Why You Should Cut Down Your Alcohol Intake?

Can a person get away with a drink now and then without it doing much harm? Perhaps. But what exactly what does "now and then" mean? Are we talking a drink or two a week, or a two to three every night after work? Here's just a partial list of the many health negatives associated with excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Depressed Immune System Function

Research now clearly shows that excessive amounts of alcohol in the bloodstream result in loss of white blood cells, which fight off foreign invaders and cancerous cells.

Allergic Reactions

According to the Center of Science in the Public Interest, as many as 20 million of us may be allergic to the other ingredi­ents besides alcohol in wine, beer, and distilled spirits. "It is astonishing how many people find that alcoholic beverages not only go to their heads but also to their skin and gastrointesti­nal and respiratory systems," observes allergist Claude A Frazer, M.D., author of Coping with Food Allergy.

Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency

Alcohol uses up nutrients, leaving our stores depleted. It robs our bodies of vitamins C and A folic acid and other B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, iron, and zinc.

Cancer

The excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages has been linked to the development of a variety of cancers, including those of the throat, mouth, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, blad­der, breast, pancreas, head, neck, and liver.

In addition, Patrick Quillin, Ph.D., R.D., reports in his book Healing Nutrients that "in a study of over 8,000 men... those who consumed more than 16 ounces of beer daily had an increased risk of rectal cancer. Wine and whisky consumption were related to an increased risk of lung cancer."

Many alcoholic beverages have also been found to contain pesticide residues from sprayed fruits or grains, plus another cancer-causing agent called urethane which forms in alcoholic drinks as the result of naturally occurring chemical reactions. It has been found in American bourbon whiskeys, European fruit brandies, cream sherries, port, sake, and Chinese wines.

Stroke

In the study reported above by Patrick Quillin, drinkers had more than twice the rate of strokes as nondrinkers. Heavy drinkers experienced five times more strokes than nondrinkers.

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

Of course, part of the reason for strokes is a rupture in a blood vessel in the brain. This is often the result of high blood pres­sure. Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages raises blood pressure.

Osteoporosis

When alcoholic beverages are consumed, calcium is drained from our bones and teeth in order to help alkalinize their acid. Studies show that alcohol consumption also actually interferes with calcium absorption from other foods. Social drinkers are two and a half times more likely to develop osteoporosis than nondrinkers. People who consume alcohol in excess are sure to develop the disease.

Liver Problems

In her book The Nutrition Detective, Nan Kathryn Fuchs, Ph.D., points out that "alcohol makes it more difficult for the liver to work properly. And, if your liver isn't working properly, it is more difficult to produce the enzyme that metabolizes alcohol in the liver." You wind up caught in a vicious circle. She goes on to say that "a healthy liver can handle only 2 to 3 teaspoons of alcohol an hour... (taking) as long as 24 hours to eliminate the alcohol and the by-products from just one drink."

Excessive alcohol consumption can eventually lead to cir­rhosis of the liver, the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. Men who consume three drinks a day, and women who drink only half that much, are at increased risk for developing this disease. Cirrhosis is a scarring of the liver in which normal cells are damaged and replaced by scar tissue, which keeps the liver from carrying on its vital functions prop­erly. It is an irreversible condition, often making its presence known only when things have reached crisis proportions.

Birth Defects

The surgeon general of the United States has been warning women since the early 1980s to abstain from all alcohol use while pregnant. Heavy drinking while pregnant can lead to FAS, fetal alcohol syndrome. This involves permanent physi­cal and mental damage to the fetus, worst cases resembling Down's syndrome. According to Dr. David Steenblock, D.O., even men who consume alcohol run the risk of producing chil­dren with FAS.

Even at very low levels of consumption (0.1 ounce a day), alcohol can have negative neurological results on unborn children.

Alcohol has the potential to damage every system in our bodies by destroying or depressing the proper functioning of the cells and organs that comprise them. In her book Everyday Cancer Risks and How to Avoid Them, author Mary Kerney Levenstein points out that alcohol has been linked to damage of the central nervous system, the gastrointestinal system, the circulatory system, the musculoskeletal system, the reproductive system, and the immune system.

Bottom line, drinking alcoholic beverages is just not a healthy habit.