429Increased risk of cancer of the colon and rectum. In the mid-1990s, studies at the University
of Oklahoma suggested that men who drink more than five beers a day are at increased risk
of rectal cancer. Later studies suggested that men and women who are heavy beer or spirits
drinkers (but not those who are heavy wine drinkers) have a higher risk of colorectal cancers.
Further studies are required to confirm these findings.
Increased risk of oral cancer (cancer of the mouth and throat). Numerous studies confirm the
American Cancer Society’s warning that men and women who consume more than two
drinks a day are at higher risk of oral cancer than are nondrinkers or people who drink less.
NOTE: The Dietary Guidelines for Americans describes one drink as 12 ounces of beer, five
ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.
Alcoholism. Alcoholism is an addiction disease, the inability to control one’s alcohol
consumption. It is a potentially life-threatening condition, with a higher risk of death by
accident, suicide, malnutrition, or acute alcohol poisoning, a toxic reaction that kills by para-
lyzing body organs, including the heart.
Malnutrition. While moderate alcohol consumption stimulates appetite, alcohol abuse
depresses it. In addition, an alcoholic may drink instead of eating. When an alcoholic does
eat, excess alcohol in his/her body prevents absorption of nutrients and reduces the ability
to synthesize new tissue.
Hangover. Alcohol is absorbed from the stomach and small intestine and carried by the
bloodstream to the liver, where it is oxidized to acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase
(ADH), the enzyme our bodies use every day to metabolize the alcohol we produce when
we digest carbohydrates. The acetaldehyde is converted to acetyl coenzyme A and either
eliminated from the body or used in the synthesis of cholesterol, fatty acids, and body tis-
sues. Although individuals vary widely in their capacity to metabolize alcohol, an adult of
average size can metabolize the alcohol in 13 ounces (400 ml) of wine in approximately
five to six hours. If he or she drinks more than that, the amount of alcohol in the body will
exceed the available supply of ADH. The surplus, unmetabolized alcohol will pile up in the
bloodstream, interfering with the liver’s metabolic functions. Since alcohol decreases the
reabsorption of water from the kidneys and may inhibit the secretion of an antidiuretic hor-
mone, the drinker will begin to urinate copiously, losing magnesium, calcium, and zinc but
retaining more irritating uric acid. The level of lactic acid in the body will increase, making
him or her feel tired and out of sorts; the acid-base balance will be out of kilter; the blood
vessels of the head will swell and throb and the stomach, its lining irritated by the alcohol,
will ache. The ultimate result is a “hangover” whose symptoms will disappear only when
enough time has passed to allow the body to marshal the ADH needed to metabolize the
extra alcohol in the blood.
Changes in body temperature. Alcohol dilates capillaries, tiny blood vessels just under the
skin, producing a “flush” that temporarily warms the drinker. But drinking is not an effec-
tive way to stay warm in cold weather. Warm blood flowing up from the body core to the
surface capillaries is quickly chilled, making you even colder when it circulates back into
your organs. In addition, an alcohol flush triggers perspiration, further cooling your skin.
Wine