Alcohol: friend or foe? Studies show doctors say moderate drinking is healthy
By J. Barbour (AP) 12/16/93

Editor's Note - AA calls it a baffling, cunning, powerful foe. MADD points to its trail of death on the streets and highways. But science is accumulating evidence that moderate use of alcohol can be benevolent - for the heart, the brain and cognitive skills.

Indianapolis - Alcohol, a capricious villain, is capable of great destruction but, mysteriously, of subtle blessings.

In high doses it causes high BP and some strokes, but in moderate doses it protects against heart attacks and some strokes.

People who overdose abbreviate their lives, but those who drink moderately live longer than those who don't drink at all.

And now comes new evidence that those who drink moderately have higher cognitive skills as they grow older than people who drink more or less or have given it up.

Moderate alcohol use seems to protect against the deterioration of reasoning, problem solving and other mental skills for people who use alcohol. No one knows why, for sure, but moderate drinkers have a lowered risk of death than nondrinkers or heavy drinkers. The statistics are there in 9 studies from all over the world.

In an American Cancer Society study, if nondrinkers had a relative risk of death of one, moderate drinkers lesser risk, down to .88 for occasional drinkers, .84 for one-a-day drinkers, .93 for two-a-day drinkers. More alcohol than 2 drinks a day, however, and the benefits quickly disappear, yielding to higher risks of death than any other category.

The reason probably is that moderate drinking seems to protect the heart.

The American Council on Science and Health, an independent organization which says it does not accept support from individual corporations, presented a report by Dr. R. Curtis Ellison of Boston University School of Medicine. Ellison wrote:

"Alcohol increases the level of HDL-cholesterol, the so-called 'good cholesterol,' that tends to protect against coronary heart disease. In addition, alcohol is associated with lower levels of LDL-cholesterol, the 'bad cholesterol,' which is the primary lipid (fat) associated with increased heart disease risk."

Studies indicate that alcohol inhibits platelet formation and increases the presence of so-called good cholesterol which might protect against the embolisms that are responsible for strokes caused by a blocked artery, about 85% of strokes. But at the same time alcohol increases BP which could increase the risk of stroke.

Too much alcohol is bad for just about everything. Moderate alcohol usage has its benefits.

In the case of cognitive reasoning, says Dr. Joe Christian of IN University's Center for Genetics, benefits obtained from no more than 16 drinks a week, roughly two a day, less for women because of their lower body weight.

What is a drink?

- 11 oz of 4.5% alcohol beer.
- 4 oz of 12% table wine.
- 1 oz of 100 proof spirits.
- 1.25 oz of 80 proof spirits which is what the most commonly consumed vodkas, scotches, bourbons and gins contain.

Scientists studying alcohol's effects have discovered a great irony: Those people who have a greater tolerance for alcohol, who have to drink more than others for the desired effect, have greater chances of becoming alcoholics, of becoming addicted.

The reason is simple. They drink more, more often and it becomes habitual. In their pursuit of what they consider pleasurable, they follow it right over the brink. Frequently, moderate drinkers see their hard-drinking friends "turn the corner."

"Alcohol is an environmental factor," Christian says. "But everywhere we find genetic influences.“