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Home › Articles › Healthy Woman › Alcohol

Alcohol

The Good, the Bad, the Calories

By Felicia Hodges

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The Good Things

Just because it isn't bought from a corner hustler doesn't make alcohol any less a drug with the ability to alter body functions. It is a depressant, and although some who drink feel wound up and zippy, it actually slows down the central nervous system.

"There are actually some medicinal benefits to that," says Dr. Venus Sewer, a chiropractor and holistic practitioner in New Winsor, N.Y. "For centuries, clinicians and physicians have recommended that those who have difficulty relaxing after, say, a high-pressure day at the quarry or the factory or trading stocks have a glass of wine before bed to help them wind down." Sewer says that the trick to avoiding dependency is to avoid excess and not rely on the wine to slow you down. "It most definitely should be used as a temporary means, like a bridge to help remind the body what relaxation feels like and how to get there," she says.

Although recent studies have concluded that moderate alcohol consumption of one to two drinks a day may also lower heart disease and stroke risk by possibly raising HDL cholesterol levels (the good kind), physicians are quick to advise anyone who doesn't drink not to start doing so for the health benefits. The potential dangers of alcohol abuse far outweigh the benefits, especially since regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle could help you reach the same goal.

So before you down that gin and tonic at your next dinner party, think about what you could be doing to your body in the process.

Drinking Responsibly

Let's face it: Alcohol is very much a part of the American social scene. But just because you indulge doesn't mean you have to go to extremes. Here are some tips for knowing how to drink responsibly.

  • Slow Down. It takes about 60 minutes for the liver to completely metabolize alcohol. Drinking one glass of wine, a can of beer or shot of liquor in an hour -- taking the whole hour to do it -- will probably match your body's ability to get rid of it. Drinking more or drinking faster will sharply raise your blood-alcohol content.
  • Eat Before You Drink. A stomach full of food will slow the rate of alcohol absorption. Slow to digest proteins and fats decrease the absorption rate even more.
  • Drink Later in the Day. Studies conducted at the University of Minnesota and the University of Arkansas show that most people may have an increased susceptibility to alcohol in the morning and early afternoon because liver enzymes are lower then.
  • Avoid Carbonation. Bubbly mixers like club soda and tonic water tend to send alcohol into the blood stream faster.
  • Don't Drink and Drive. Even if you can normally handle three drinks without feeling a "buzz," never drive if you've been drinking. Things like popular low-carbohydrate diets can change your metabolism so that what you once could handle is absorbed much quicker. Don't take a chance with your life or anyone else's. Use a designated driver or call a taxi.


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