Essentials of Nutrition for Sports

Any form of moderate alcohol consumption may decrease the
risk of heart disease, including heart attack.

Half a dozen long-term studies indicating risk reduction are

summarized in

Table 21

.

How this benefit occurs is not certain. Possibilities include: (1)

alcohol stimulates reverse cholesterol transport, a process by which cholesterol is removed from the tissues (including the walls of the coronary arteries), (2) alcohol improves HDL—good cholesterol, or (3) alcohol improves blood clotting problems.

Participants

Duration

Association

with

moderate

consumption compared with non-drinkers.

Kaiser Permanente: 123,840 men and women aged 30+

10 years

40% reduction in fatal myocardial infarction, 20% reduction in cardiovascular mortality; 80% increase in fatal hemorrhagic stroke.

Nurses’ Health Study: 85,709 female nurses aged 34-59

12 years

17% lower risk of all-cause mortality; an earlier report showed a 40% reduction in risk of CHD and 70% reduction in risk of ischemic stroke.

Physicians’ Health Study: 22,071 male physicians aged 40-84

11 years

30-35% reduced risk of angina and myocardial infarction, 20-30% reduced risk of cardiovascular death.

American Cancer Society: 489,626 men and women aged 30-104

9 years

30-40% reduced risk of cardiovascular death.

Eastern France: 34,014 men and women

10-15 years

25-30% reduced risk of cardiovascular death.

Health Professionals Follow-up Study: 38,077 male health professionals aged 40-75

12 years

35% reduced risk of myocardial infarction.

Table 21. Studies of alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease.

18

Other Benefits

Alcohol may decrease the incidence of gallstones and Type II

diabetes. Results are preliminary.

Alcoholic beverages may contribute to the flavor to foods—

when ingested with foods or when cooked with them. Cooking burns off alcohol.

Alcohol consumption is part of some religions and their rituals.

It is banned or discouraged in others.

Toxicity

19

Alcohol is associated with or causes:

-^

Addiction. Alcohol addiction (alcoholism) is a major health problem. Withdrawal symptoms include hyperexcitabilty, alterations in perception, toxic psychosis including hallucinations.

-^

Cancer. Alcoholics have a cancer rate 10 times that of the general population. The greatest increases over expected rates occur in the head and neck, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, and breast.

-^

Heart disease. Increases blood pressure and adversely affects heart muscle contraction and heart rhythm.

-^

Gastrointestinal problems: Alcohol results in inflammation of the esophagus and stomach. It is associated with gastrointestinal bleeding, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

-^

Liver disease. Alcohol causes fatty accumulation, hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver failure.

-^

Pancreatitis. Both acute and chronic.

18 Harvard School of Public Health. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/alcohol.html.

Accessed 10-09-2004.

19 Principle source: Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 12

th ed. McGraw-Hill. New York. 1991.

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