From the outset, this post is mostly for me. I want to flesh out some thoughts regarding a topic that seems to be increasingly popular, though very unpopular to debate, among Christians - Alcohol.
The subject has certainly been divisive for generations, in America at least. Many famous preachers thundered against drinking, perhaps no one more famous than Billy Sunday, but he wasn't the only teetotaler of influence in that era as politicians influenced by the movement passed the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act in 1919 and 1920 respectively. Thus it would seem that the anti-alcohol stance was a singly American issue. I'll get to that more in other articles.
Suffice to say for now, many of the Temperance movement's concerns centered upon alcohol's ills - physical, moral, and political, and for now I want to discuss one of those issues, the physical. Namely, can alcohol be considered healthy?
Many pro-alcohol arguments focus on potential benefits associated with certain drinks, most notably red wine. But are there other benefits? If so, what might they be?
I can't promise the reader that this will be a thorough, comprehensive scientific study, but I do plan to reference as much "science" as possible. Full disclosure, however, I'm not a scientist, and I reserve the right to question, as do you too. Overall, I want to be able to lay out as much information as coherently and concisely possible to determine whether or not the overall "scientific" consensus supports or denies the claims that alcohol can be or is healthy. (Yes, I realize that this is a very general statement, it has to be for now, because the claim that alcohol is healthy is a general claim. Regardless, I will endeavor to be as objective as possible).
First - The Pro-Healthy-Alcohol Claims: (Perhaps I've missed a few, but these are the most common claims. It should also be noted that these claims do not extend to all alcoholic beverages).
Second - The Anti-Healthy-Alcohol Claims:
1. Negative Affects upon Muscle
4. Dehydration
5. Liver Disease
a. Cirrhosis
b. Potomania
6. Memory Loss
7. Depression
10. Birth Defects
11. Addiction
12. Intoxication
14. Impotence in Men
16. Decreased Sexual Function (The fact that even Buzzfeed wrote an, much less scholarly, article , that also extends to women,on this is telling).
17. Folate Blocker
17. Folate Blocker
The first thing that might be glaringly apparent is that in the first list I used the word "Potentially" quite a lot. In fact, that was such a common word in all of the studies that I researched that I had to borrow the word myself. In other words, it was very hard for me to find concrete statements, that did not have additional warnings, about most of the claims on my list. In fact, one statement from the Mayo Clinic really stood out to me -
"Moderate alcohol use may be of most benefit if you have existing risk factors for heart disease. However, you can take other steps to improve your heart health besides drinking — eating a healthy diet and exercising, for example, which have more robust research behind them." (Italics are mine for emphasis)
I point out the Mayo Clinic statement, because it illustrates the plethora of research on this topic. For instance, it seemed to me that for every pro-Alcohol claim I could find, there were as many or more anti-Alcohol claims to refute the pro-position. Further, adding to my research frustrations was the use of the terms "may, might, perhaps, potentially, could." These are not concretely objective, factual terms. Then one thing dawned on me as I delved into the studies. Certain drinks do have healthy benefits, but they all have one common denominator that makes them all dangerous - ethanol.
I point out the Mayo Clinic statement, because it illustrates the plethora of research on this topic. For instance, it seemed to me that for every pro-Alcohol claim I could find, there were as many or more anti-Alcohol claims to refute the pro-position. Further, adding to my research frustrations was the use of the terms "may, might, perhaps, potentially, could." These are not concretely objective, factual terms. Then one thing dawned on me as I delved into the studies. Certain drinks do have healthy benefits, but they all have one common denominator that makes them all dangerous - ethanol.
Not many talk about drinking ethanol. I certainly didn't, and never even considered the term. But as both pro and anti groups will point out, the substance that makes all alcoholic drinks in fact alcoholic is known as ethanol. I had to know more, because until about three weeks ago, I had never heard this correlation before.
Ethanol is the substance produced by fermented sugars or yeasts. It is also the same substance manufactured from corn production that fuels your car.
Ethanol is the substance produced by fermented sugars or yeasts. It is also the same substance manufactured from corn production that fuels your car.
It is, as the Wikipedia article linked above states, volatile and flammable.
My wife and I enjoy IndyCar, and I can vividly remember not seeing a crew member burning on pit lane. He had apparently been accidentally set ablaze as a spark lit his ethanol soaked uniform. The rest of the team quickly dumped multiple barrels of water on the burning man, because they couldn't be too certain about whether or not their teammate was in fact safe from the clear-burning substance. Volatile and flammable indeed. Powerful stuff too in that it makes those cars top out at 230 mph.
There may be some nuance between the stuff in beer and the stuff at the pump, but nothing I've researched cared enough to really point it out. As for alcohol in other senses of the term, such as isopropyl or methanol, they're purely toxic. I'm sure Kitty Dukakis wished she'd thought of that before famously downing rubbing alcohol in 1989.
As it is, ethanol is the substance that ties all of the studies together. It's what the anti-alcohol arguments focus upon, and it is what the pro-alcohol arguments mistakenly sidestep as they focus on the benefits.
The bottom line in what I've discovered is that both the pro and anti arguments can both be right at the same time often using the even the same studies. For instance, yes, Red Wine, the alcoholic drink most sighted as being beneficial does in fact contain healthy substances, especially Resveratrol a somewhat potent, slightly estrogenic antioxidant.
But here's the rub in these cases, the Resveratrol would still be present in raw grapes or grape juice without the added ethanol content. That is, all of the beneficial substances found in these alcoholic drinks are present in spite of, not because of alcohol's introduction. It's akin to saying I like eating 8 day old rotting steak, and claiming it is healthy, because it is high in iron. Of course it is high in iron, that compound hasn't disappeared just because the steak is rotting. But in addition to that iron, you might also be eating, even a moderate amount, something harmful.
The best I can say in the pro-argument's favor is that the studies are at best inconclusive, because different growing conditions cause variations across the plant world (ie. the grapes grown in France may have more Resveratrol than the grapes grown in Virginia where I live, therefore there are too many variables to make absolute statements regarding potential benefits in certain alcoholic drinks). (I should also point out that there are potentially negative side affects of Resveratrol too, so the jury is still, though increasingly not, out on a potentially big health claim. Even if it is beneficial there are other food sources that do not have the same warning labels attached to them that alcohol has).
But here's the rub in these cases, the Resveratrol would still be present in raw grapes or grape juice without the added ethanol content. That is, all of the beneficial substances found in these alcoholic drinks are present in spite of, not because of alcohol's introduction. It's akin to saying I like eating 8 day old rotting steak, and claiming it is healthy, because it is high in iron. Of course it is high in iron, that compound hasn't disappeared just because the steak is rotting. But in addition to that iron, you might also be eating, even a moderate amount, something harmful.
The best I can say in the pro-argument's favor is that the studies are at best inconclusive, because different growing conditions cause variations across the plant world (ie. the grapes grown in France may have more Resveratrol than the grapes grown in Virginia where I live, therefore there are too many variables to make absolute statements regarding potential benefits in certain alcoholic drinks). (I should also point out that there are potentially negative side affects of Resveratrol too, so the jury is still, though increasingly not, out on a potentially big health claim. Even if it is beneficial there are other food sources that do not have the same warning labels attached to them that alcohol has).
Whenever comments such as these are mentioned an almost conditioned response, "All things in moderation" is given. From a non-biblical response, because I haven't even begun to add the Bible into this yet, I'm at a loss as to what to say any further than asking something like, "Would you drink the ethanol by itself? or Would you drink the same drink minus the ethanol?" The point being that the desire to drink the ethanol appears to be the underlying focus, not the often stated "health benefits" be they what they may.
So, if I'm indeed correct in my assertion, then perhaps something else in Wikipedia's Alcohol definition concerns me. Defining Alcohol as a "Psychoactive Substance or Drug" causes me to ponder just why there is such a desire to drink alcohol. Not wine, beer, whiskey, etc. Alcohol. Because I'm very curious to know if people would drink the same drinks minus the alcohol. Maybe the answer is yes, as The Economist wrote in 2013 (don't get too excited, read the article to see how this trend is working, and who it affects).
So, if I'm indeed correct in my assertion, then perhaps something else in Wikipedia's Alcohol definition concerns me. Defining Alcohol as a "Psychoactive Substance or Drug" causes me to ponder just why there is such a desire to drink alcohol. Not wine, beer, whiskey, etc. Alcohol. Because I'm very curious to know if people would drink the same drinks minus the alcohol. Maybe the answer is yes, as The Economist wrote in 2013 (don't get too excited, read the article to see how this trend is working, and who it affects).
Bottom line for me and what I can see through my limited, and perhaps unscientific study of the topic, Alcoholic drinks can and do contain some health(y) benefits, but they are in most, if not all, cases, negated by more serious issues stemming from the alcohol (ethanol) itself, thus making them unhealthy in the long run.
To put an exclamation point on my bottom line, Harvard's School of Public Health came to the same conclusion and even uses some of the same types of language (ie. possible, may, potentially) that I have used in this article. That doesn't mean I'm a genius, or that my, albeit brief and unscientific, study is the end all. What it does mean, however, is that the idea that drinking alcohol is healthy is not a claim that even secular institutions such as Harvard or those cited throughout this article are willing to risk their careers making. Simply put, the science does not appear to support the claim. What the science, however, does often support is that alcohol has certain negative health consequences, even in moderation.
To put an exclamation point on my bottom line, Harvard's School of Public Health came to the same conclusion and even uses some of the same types of language (ie. possible, may, potentially) that I have used in this article. That doesn't mean I'm a genius, or that my, albeit brief and unscientific, study is the end all. What it does mean, however, is that the idea that drinking alcohol is healthy is not a claim that even secular institutions such as Harvard or those cited throughout this article are willing to risk their careers making. Simply put, the science does not appear to support the claim. What the science, however, does often support is that alcohol has certain negative health consequences, even in moderation.
