Monday, May 27, 2024

Alcohol Won't Make You Healthier

 New research appears to support my recent claims: no amount of alcohol is actually good for you. If you know someone who consumes alcohol regularly and is healthy and fit, it's despite alcohol, not because of it:

Red wine actually isn’t good for your heart. Really.

For the past 30 years, health experts have touted red wine (in moderation) as a heart-healthy beverage. But a January 2022 policy brief from the World Heart Federation (WHF) aims to set the record straight. No type of alcohol — including wine — is a friend to your heart.

"Alcohol seems to have adverse effects on nearly every form of heart disease," says Dr. JoAnn Manson, the Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women’s Health at Harvard Medical School. It increases the risk of

  • hypertension
  • heart failure
  • stroke
  • cardiomyopathy (a disease of the heart muscle)
  • aortic aneurysm (a dangerous bulge in the wall of the aorta)
  • atrial fibrillation (an irregular heart rhythm).

It may also play a role in coronary artery disease, says Dr. Manson. But the evidence for this is less clear.

Add to this different types of cancer, liver disease, stroke and kidney failure plus various accidents and ask yourself, whether it's worth it.

4 comments:

  1. Ah, more bogus research. There should have been a heck of a lot of dead people then in the past given the amounts of alcohol they drank because of the water. And they had 'flaws' in the last study, but darn it, they got it right this time. No, it's science! :LOL:

    I think anything to excess like weed, alcohol, and smoking is bad for you. I don't use weed or smoke, but these are the same people telling me I should not eat steak and eggs and that canola oil is better than coconut oil because of saturated fat, though our European ancestors used various saturated animal fats as a preservative.

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  2. Texan, it's up to you, of course:) Research on alcohol - cancer connection, liver and kidney disease has been pretty consistent. It's alcohol and heart health which has been disputed. Beer and wine used to be quite weak and diluted with water in the ancient world. When distilled alcohol became widely available, alcoholism followed, too. And an average age in Europe used to be like 60 till mid 20th century

    Obviously, you won't die from drinking a glass now and then. It's a personal decision. I just don't see any benefits in it.

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    1. Remember, correlation is not causation. I saw one study saying that for all other factors, Australians have the best life expectancy due to their sun exposure. I'm in South Texas, as in south of San Antonio and Victoria, so I try get some rays on the weekends. I really wonder how many of these cancers could also be driven by a lack of sun exposure given that the bodies producing Vitamin D which has it's own benefits.

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  3. There is less people dying from cancer nowadays, simply because people smoke and drink less. Vegan men, btw, were pretty healthy. Women, on the other hand, not so much. This diet is bad for female fertility because it lowers estrogen. Vit d research is very interesting, I think in the winter it's best to supplement to be on the safe side.

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