No amount of Alcohol is “Good for You.”

Here are some questions and statements that often make me cringe.

“How much alcohol is “good for you” or “good for your heart?

“You know, wine is good for you.”

“My doctor told me to drink a glass of wine or two a night for my heart.”

If your doctor is legitimately prescribing alcohol to you, let me be very clear right now – you need to find another doctor. There is no amount of alcohol that is beneficial for the body. Regardless of resveratrol or the anti-oxidative properties, alcohol is known to cause cancer and heart failure and block the body from absorbing essential vitamins and minerals. This paper will systematically break down several publications that explain why alcohol is not the health beverage you once believed.

Claim #1: Alcohol causes cancer.

According to a National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism paper, the liver breaks down alcohol into an enzyme called acetaldehyde – a known carcinogen. Previously overlooked due to how quickly it is broken down in the liver, research now shows that large amounts of alcohol are damaging to the liver and kidneys. This would presumably suggest that small amounts of alcohol are acceptable. On the contrary, small amounts of alcohol are broken down to acetaldehyde in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to damage in this area. It appears that any quantity, regardless of its short life span, is harmful to the liver, kidneys, and intestines.

Claim #2 Alcohol Causes Heart Failure.

Cardiologist at Johns Hopkins, John William McEvoy, suggests in his interview with Johns Hopkins Medicine that drinking in more significant amounts can and most likely will lead to heart disease. While a study from Harvard Health stated that any quantity of alcohol would put you at risk of eventually being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation or afib as it’s commonly referred. While afib has been referred to as the “holiday heart” for some time, says Dr. Deepak Bhatt MD, due to the likelihood of overconsumption, “even small amounts make a difference.”

In one of the largest studies ever done on alcohol, Washington University in St. Louis determined that no amount of alcohol was safe. While the study did suggest that drinking 1 or 2 glasses up to 4 times a week could potentially reduce heart disease, the amount still caused outweighing adverse effects, including cancer. The article also claimed that drinking any amount of alcohol could increase your potential for early death by 20%.

Claim #3 Alcohol Blocks Vitamins and Minerals From Being Absorbed.

According to a paper by UC San Diego, alcohol is not only empty of any nutritional value, but it also inhibits the absorption of nutrients like B1, B12, Folic Acid, and Zinc. On top of this, alcohol can cause you to gain unwanted weight, can cause making new muscles more complicated, and make new memories and learning more challenging.

Conclusion:

In a study published by The Lancet, across 195 territories in ages 15–49, alcohol was attributed for the deaths of 4% of women and 12% of men, making it the leading risk factor. Three years later, in 2019, 2.4 million people died from alcohol-related issues. The World Health Federation has since declared that no amount of alcohol is good for your heart.

Breaking habits is difficult. Restricting people’s alcohol intake is challenging (we’ve tried it). But lying to people and telling them alcohol is good for them is harmful as alcohol remains one of the leading causes of disease and death. I’ve been sober for nine years now and can honestly say I do not miss a single drop of the poison that once consumed me.

Thanks for reading! Let me hear your thoughts in the comments!