ALCOHOL “GOOD FOR YOU”/ “BAD FOR YOU”?
JUNE
RUSSELL’S HEALTH FACTS
www.jrussellshealth.org
Additional updates and new material will be added periodically as time
and finances allow. The purpose of this website is to balance some of the facts
about health information and make it available to the public – especially to
health care providers. Often the media reports are deceptive, inaccurate or
biased, and individuals cannot make responsible choices about their health – or
advising others – if not given the facts. Politics, monetary gain, and the need
for sensationalism often influence what is reported, and there are times when
the announced outcome of a particular study is not even the same conclusion of
the researchers. Omitting the dangers can make a study appear to be a positive
one, and a single study is often presented as an absolute, with no mention of
the many other available studies showing different outcomes. Drug companies are
required to submit at least 2 drug studies to the FDA that show positive
outcomes, with no mention to the public about the other studies that may show
harm. I hope this information will encourage you to do your own research and
further update the topics that interest you by researching them more
extensively.
*ALCOHOL – The
dangers of light/moderate consumption. The media and alcohol industry have
deceived the public into believing that alcohol is only harmful in greater
quantities, and one can drink ‘responsibly’. My website does not address
“heavy,” “too much” or “excessive” use of alcohol, and though not clearly
defined, there are general agreements that these amounts are unhealthy.
(Two drinks a day is
considered “heavy” drinking!)
FOUND ON WWW.JRUSSELLSHEALTH.ORG : SMALLER
AMOUNTS OF ALCOHOL’S EFFECTS ON : Accidents, Addictions Allergies, Anxiety and
Depression (Suicide), Arthritis, Brain Function and Memory (also Alzheimer’s),
Blood Pressure, Cancer, Colds and Flu, Diabetes, Digestive System, Double
Whammies, Effect of One Alcoholic Drink, Exercise, Fatigue, Free Radicals,
Headaches/Hangovers, Health Benefits Questioned (this includes information on
wine and beer, and questionable ingredients in alcoholic beverages),
Heart/Triglycerides, Immune System (AIDS), Insulin, Kidney and Bladder, Liver,
Medications, Men (Sex, Reproduction, Prostate), Miscellaneous (eyes, ears,
skin, hair, thyroid, smoking, sinus, etc.), Osteoporosis, Seniors, Sex, Sleep,
Stress, Surgery, Teens, Vitamins and Nutrients, Weather (negative effects to
the body’s control mechanism),Weight, “Wine Healthy?” and Women. Research in
the Lancet (2005) reported that
alcohol is “as harmful as smoking” and that just a mild dose of alcohol
compromises the ability to take in important needed information and process it.
A majority of Americans consume alcohol, which results in a
conscious/unconscious desire to legitimize their ‘drug of choice,’ so any
possible positive reports are favored and the reports/studies of the dangers
are virtually ignored or minimized.
THE HARM FROM SMALLER AMOUNTS OF ALCOHOL/WINE
Alcoholic beverages
are now classified by our government to be a class “A” human carcinogen, along
with arsenic, asbestos, tobacco, etc., and the presence of alcohol hastens the breakdown of antioxidants in the
blood, speeding their elimination from the body. Antioxidants (such as
resveratrol) have possible benefits, but that does not translate into wine
being healthy. The American Institute for
Cancer Research tells us that alcohol is a tumor- promoter and that cancer
risk may be increased by drinking ‘any’ amount
of alcohol. There have been no clinical trials to prove that alcohol can
be healthy, only by association/observations, which is how HRT (Hormone
Replacement Therapy) was erroneously shown to be healthy for women.
The ‘French Paradox’
was disproved years ago by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other health
organizations because of faulty data. It should cause concern that these facts
have not been reported to the public to balance the “Wine good for you” vs.
“Wine bad for you.”
Studies are often
skewed, as in the studies about wine. Wine drinkers, as a group, have a
healthier lifestyle in general (not inclusive of the wine), and the ‘sick
quitters’ are often included in the nondrinkers. These facts should cause the
public to question the possible positive effect of alcohol, and there is no
requirement for the drug alcohol to reveal its dangers (side effects).
Evidence shows that
alcohol use is dose related, that is, smaller amounts do less damage, but there
is still harm from even smaller amounts. Alcohol is a toxin to every part of
the body. Healthy for the heart? Although
studies suggest that smaller amounts of alcohol/wine may lessen the incidences
of the ischemic stroke (which is more prevalent), there is an increase in
hemorrhagic stroke, which does more damage. Alcohol also destroys an enzyme in
the heart needed for contraction. (See Alcohol – Heart”). Using an alcoholic
drink to relax? This is not true relaxation, it is anesthetizing/drugging, the
drinker. It actually interferes with sleep. (See “Alcohol -Sleep”)
I am a retired health
educator, researcher, writer and journalist, writing for newspapers and disseminating information to
organizations/groups/individuals and to other health websites, as well as my
own. Your health is your most prized possession, ask anyone who doesn’t have
it! Spend time to find out the true facts. As the pharmaceutical companies
increase their power, there will be more
information on drugs and less information on natural
therapies/cures/prevention.
*June Russell, 94 Oak Forest Circle, Charlottesville VA
22901-russells@embarqmail.com - 434-974-6595
– Fax: 434-974-1799 www.jrussellshealth.org
– for more health topics.
There are references
on the dangers of light and moderate alcohol use, and I examine the deceptions
of the studies ‘and’ the media reports.