Alcohol

Ethanol = alcohol

Alcohol is produced by the fermentation of sugars.
Alcohol is a disinfectant and can be used as fuel.
Alcohol is a psychoactive substance and therefore influences our behavior and perception.

A sip of wine, beer, or liquor is broken down somewhat in the stomach, but it's the liver that has to break down the alcohol from your blood. Acetaldehyde is the breakdown product, a harmful substance excreted through your breath and urine.

There are 7 calories in 1 gram of alcohol. A glass of wine contains about 10 grams of alcohol.

Alcohol is addictive, both physically and mentally. In the case of physical addiction, you have to consume more and more to achieve the effect (the rush), and it also causes withdrawal symptoms during abstinence. People who think they can't live without alcohol (for example, during a night out or a party) are mentally addicted, but not physically. There are differing opinions about what constitutes a physical addiction. Different authorities use different guidelines.

The best guideline is: refrain from consuming alcohol.

Cirrhosis of the Liver

Excessive alcohol consumption causes fat to accumulate in the liver (fatty liver), which in turn becomes inflamed (hepatitis), causing irreversible scarring (cirrhosis) that eventually leads to liver failure.

Myths

Because alcohol thins the blood, it's sometimes said that moderate alcohol consumption offers better protection against heart disease. But even light drinkers, who average less than one drink per day, have an increased risk of cancer. Statistically, it may therefore be true that light/moderate drinkers live longer than abstainers (who die sooner from cardiovascular disease).

Agarwal DP. Cardioprotective effects of light-moderate consumption of alcohol: a review of putative mechanisms. Alcohol Alcohol. 2002; 37(5):409-15

The "sick quitter effect" also supports the myth that moderate drinking is better than not drinking or drinking heavily. If studies find that moderate drinkers have less cirrhosis, this is more likely to be due to the poor health of non-drinkers (who never started drinking alcohol because they already had liver disease) or to the fact that moderate drinkers were once heavy drinkers and started drinking less because of liver disease.

Ng Fat, L., Cable, N., Marmot, M. & Shelton, N. (2013) Persistent long-standing illness and non-drinking over time, implications for the use of lifetime abstainers as a control group, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, doi:10.1136/jech-2013-202576

Breast Cancer

Compared to non-drinkers, women who consume 30 to 60 grams of alcohol per day (e.g., 3 to 6 glasses of wine) have a 41% higher risk of breast cancer. Research from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) has shown that lifestyle plays a significant role in the development of breast cancer. A low-alcohol diet, a primarily plant-based diet, and maintaining a healthy weight resulted in a 62% lower risk of breast cancer.

Smith-Warner SA, Spiegelman P, Yaun S-S, et al. Alcohol and breast cancer in women. A pooled analysis of cohort studies. JAMA. 279 (1998): 535-540.

Hastert TA1, Beresford SA, Sheppard L, White E. Adherence to the WCRF/AICR cancer prevention recommendations and risk of post menopausal breast cancer. Cancer epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013; 22(9) 1498-508

Excessive alcohol use also increases the risk of throat cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Kolodecik T1, Shugrue C1, Ashat M1, Thrower EC Risk factors for pancreatic cancer: underlying mechanisms and potential targets. Front Physiol. 2014 Jan 16;4:415. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2013.00415. eCollection 2013.

Skin

Alcohol also plays a role in skin cancer. Higher alcohol consumption leads to faster sunburn. Alcohol's breakdown products create so many free radicals that the antioxidants present that protect us from UV rays no longer have a chance.

We can reduce the harmful effects of the sun by eating plenty of antioxidant-rich foods. Tomatoes, for example, are rich in carotenoids. However, alcohol quickly negates this protection. Imagine eating two plates of pasta with tomato sauce, drinking three glasses of vodka, and then sitting in the sun for a while. After eight minutes, the protective effect of the carotenoids has diminished drastically.

Mukamal KJ .Alcohol consumption and self-reported sunburn: a cross-sectional, population-based survey. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2006 Oct;55(4):584-9. Epub 2006 Jun 12.

Saladi RN1, Nektalova T, Fox JL. Induction of skin carcinogenicity by alcohol and ultraviolet light. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2010 Jan;35(1):7-11. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2230.2009.03465.x. Epub 2009 Sep 23.

Darvin ME1, Sterry W, Lademann J, Patzelt A. Alcohol consumption decreases the protection efficiency of the antioxidant network and increases the risk of sunburn in human skin. Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2013;26(1):45-51. doi: 10.1159/000343908. Epub 2012 Nov 7.

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