%. One serving of alcohol is defined as 5 ounces for wine and just 1 1/2 ounces for hard alcohol, far less than what is typically served in bars, restaurants and people’s homes.

Alcohol can affect blood sugar levels and interact with diabetes medications. So for diabetics, drinking too much can lead to hypoglycemia, or “insulin shock,” or hyperglycemia, an excess of insulin . Heavy drinking is a little bit harder to quantify, but according to the guidelines, consuming more than 14 drinks per week for men and seven drinks per week for women is considered excessive. New guidelines is alcohol good for you in Canada, unveiled by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction in January, advise no more than two drinks a week, and less would be better. “The main message from this new guidance is that any amount of alcohol is not good for your health,” Erin Hobin, a senior scientist with Public Health Ontario and a member of the expert panel that developed the guidelines, tells BBC News.

Helps Your Heart

For quite some time now, moderate drinking — especially a nightly glass of red wine — has been considered a healthy habit that might help you live a little longer than people who don’t drink at all. The increased life span seen among light to moderate drinkers compared to teetotalers is mostly due to lower rates of heart disease and possibly stroke and diabetes. “Frequent, heavy binge drinking is unhealthy.” If you have a history of alcoholism, one drink may be too many, and those with an alcoholic liver disease — alcoholic fatty liver, hepatitis, or cirrhosis — risk death when they drink. Enjoying a drink with some regularity might reduce your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis , according to a few studies. “Moderate alcohol consumption reduces biomarkers of inflammation, including c-reactive protein , interleukin-6, and TNF-alpha receptor 2,” says Karen Costenbader, MD, MPH, a rheumatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Alcohol’s anti-inflammatory effects are also thought to be one of the reasons it appears to lower cardiovascular disease risk in moderate drinkers.

If you don’t have any health conditions, it’s safe to say that following the guidelines of low to moderate intake should not cause a problem with your health — and may even positively affect it. According to a recent study, moderate beer consumption may slow the decrease of HDL cholesterol over time. Just don’t overdo it, because heavy beer consumption actually erases this positive effect. The recommendations are lower for women because they generally weigh less, so they have less tissue to absorb alcohol, and they have a smaller body composition with less water, so the alcohol doesn’t disperse as well as it does for men.

Moderate Drinking and Heart Health

Red wine appears to be particularly beneficial because it is very high in healthy antioxidants. The cells lining your mouth and throat are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol. Heart disease https://ecosoberhouse.com/ is the leading cause of death in modern society. Your liver is a remarkable organ with hundreds of essential functions. Generally referred to as “alcohol,” ethanol is the substance that makes you drunk.

Even then, I want to see a link to the actual study so I can read exactly what it says if interested. I’ve seen far too much research deliberately distorted by no-nothing writers and even the researchers . Our website services, content, and products are for informational purposes only. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Here are seven ways to prevent a hangover before, during, and after you drink that have shown scientific potential.

Alcohol does more harm for heart health than good

While many of these people are occasional or moderate drinkers, about 1 in 4 adults binge drink in a typical month, which NIAAA defines as more than four drinks for women or more than five drinks for men within about two hours. More than 1 in 20 adults are heavy drinkers, which NIAAA defines as more than four drinks a day or 14 drinks a week for men, and more than three drinks a day or seven drinks a week for women. According to the new study by Bryazka and her colleagues, North American women over 50 should limit drinking to just a little over a half-drink per day to avoid health risks. As you get older and continue to avoid alcohol-related health problems, you can drink a little bit more, but not much. For example, women ages 60 to 79 can safely have just under three-quarters of a drink a day.