Is Alcohol Actually Beneficial?

Many people claim that they drink wine or other alcohol for its "health benefits.” There is so much written on the internet about the "health benefits” of alcohol and how drinking wine each day can decrease a person's risk of heart disease. What many of us forget to realize is that alcohol brings with it calories that can impede our weight loss or weight maintenance. The carbohydrates in alcohol cause our blood sugars to rise, which then trigger our bodies to release insulin, which in turn causes our body to deposit fat stores. While there may be some effect of antioxidants in helping prevent heart disease, increasing alcohol consumption simply for this reason will result in more sugar intake and thus more calories that weren't being consumed before. The detrimental effects of the extra calories far outweigh the perceived benefits of the possible antioxidants.

This being said, alcohol in moderation can be manageable within a healthy lifestyle. However, if we start justifying excess alcohol consumption by claiming we drink it for ‘health reasons,' we may want to re-think our approach. If you were to drink 2 glasses of wine every day with dinner, that's at least 1200 extra calories per week. The following study looked at alcohol's effects on people with healthy vs. unhealthy lifestyles:

In observational studies, researchers have found an association between moderate drinking and lower risk for myocardial infarction, but less is known about whether this benefit is limited to select groups.

In one study, subjects were characterized according to number of unhealthful behaviors (smoking, lack of exercise, poor diet). Among people who reported regular physical activity, daily fruit & vegetable consumption, and no smoking, alcohol use had NO EFFECT on incidence of fatal coronary heart disease or nonfatal MI in analyses that were adjusted for age, sex and socioeconomic status. Among participants with two or three unhealthful behaviours, moderate alcohol intake (8-112g, or about 1-9 standard U.S. drinks weekly) was associated with half the risk of CHD; in addition, adjusting for diabetes, angina, hypertension and cardiovascular medication use yielded similar results.

So, what this study shows us is that low levels of alcohol consumption may have some benefit in preventing heart disease primarily for individuals who have UNHEALTHY lifestyle habits. For those of us who follow a healthy lifestyle, alcohol really doesn't do anything except add extra calories from sugar.

If you want to drink wine, do it in moderation. Don't justify drinking based on the fact it may help prevent heart disease. You will do more for your coronary arteries by exercising regularly and eating more fruits and vegetables.