No discussion on health is complete without answering questions of alcohol. Let’s have a look at the facts. The alcohol we consume 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 (330 ml of beer, 110 ml of wine, 35 ml of liquor). Technically, alcohol may be classified as a food because it provides energy, one of the major functions of food. It contains about seven calories per gram, almost twice the value of an equal amount of carbohydrate or protein. Beer and wine also contain some carbohydrates, a source of additional calories. 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. Alcohol’s value as a source of nutrients is nil. Although wine and beer contain trace amounts of proteins, vitamins and minerals, vodka/gin/rum/whisky has no 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. The liver of a man who weighs 60 kg can metabolise (fully digest) only about 10 ml of alcohol, or less than one drink, per hour. The rate is lower in smaller individuals and higher in larger individuals. Thus, consumption of alcohol at a rate greater than one drink per hour will result in an accumulation of alcohol in the blood; this is measured as the blood alcohol content. On the positive side, most recent reports show that moderate consumption of alcohol (one to two drinks per day) protects against coronary heart disease, reduces emotional stress, decreases platelet aggregability (clotting ability) by increasing the activity of a clot-dissolving enzyme in the blood and raises levels of the good cholesterol, HDL. Red wine contains flavonoids like reservetol (as does purple grape juice), which may slow the activity of platelets and prevent oxidation of cholesterol. However, while these effects may be true for the first or second drink, the third may have harmful effects. These include: gastrointestinal bleeding, when combined with certain medications such as aspirin or ibuprofen; aggravation of peptic ulcers, hyperacidity and acid reflux and degeneration of liver cells. Eventually the damaged liver cells are replaced by non-functioning scar tissue, a condition known as cirrhosis. Alcohol can also act as a depressant and affect numerous brain functions like thinking, reasoning, judgment, reaction time, speech and movement coordination. It can lead to changes in DNA and increase risk of pharyngeal, esophageal and also breast and colon cancer. It affects DNA in the embryo and fetus, during pregnancy, causes obesity, sustained increase in blood pressure and irregular heart beat (arryhthmia). Individuals vary in their ability to metabolize 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 the quantities of alcohol that Europeans do. It has been seen that blood alcohol rises faster in women, so they become more intoxicated than men on an equivalent dose of alcohol. Women, on an average, are smaller than men and have smaller livers, thus they have less capacity of digesting alcohol. Women also have lower total body water and higher body fat than men of comparable size. After alcohol is consumed, it diffuses uniformly into all body water, both inside and outside cells. Because of their smaller quantity of body water, after drinking equivalent amounts, women have higher concentrations of alcohol in their blood than men do. Women have significantly lower activity of gastric enzymes needed to metabolise alcohol and have a heightened response to alcohol, when they are about to have their periods, or when taking birth control pills. Female alcoholics have death rates 50-100 per cent higher than those of male alcoholics. So how much is too much? Abstinence is the best policy for pregnant women. Alcohol consumed in moderation, along with a balanced diet, should not pose any health problem to a healthy person. Moderate drinking is usually defined as one to two drinks for men and one for women. Moderate intake is not an average of seven drinks per week, when there are six days of abstinence followed by seven drinks in one night! There are clearly no recommendations to start drinking if you are a teetotaller.The writer 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: “To be healthy should be the ultimate goal for all.”
