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Thomas S. May, M.A.Medical Writer |
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Pattern of Drinking Affects Alcohol's Impact on Health, LongevityThomas S. May, Medical Writer
Is alcohol good or bad for you? Well, it all depends...
A growing body of scientific evidence shows that people who drink 1 or 2 glasses of alcoholic beverages a day are generally healthier and tend to live longer than those who abstain from alcohol completely. This does not mean, however, that having 1-2 drinks a day on average is necessarily good for you.
If you regularly gulp down 2 six-packs of beer or 10-12 glasses of wine each weekend and drink nothing on weekdays, brace yourself for bad news: Just because the number of drinks averages out to 1-2 per day, it doesn't mean you are a "moderate drinker" and your drinking is beneficial for your health. In fact, there is evidence that frequent binge drinking like that is quite harmful and can lead to a significant reduction in life span.
6x2 Does Not Always Equal 2x6
According to some recent research, the pattern of drinking is just as important as the amount consumed, when it comes to the health effects of alcohol. For example, a study published in the June 2000 issue of Addiction found that people who drank six glasses 1-2 days/week were more likely to report chronic conditions than those who drank 1-2 glasses/day 6-7 days/week. Those drinking six glasses 1-2 days were also significantly more likely to report more than three health complaints than those drinking 1-2 glasses 6-7 days/week.
The results of this study appear to confirm the findings of some previous research that looked at the effects of the pattern of drinking on health and longevity. "Having 1-2 drinks a day has been reported to reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases such as stroke or acute myocardial infarction [heart attack]," says the study's lead author, Begonia San Jose of Rotterdam's Addiction Research Institute. "Occasional heavy drinking or 'binge drinking', on the other hand, has been shown to have the opposite effect," she adds. "In our study, we also found the same type of relationship between drinking patterns and subjective health outcomes like perceived general health, chronic conditions, and health complaints."
Paradox Explained
For a long time, scientists have been puzzled by an apparent contradiction regarding the effects of alcohol consumption on health.
Studies have consistently found that the rates of cardiovascular disease and mortality are lower in Mediterranean countries, like France for instance, where most people consume relatively large amounts of alcohol each week. This effect is believed to be due to alcohol's "cardioprotective" qualities. Yet, in Russia and many other Eastern European countries, where average alcohol consumption is comparable to the amount consumed in France, the rates of cardiovascular disease and death are much higher.
This apparent paradox can be explained by the differences in drinking patterns between these two cultures, according to a study published in the May 2000 issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. "In Mediterranean countries, alcohol is typically consumed as wine with meals, whereas in Russia it is much more likely to be drunk as spirits, in binges," the authors of the study claim.
What's the Difference?
How can the same amount of alcohol--if drunk within a day or two--be so harmful, yet be quite healthful when consumed little by little, over the course of an entire week? The answer seems to lie with alcohol's short-term "dose-response effect," according to Kari Poikolainen, MD, Director of Research at the Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies.
Alcohol can have both positive and negative effects on the body, depending on the amount consumed, Dr. Poikolainen says. "Positive effects dominate at the moderate intake level, and negative effects dominate following heavy drinking," he explains.
Positive effects, according to Dr. Poikolainen,
include an increase in HDL or "good" cholesterol (which can help prevent
blockage of the arteries) and a decreased risk of developing blood clots
(resulting in a reduced risk of heart attacks and certain types of
strokes). Negative effects, on the other hand, include a surge in blood
pressure and a higher risk of developing arrhythmias (disturbances in
heart rhythm), both of which are associated with an increased probability
of suffering a stroke or some other cardiovascular accident. Sudden changes in blood pressure following the ingestion of large amounts of alcohol may also explain some of the harmful effects of binge drinking. A study conducted by Kaija Seppa, MD, of the Tampere University Medical School in Finland found that "drinking seems to increase both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) during intoxication but not during hangover. During the period when blood alcohol levels are decreasing, both pressure levels fall to less than the basic level. These major and rapid changes in BP values might increase the likelihood of strokes, which are seen in increased numbers among young adults, especially during weekends and holidays."
To Drink or Not to Drink?
Based on currently available data, most experts believe that having 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks a day, preferably with meals, is beneficial for cardiovascular health, and may result in a moderate increase in life span. "For healthy adults, steady moderate drinking results in improved health and longer life span," says Dr. Poikolainen. He advises against occasional heavy ("binge") drinking, however, and cautions that even moderate drinking is not recommended for everyone. "Abstaining might be the healthiest choice for people afflicted with certain conditions like depression, high blood pressure, liver disease, or stomach ulcer. The risk of alcohol dependence should also be considered," he cautions.
Sidebar:
Short-term effects of moderate alcohol consumption (1-2 drinks)
Short-term effects of heavy drinking (4-5 drinks or more)
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