Drinking Your Way to Health? Perhaps Not

[Mikky jaga]

Drinking Your Way to Health? Perhaps Not

By Dennis Thompson

Just about every month -- if not every week -- a new study emerges touting the health benefits to be gained from a daily glass of wine or a pint of dark beer.

The benefits related to cardiovascular health have become well-known. A study released in mid-July, for instance, found that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in women by increasing the amount of "good" cholesterol in the bloodstream and reducing blood sugar levels.


But other studies have linked a daily drink, most often wine, to reduced risk of dementia, bone loss and physical disabilities related to old age. Wine also has been found to increase life expectancy and provide potential protection against some forms of cancer, including esophageal cancer and lymphoma.


But don't invest in that case of Pinot noir just yet.


Experts with the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association say that though these studies do show some benefits to moderate drinking, the health risks from alcohol consumption far outweigh the potential rewards.


Drinking any alcohol at all is known to increase your risk for contracting a number of types of cancer, said Susan Gapstur, vice president of epidemiology for the American Cancer Society. These include cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colon/rectum and breast.


"At the end of the day, if you are at very high risk for cancer, you might want to limit your alcohol consumption even further," Gapstur said. "It's a lifestyle modification you can make, and we don't have as many lifestyle modifications for preventing cancer as we do for coronary heart disease."


There also are other health risks from moderate drinking, including liver damage and accidents caused by impaired reflexes, said Dr. Jennifer Mieres, director of nuclear cardiology at the New York University School of Medicine and an American Heart Association spokeswoman.


The health benefits from drinking generally are related to the antioxidants and anti-inflammatories found in red wines and dark beers, Mieres said, but those substances can be found in a number of different fruits and vegetables.


"When it comes to disease prevention, you're better off changing your diet to include fruits and vegetables and get your antioxidants and anti-inflammatories from natural sources," she said.


For example, people can get resveratrol -- the antioxidant found in red wine that's believed to provide most of the drink's health benefits -- from drinking grape juice just as well as from drinking wine, Mieres said.


"For people that don't drink, not drinking is important," Mieres said. "You can get the same benefits of drinking from leading a heart-healthy lifestyle. To me, it's not worth the risk to start drinking. But for people who enjoy a glass of red wine or enjoy drinking, the key is to stick to the definition of moderation," she said.


Moderate drinking is defined as one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men. What counts as one drink are:

12 ounces of regular beer or wine cooler
8 ounces of malt liquor
5 ounces of wine
1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor

Drinking anything more than that on a daily basis is known to lead to a host of health problems that can reduce your life expectancy, Mieres and Gapstur said.


"I think the take-home message is, if you don't drink, don't start to help protect yourself from coronary heart disease because there are so many other things you can do," Gapstur said. "If you already drink, you might want to limit your consumption."


Though the studies touting the positive health effects of alcohol are scientifically accurate, they also appear to play into people's desires for quick fixes to complex problems, Mieres said.


"To prevent heart disease, 50 percent of the work has to come from you," she said. "Prevention is a big piece, and you have to be accountable. You have to make lifestyle changes, and that's very tough to do. People look for easy ways to get heart-healthy benefits, and drinking is an easy way to do that. It's a known human tendency: Let's find an easy way out that doesn't involve a lot of thought or work."

http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthd...erhapsnot.html

[Chief Kalu]

Abeg what is 12ounces. I thought beer is sold in bottles measured in cl.

[Ranter]

Chief chief,

which kain kwexion be dat naw?

Most pubs dispense draft beers, so no bottles, you can also measure beer in cl or whatever unit of choice. I measure mine from the angle by which I stand to pee. First I stand straight to pee about the time of happy hours, then progress to my head on my arm against the wall (just kidding).
I know a bar where for 25 bucks they connect you to an over head tank by plumbing and give you glasses and buckets of ice.

[Chief Kalu]

Originally Posted by Ranter

Chief chief,

which kain kwexion be dat naw?

Most pubs dispense draft beers, so no bottles, you can also measure beer in cl or whatever unit of choice. I measure mine from the angle by which I stand to pee. First I stand straight to pee about the time of happy hours, then progress to my head on my arm against the wall (just kidding).
I know a bar where for 25 bucks they connect you to an over head tank by plumbing and give you glasses and buckets of ice.

Ranter,
All this una grammer na only say I dey drink any cold beer(ACB) abi? Make my mind come begin dey shake. Ok, if man no shack beer, wine, palm wine, na water im go dey drink?
My people say once in a while, nwoke must to act small kwanu, before woman take am do yeye, you know what I mean?
My friend finishes a bottle of groundnut to set the stage for acccsion. Others, na two cups of Nkwu elu.
Now what is 12 ounce compared to 60cl. I no know book. Or one part of drink.
Maybe when my eye starts to do weke weke, I know I am moderately done.

[Mikky jaga]

Originally Posted by Chief Kalu

Ranter,
All this una grammer na only say I dey drink any cold beer(ACB) abi? Make my mind come begin dey shake. Ok, if man no shack beer, wine, palm wine, na water im go dey drink?
My people say once in a while, nwoke must to act small kwanu, before woman take am do yeye, you know what I mean?
My friend finishes a bottle of groundnut to set the stage for acccsion. Others, na two cups of Nkwu elu.
Now what is 12 ounce compared to 60cl. I no know book. Or one part of drink.
Maybe when my eye starts to do weke weke, I know I am moderately done.

Chief, that ounce na small thing o. One bottle of Star lager contains more than 60 ounces. Ya best bet na to leave the thing patapata. No just near am. No take your heart play o.

[Unregistre]

Originally Posted by Mikky jaga

Chief, that ounce na small thing o. One bottle of Star lager contains more than 60 ounces. Ya best bet na to leave the thing patapata. No just near am. No take your heart play o.

If one bottle of Star lager contains more than 60 ounces and one drink is just 12 ounce; it then means that the result findings are wrong or those that conducted the research are crazy or both. Did they expect the son of man to drink a quarter bottle of beer; then leave the rest for who? Oh, I got it, they expect four grown up women or two grown up men to share a bottle of beer. Ah beg my brother make una leave matter for mathias jare.

[Oluwato]

Yes, drink water, drink water, drink water... You'll never go wrong drinking water... just make sure it is clean.