Let's drink to good health

Red wine is thought to be particularly beneficial and could be responsible for the ‘French Paradox’ i.e. although the French eat a lot of saturated fat and smoke more than we do, they have much lower cardiovascular risks (but with much more liver damage and would probably benefit from milk thistle – a liver-protecting herb). Red wine contains flavonoids (members of a group of plant compounds called polyphenols) which are important antioxidants. Research suggests that polyphenols can help protect against atherosclerosis (fatty degeneration of the arterial wall) and thrombosis (arterial blockage).

But many people think that, if a little is good… a lot can’t do much harm – wrong! Measures poured at home are usually overly large, and the average pub/restaurant measure of wine is 175ml versus the recommended 125ml, so two glasses can easily take people over the advised levels. Additionally original guidelines were set for wine with 8% alcohol content whereas nowadays stronger wine (up to 12% alcohol content) is often consumed.

Weekend Drinking

A little alcohol each day is beneficial but the same total amount drunk in one or two hits over a weekend is detrimental to health. This is why ‘binge drinking’ is so damaging even if the person sticks to their weekly limit overall but drinks it in just one or two sessions. The worst cardiovascular profiles are seen in those who abstain completely, as well as in those who binge drink. Drinking a small amount on a regular basis seems to be the healthiest way forward. This fits with the theory that early in our evolution alcohol would have naturally been consumed from fermenting fruits rotting on the ground.

Abstainers

Some people find they can’t drink alcohol. Wines and beer are high in a compound called histamine which can cause unpleasant flushing in vulnerable people. Women’s bodies can’t deal with alcohol as efficiently as men’s bodies can. This is for several reasons: a woman’s liver is physically smaller than a man’s which means she has much less capacity; women tend to have much lower amounts of an alcoholprocessing enzyme alcohol-dehydrogenase; finally alcohol interacts with oestrogen, read more