Mike Blair English 1010 Issue Exploration Essay 11-22-2013

WHILE ALCOHOL MAY NOT BE BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH, IS ALCOHOL BAD?

How bad is alcohol? Could alcohol be good? That is the question that I want to try and resolve in my own head once and for all. There are many different viewpoints surrounding the issue of alcohol and the pros and cons of its effects. So what is the truth behind it? The first viewpoint is that alcohol is actually fine or possibly good for you if used in moderation. This is probably the closest viewpoint to my own. I am a social drinker but have been told recently by a doctor that I should not drink. This is not due to any health issues or any issue with me, but as I see it her personal feelings and upbringing concerning alcohol. It is interesting that there is such a stigma here in Utah regarding alcohol. When I lived in Nebraska, it definitely was looked at differently. So after having the doctors opinion pushed at me I decided it was time to do my own research to determine if alcohol is really bad. Alcohol use and peoples opinions of alcohol use, are like a slippery slope. Moderate drinking can offer some health benefits. However it's easy to drink too heavily, leading to serious health consequences. So what is moderation? This is the question that I have been asking. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that if you choose to drink alcohol you do so only in moderation up to one drink a day for women or two drinks a day for men. Examples of one drink include 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces

of wine or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits. (Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010). There is low risk drinking and then there is heavy or at-risk drinking. For healthy adults in general, drinking more than the daily or weekly amounts is considered at-risk or heavy drinking. These weekly amounts for men are no more that four drinks on any single day and fourteen drinks in an entire week. For women they should not consume more than, three drinks on any single day and no more than seven drinks in an entire week. The truth about drinking is that the majority, 7 out of 10 U.S. adults either abstain from drinking or are low risk drinkers. (NIAAA: Understanding the impact of alcohol on human health and well-being.)

Moderate alcohol consumption may provide some health benefits. It may: Reduce your risk of developing heart disease, lower your risk of dying of a heart attack, possibly reduce your risk of strokes, particularly ischemic strokes, lower your risk of gallstones and possibly reduce your risk of diabetes. (Positive Effects of Drinking Alcohol: Reality Bytes) Medical studies, scientific research and several experiments have proved that there are various positive effects of alcohol. But all these effects on the brain or body are evident, only if an individual follows the norms, rules and guidelines of safe drinking established by alcoholism experts. Adults who drink moderate amounts of alcohol tend to live longer than nondrinkers and those who drink heavily. In moderation, alcohol consumption appears to be associated with decreased risk for cardiovascular disease, strokes, high blood pressure, gallstones, age-related memory loss, and even type 2 diabetes. Some researchers believe it is the alcohol, and not a particular beverage (wine, beer, or distilled spirits) that provides cardioprotective effects. However, there is some evidence that other phytochemicals such as the antioxidants found in red wine may

provide added cardioprotective benefits. The next point of view is that alcohol is bad. It is referred to as a fatal addiction and people are urged to quit drinking immediately. Advocates against alcohol believe that Alcohol and alcohol abuse are the major cause for social, economic and public health problems.

Some health problems include damage to the brain damage to the liver, and other complications. Heavy drinking may have extensive and farreaching effects on the brain, ranging from simple slips in memory to permanent and debilitating conditions that require lifetime custodial care. Advocates believe that even moderate drinking leads to shortterm impairment, as shown by extensive research on the impact of drinking on driving. (NIAAA: Understanding the impact of alcohol on human health and well-being.) The other damage that has been researched is damage to the liver. Alcohol can damage or destroy liver cells. The liver breaks down alcohol so it can be removed from your body. Your liver can become injured or seriously damaged if you drink more alcohol than it can process. Some advocates against alcohol believe that alcohol is bad, because of their beliefs. Many religions have different views on alcohol. Many religions forbid alcoholic consumption or see it sinful or negative. Others have allocated a specific place for it, as in the Christian practice of using wine for Communion. Some Christians believe one ought to abstain from alcohol. Alcohol consumption is also prohibited by the LDS faith and the Islam faith. Is alcohol bad? It sounds like a mixed message to me. Drinking alcohol may offer

some health benefits, especially for your heart. On the other hand, alcohol may increase your risk of health problems and damage your heart. So which is it? It seems to me that the answer is when it comes to drinking alcohol the key is doing so only in moderation. Drinking alcohol in moderate amounts can have positive influences on physical and mental health. While alcohol is one of the most widely abused substances on the market, it is also one that features certain benefits for drinkers who consume it in safe amounts. For individuals who consume low levels of alcohol, benefits like reduced stress, increased cardiovascular health and decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes offer a wealth of reasons for people to drink in moderation.

Through my research I learned that alcohol has been around since the beginning of time. While no one knows when beverage alcohol was first used, it was presumably the result of a fortuitous accident that occurred at least tens of thousands of years ago. However, the discovery of late Stone Age beer jugs has established the fact that intentionally fermented beverages existed at least as early as the Neolithic period (cir. 10,000 B.C.), and it has been suggested that beer may have preceded bread as a staple (Braidwood et al, 1953; Katz and Voigt, 1987); wine clearly appeared as a finished product in Egyptian pictographs around 4,000 B.C. A variety of alcoholic beverages have been used in China since prehistoric times. Alcohol was considered a spiritual (mental) food rather than a material (physical) food, and extensive documentary evidence attests to the important role it played in the religious life.

While alcohol has always been misused by a minority of drinkers, it has clearly proved to be beneficial to most. In the words of the founding Director of the National

Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, "... alcohol has existed longer than all human memory. It has outlived generations, nations, epochs and ages. It is a part of us, and that is fortunate indeed. For although alcohol will always be the master of some, for most of us it will continue to be the servant of man." But for the average everyday guy like me, I see no harm with drinking in moderation.

Works Cited

Alcohol Research & Health. Alcoholic Brain Damage Vol. 27, No. 2, 2003. Hanson, David J. Preventing Alcohol Abuse. Alcohol, Culture, and Control. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995. HealthCare Veda. Some Negative effects of Alcohol. Web. 21. April 2009. <http://www.healthcareveda.com/post/Alcohol-abuse-and-Alcoholism.aspx> Katz, S. H. and Voigt. M. M. Bread and beer. The early use of cereals in the human diet. Expedition, 1987, 28, 23-34. Marshall, Mac. Beliefs, Behaviors, & Alcoholic Beverages. Web. 29. March 2008. <http://www.hoboes.com/Politics/Prohibition/Notes/Belief/> NIAAA. Understanding the impact of alcohol on human health and well-being. Web. <http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/> Pandey, Kundan. Positive effects of Drinking. Buzzle. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/positive-effects-of-alcohol.html>. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. Web. 31. Jan. 2011. <http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/DGAs2010-PolicyDocument.htm.>