After Happy Hours

Ishi Khosla is a former senior nutritionist at Escorts. She heads the Centre of Dietary Counselling and also runs a health food store. She feels that for complete well-being, one should integrate physical, mental and spiritual health. According to her: 8220;to be healthy should be the ultimate goal for all.8221;

No discussion on health is complete without a question on drinks. While for some drinking means pleasurable social activity, for others, it could mean broken homes and horror stories. So is it good or bad? We often expect oversimplified answers for questions in nutrition to which there usually are none.

The alcohol produced for human consumption is ethanol, a transparent, colourless liquid derived from the fermentation of sugars in fruits, vegetables and grains. One drink is equivalent to about 13-14 grams of alcohol. The following amounts of beer, wine and liquor contain approximately equal amounts of alcohol and are classified as one drink.: 330 ml one can of beer, 110 ml one glass of wine, 35 ml one jigger or shot glass of liquor.

Technically, alcohol may be classified as a food because it provides energy, one of the major functions of food. Alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram, almost twice the value of an equal amount of carbohydrate or protein. Beer and wine also contain some carbohydrate, a source of additional calories. In general, a can of regular beer has about 150 calories, while a 110 ml glass of wine or a shot of glass liquor contains about 100 calories. Alcohol8217;s value as a source of nutrients is virtually nil. Although wine and beer contain trace amounts of proteins, vitamins, minerals, liquor vodka, gin, whisky etc is void of nutritional value. beer certainly is not a replacement for milk, as some may like to believe. Alcohol in fact depletes the body of many precious nutrients including vitamin B1, zinc and magnesium.

Research supports both the benefits and ill-effects of alcohol consumption. On the positive side, most recent reports show that moderate consumption of alcohol one to two drinks per day is associated with protection against coronary heart disease CHD, a relaxation effect, which may reduce emotional stress, a risk factor associated with CHD. Decreased platelet aggregability clotting ability by increasing the activity of a clot dissolving enzyme in the blood whereby it protects against heart disease. Red wine contains flavonoids like reservetol as does purple grape juice, which may slow the activity of platelets and prevent oxidation of cholesterol, increased levels of HDL cholesterol, the form that protects against the development of heart disease.

However, these effects hold true only for one or two drinks. Alcohol affects all cells in the body, and many of these effects may have significant health implications. The direct toxic effects may promote gastrointestinal bleeding, when combined with certain medications such as aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents ibuprofen, aggravate certain health conditions, such as peptic ulcers, hyperacidity and acid reflux, interfere with the metabolism of other drugs, increasing the effect of some and lessening the effects of others. Eventually, the damaged liver cells are replaced by non-functioning scar tissue, a condition known as cirrhosis. Alcohol also acts as a depressant and affects numerous brain functions like thinking, reasoning, judgment, reaction time, speech and movement coordination. It causes changes in the DNA, hence causing increased risk of certain forms of cancer. It also affects DNA in the embryo and foetus, during pregnancy. The term foetal alcohol syndrome FAS refers to the effects on the foetus if a mother consumes alcohol while pregnant. The child may experience retardation in growth and mental development as well as facial birth defects. Alcohol causes sustained increase in blood pressure and may cause irregular heart beat arryhthmia and increases blood fats triglycerides. Alcohol induces hypoglycemia, low blood sugar in diabetics and also fatty changes in the liver.

Heavy alcohol consumption may also lead to addiction. Alcohol abuse is associated with sexual abuse, homicide and suicide. Excessive drinking among adolescents is becoming a serious concern globally.

Individuals vary in their ability to metabolise alcohol. As a consequence, they differ in their susceptibility to inebriation, hangover, and in the long run, addiction and organ damage. People of Asian descent are not able to metabolise same quantities of alcohol as that of Europeans.The tolerance also decreases as people grow older.

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It has been seen that blood alcohol rises faster in women, so they become more intoxicated than men at an equivalent dose of alcohol. Women on an average are smaller than men and have smaller livers and also significantly lower activity of gastric enzymes needed to metabolise alcohol. They typically have a heightened response to alcohol, when they are about to have their periods, or when taking birth control pills.

Moderate drinking is usually defined as one to two drinks for men and one for women.

There are clearly no recommendations to start drinking if you are a teetotaler. There are less toxic ways to get the benefits of antioxidants and polyphenols through fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs and supplements without running the risk of addiction.