Healthy_Food_Guide_UK_-_January_2020

JANUARY 2020HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE 83

HEALTH

Q

Whycanmyfriendholdher
drinkbetterthanme?I feel
lightheadedafterone,butshecould
drinka bottleofwineandseemfine.

Youmaythinkalcoholis brokendownintheliverin
oneprocess.Infact,it involvestwokeystagesandtwo
differentenzymes.Instageone,enzymeonechanges
alcoholintoa powerfultoxincalledacetaldehyde.This
is whatmakesyoulookflushedandfeelnauseous,
whilecrankingupyourheartrate.Instagetwo,the
secondenzymebreaksdownacetaldehydeintothe
harmlessproductacetate.Thespeedatwhichthese
twostageshappenvariesfrompersontoperson.
Howefficientlytheenzymesworkdependsonour
genes,whichis whyyourfriend’sreactiontoalcohol
mayseemdifferentfromyours.Forexample,if you’re
geneticallyprogrammedtobreakdownalcohol
rapidlyintothetoxicacetaldehyde,andthenonly
slowlydismantlethisintoharmlessacetate,the
chancesareyou’llfeelbadafterdrinkingverylittle.
Forothers,thealcoholalsorapidlybreakdown
intothetoxicacetaldehydebutthenquicklybecome
harmlessacetate.Becausethewholeprocess
is faster,they’llappeartofeeltheeffectsless
dramaticallyandwillbemorelikelytogo on drinking.
It mayseembeneficialtobea fast
metaboliser(likeyourfriend),as
alcoholappearstoaffectherless.
Butremember,theeffectsofalcohol
onyourbodieswillbethesame.
Beinga slowmetabolisercancurb
alcoholintakesasyoustarttofeel
bad,whereasbeinga fastmetaboliser
could make you more prone to alcoholism.

Q

Whydoesa glassofwineat
lunchtimemakemefeelheady
whenit doesn’tintheevening?

Ourbiologicalrhythmsdeterminewhenwewake
upandwhenwesleepandcontrolhormoneand
enzymelevelsthroughouttheday.Thismeans
therateatwhichweeliminatealcoholdepends
onthetimeofday– wehavemoreoftheenzymes
thatbreakdownalcoholinourliverintheevening
thanwedoatlunchtime.Thisis whyonedrinkat
lunchtimemayknockyouforsix,yet in the evening
it appears to have less effect.

Q

Doesliningmystomachwith
milkbeforedrinking,orhaving
a mealwhendrinking, diminish the
effectsofalcohol?

Milkis essentiallya foodandanyfoodinthe
stomachslowsdownthespeedatwhichit empties.
This means that if you drink alcohol with a meal or

❛Therateatwhichweeliminatealcohol

dependsonthetimeofday– wehave

moreoftheenzymesthatbreakdown

alcohol in our liver in the evening❜

havemilkbeforeyoudrink,alcoholwillenteryour

bloodstreammoreslowlyandthereforedelaythe

speedatwhichyoufeelitseffects.Drinktwoglasses

ofwineonanemptystomachandyou’recertainly

goingtofeeltheeffectssoonerandmoreacutely

thanif youdrinkthesameamountwitha meal.

Beforeyougetcarriedaway,however,remember

drinkingwithfooddoesnotmagicawaythealcohol

and your liver will still have to deal with it.

Q

Whycan’twomenmatch

mendrinkfordrink?

Alcoholis heldinthebodywater,notinthefat,and

womengenerallyhavelessbodywaterthenmen

(althoughtheyhavea higherpercentageofbodyfat

thanmen).Thisholdstrueevenif a man and woman

havethesamebodyweight.

Sayyoueachhavea bottleof5%ABVlager– the

levelofalcoholmeasuredinthewoman’sbloodwill

behigherafterdrinkingit asthereis lesswaterfor

thealcoholtobedissolvedinherbody.Addto

thisthefactthatwomentendtobesmallerthan

men,andyouhavethesameamountofalcohol

going into asmallerbodyandproportionallystill

lesswaterforit bedissolvedin,which

inturnmeansthealcoholis more

concentrated.Drinkfordrink,it will

thereforehavemoreeffect on the

womanthantheman.

Also,althoughthemajorityof

alcohol-breakingenzymesareinthe

liver,smallamountscanbefoundin

thestomach.Menappeartohavemoreofthese

stomach-basedenzymesthanwomen,whichmay

alsocontributetotheirlowerlevelsofbloodalcohol

after drinking the same amount of alcohol.

Q

Isredwinethebestdrinktochoose

asit’srichinantioxidants?

Thisideastemslargelyfromthefactthatredwine

containsresveratrol.Thisis a plantchemicalknown

asa polyphenol(alsofoundinpurplegrapesand

purplegrapejuice).Researchersstartedstudying

thiscompound,thinkingit couldhelpexplainwhy

thepopulationofwine-drinkingFrancehadrelatively

lowratesofheartdiseaseeventhoughtheyappeared

toeatrelativelyhigheramountsofsaturatedfats, in

meatandcheese,thanotherpopulations.

Sadly,thislinkhasnotbeenconfirmed.DrAngelo

AzziofTuftsUniversityinBoston,USA,says,

‘Moderatealcoholconsumptionappearstohave

a protectiveeffectagainstcoronaryheartdisease,

butit’snotclearwhethertheresveratrolinredwine

confersanyextraprotection.’Hesaysdespitethe

health halo resveratrol has in the public’s eyes (both