WebMD has a website called Medscape which is used to educate health care professionals on current research and best practices in medicine. It often has CME programs to earn credits for licensure renewal etc. I went to the website recently in order to print my CME credits and while I was there I saw a piece about the health promoting aspects of alcohol. The specific recommendation on alcohol is as follows: women - no more than one glass of wine/beer/liquor ( as measured in serving sizes of 4oz, 12oz, 1.5oz respectively) per day and men no more than 2. The science states that this moderate amount of alcohol could reduce adverse cardiovascular outcomes compared to persons who consume NO alcohol and those who consume too much.
A primary care physician noted that even as this evidence was nearing conclusiveness, he did not recommend that his abstainers begin drinking and he wondered if he should. He asked the Medscape community if they recommended alcohol consumption to their patients. He received many responses. I am personally in support of the alcohol and health connection. I am also aware that some persons are alcoholics and cannot drink any amount of alcohol because they cannot keep it at the health promoting level.
Comments were varied and for and against, but one was especially aggressive and anti alcohol. This response was from a man who was in AA and had been sober for many years. He felt that there was absolutely NO place for alcohol, No amount, in any one's life. Which leads me to this response:
Unlike tobacco, there is a health promoting way to use alcohol for some persons. Because alcohol is a poison to alcoholics does not mean it is a poison to others. I would ask that particular person if he would make the same declaration about peanuts if he happened to be allergic to them?
Just because something is bad for one person doesn't mean we all have to avoid it. Some things are bad for all people - period - pollution, inactivity, mercury, tobacco, processed foods - etc....
This is an exception then. Research does show us a positive use for alcohol and in case you are wondering -caffeine. And for both, over consumption, just like over consumption of food, is deleterious.
Showing posts with label alcohol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alcohol. Show all posts
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Buckfast
I cannot even think of what that title might mean to anyone living outside of the UK. Well, yes I can. In America, it could make you think of what broncos do in a rodeo. They jump and buck and try to rid themselves of that inconvenient rider.
But in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland it is a wine that was originally created and sold by the monks of Buckfast Abbey. The monks no longer sell it themselves and it is no longer known as a tonic nor advertised as having health benefits (it once was!).
I only heard about it yesterday when listening to the BBC Scotland and as I researched it today, I saw that the controversy did not begin yesterday but has been going for years.
I think that the new attention is due to a documentary being aired in the UK that speaks to the significant number of crimes in Scotland that have some association with Buckfast. Buckfast is also called Buckie and some other names ("wreck the hoose juice" is my favorite). In fact, it sort of reminds me of the cheap, sweet wine that teenagers drank in my coming up years, Boone's Farms.
The difference is that Buckfast has double the alcohol content of Boone's Farms and also contains a significant amount of caffeine. Buckie is sold in a green and a brown bottle with a bit of a variation in alcohol content and caffeine. The caffeine is 35-55 mg per 3 ounces and the alcohol is near 15% for the same. In the USA a wine serving is supposed to be 4 ounces and is usually served as 6-8 . (also, coffee has on average 60 mg of caffeine)
The controversy involves where to pin the blame for the high crime association. The news regards a report that a particular precinct in Scotland had over 5000 incidents which included mention of Buckfast, that nearly half the people involved in them were drinking it before hand and that the bottle itself was used as a weapon over one hundred times. The numbers are for a recent three year period.
The arguments made include that the alcohol itself is the problem and should be banned, that the people drinking it are the problem, that the area where the report has come from is the problem and that caffeinated alcohol is the issue. We have had that last concern come up in America and the USA was noted in that regard in at least one article. Others say that it isn't fair to pick on Buckfast and that comparison statistics for other beverages should also be put in the press.
Scottish politicians are concerned over proliferation of the drunken Scot stereotype. This reminds me of one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite authors in my all time favorite books, Diana Gabaldon and the Outlander Series. Now I must say, the reason I listen to BBC Scotland is partly because of these books, but more so because it is my heritage. My ancestry is Scotch, Dutch and Italian. If you've taken a look at my profile picture it is likely no surprise to you that I did not list them in order of amount!
Anyways, I am going to add to the stereotype with absence of malice and in honor of my Scotch/Dutch father.
" The only time you'll find a Scot not drinking is at a funeral - and that's only if he's the one in the coffin. "
But in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland it is a wine that was originally created and sold by the monks of Buckfast Abbey. The monks no longer sell it themselves and it is no longer known as a tonic nor advertised as having health benefits (it once was!).
I only heard about it yesterday when listening to the BBC Scotland and as I researched it today, I saw that the controversy did not begin yesterday but has been going for years.
I think that the new attention is due to a documentary being aired in the UK that speaks to the significant number of crimes in Scotland that have some association with Buckfast. Buckfast is also called Buckie and some other names ("wreck the hoose juice" is my favorite). In fact, it sort of reminds me of the cheap, sweet wine that teenagers drank in my coming up years, Boone's Farms.
The difference is that Buckfast has double the alcohol content of Boone's Farms and also contains a significant amount of caffeine. Buckie is sold in a green and a brown bottle with a bit of a variation in alcohol content and caffeine. The caffeine is 35-55 mg per 3 ounces and the alcohol is near 15% for the same. In the USA a wine serving is supposed to be 4 ounces and is usually served as 6-8 . (also, coffee has on average 60 mg of caffeine)
The controversy involves where to pin the blame for the high crime association. The news regards a report that a particular precinct in Scotland had over 5000 incidents which included mention of Buckfast, that nearly half the people involved in them were drinking it before hand and that the bottle itself was used as a weapon over one hundred times. The numbers are for a recent three year period.
The arguments made include that the alcohol itself is the problem and should be banned, that the people drinking it are the problem, that the area where the report has come from is the problem and that caffeinated alcohol is the issue. We have had that last concern come up in America and the USA was noted in that regard in at least one article. Others say that it isn't fair to pick on Buckfast and that comparison statistics for other beverages should also be put in the press.
Scottish politicians are concerned over proliferation of the drunken Scot stereotype. This reminds me of one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite authors in my all time favorite books, Diana Gabaldon and the Outlander Series. Now I must say, the reason I listen to BBC Scotland is partly because of these books, but more so because it is my heritage. My ancestry is Scotch, Dutch and Italian. If you've taken a look at my profile picture it is likely no surprise to you that I did not list them in order of amount!
Anyways, I am going to add to the stereotype with absence of malice and in honor of my Scotch/Dutch father.
" The only time you'll find a Scot not drinking is at a funeral - and that's only if he's the one in the coffin. "
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Cheers, alcohol and you
A little bit about alcohol and health
According to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the American Heart Association and Harvard's Nutrition Source, among others; one drink a day for women and no more than two drinks a day for men, can be health promoting. There are two, no three, very important caveats to that statement however.
1) a drink is the equivalent of 1.5 ounces of liquor, 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine... I challenge you, urge you, measure your wine if nothing else, because almost everyone drinks more. In fact, I almost always choose beer or the whiskey sour below, why? Well, because I apply the volumetrics concept to my alcohol too!
2) we, as a people, are notoriously bad at controlling the intake of things that make us feel good, food for example. There is a very fine line between health promoting and disease causing alcohol consumption. Here is the blurb for Walter Willett and Harvard:
Moderate drinking for many people can have real health benefits, but it's not for everyone. Those who don’t drink should not feel that they need to start. For more information, read "."
and 3) alcohol has calories! If you add the drink and do not take something away, in a month or two the pounds will begin to accumulate. It is the same with any recommendation you hear. If you are of a healthy weight and wish to maintain it, you cannot add new foods without compensating. So add something good and take away something less good.
Here is a little video about a sugar free tasty alcoholic beverage.
According to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the American Heart Association and Harvard's Nutrition Source, among others; one drink a day for women and no more than two drinks a day for men, can be health promoting. There are two, no three, very important caveats to that statement however.
1) a drink is the equivalent of 1.5 ounces of liquor, 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine... I challenge you, urge you, measure your wine if nothing else, because almost everyone drinks more. In fact, I almost always choose beer or the whiskey sour below, why? Well, because I apply the volumetrics concept to my alcohol too!
2) we, as a people, are notoriously bad at controlling the intake of things that make us feel good, food for example. There is a very fine line between health promoting and disease causing alcohol consumption. Here is the blurb for Walter Willett and Harvard:
Moderate drinking for many people can have real health benefits, but it's not for everyone. Those who don’t drink should not feel that they need to start. For more information, read "."
and 3) alcohol has calories! If you add the drink and do not take something away, in a month or two the pounds will begin to accumulate. It is the same with any recommendation you hear. If you are of a healthy weight and wish to maintain it, you cannot add new foods without compensating. So add something good and take away something less good.
Here is a little video about a sugar free tasty alcoholic beverage.
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