This section is going to be short, because
alcohol has no redeeming health qualities. We
don’t care what you’ve heard about red wine
or agave tequila or gluten-free beer—the
common denominator of all these beverages is
the alcohol, and the alcohol is the primary
problem. (We’ll address some of the
marketing claims to make booze appear to be
a less-guilty pleasure later.)
Alcohol fails all four of our Good Food
standards. First, in terms of a healthy
psychological response, alcohol is addictive.
Not just the colloquial definition of
“addiction”—it’s actually addictive in the
clinical definition: promoting desire even in
the face of negative consequences, tolerance
to the effect of the substance, and withdrawal