PurposeIn earlier times, when subsistence agriculture was
the norm, alcoholic beverages, usually beer or mead
(fermented honey andwater), provided a substantial
percentage of calories in the diet. Today people drink
alcohol to relax and socialize, to get high, or because
they are physically addicted to it.
Description
Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol,is produced by yeast fer-
mentation of the natural sugars in plants, such as grapes
(wine), hops (beer), sugar cane (rum), agave (tequila), or
rice (saki). The process of fermenting plants to produce
alcohol is at least 10,000 years old and appears to have
developed independently in many cultures.
Alcohol affects almost every system of the body.
Research suggests that when alcohol is consumed in
moderation, there are some health benefits and some
health risks. Heavy use of alcohol has no health bene-
fits and many health risks. The federalDietary Guide-
lines for Americans 2005.define moderate alcohol
consumption as one drink per day for women and
two drinks per day for men. This difference by gender
is because women tend to be smaller than men, and
their bodies contain a lower percentage of water, so an
equivalent amount of alcohol in a woman’s blood-
stream will be more concentrated than in a man’s.
A ‘‘drink’’ according to these guidelines contains
about 14 grams of alcohol and is defined as:
12 fluid ounces of regular beer
5 fluid ounces of wine
1.5 fluid ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits
Using this definition, one regular beer contains
about 145 calories. One glass of red wine has 105
calories, and white wine has about 100 calories. One
shot of distilled spirits has about 95 calories plus any
calories in the mixer used mixed drinks.Benefits of moderate alcohol consumption
Goodevidencebasedonmorethan100studies
shows that moderate alcohol consumption can help pre-
vent heart attack, sudden cardiac death, peripheral vas-
cular disease, and stroke caused by blood clots (ischemic
stroke). The risk of these diseases is reduced between
25% and 40% in both men and women. The reduction
is seen in both people who have no apparent heart disease
and those who are at high risk of heart disease because
they have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure (hyper-
tension), angina (chest pain), or have already had one
heart attack. Researchers suggestthatthisprotective
effect occurs because alcohol increases the amount of
HDL or ‘‘good’’ cholesterol and also affects various
proteins in ways that make blood clotting less likely.
In two other large studies, people who were mod-
erate drinkers also were less likely to develop type 2
diabetes andgallstones. Gallstones are hard masses of
cholesterol andcalciumthat form in the gallbladder.
Finally, moderate drinking serves a social purpose
that can provide psychological benefits.Risks of moderate alcohol consumption
Moderate alcohol consumption also carries with it
some risks. In women, even moderate drinking is asso-
ciated with a modest increase in the risk of developing
breastcancer. However, researchers suggest that tak-
ing at least 600 mg of folic acid daily will counteract
this increased risk.
Even moderate alcohol consumption by a preg-
nant woman can damage the developing fetus. Alco-
hol consumption can also alter sleep patterns and
interact with many medications (see Interactions
below). However, by far the greatest risk of moderateCalories in alcoholServing amount Average
Beverage (ounce) (calories)
Beer
Regular 12 149
Light 12 110
Distilled (80 proof)
Gin, rum, vodka, 1.0 65
whisky, tequila
Brandy, cognac 1.0 65
Liqueurs (Drambuie, 1.5 188
Cointreau, Kahlua)
Wine
Red 4 80
Dry white 4 75
Sweet 4 105
Sherry 2 75
Port 2 90
Champagne 4 84
Vermouth, sweet 3 140
Vermouth, dry 3 105
Cocktails
Martini 3.5 140
Manhattan 3.5 164
Daiquiri 4 122
Whiskey sour 3 122
Margarita cocktail 4 168
Coolers 6 150SOURCE: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,
National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services(Illustration by GGS Information Services/Thomson Gale.)
Alcohol consumption