Latest Medical Findings on Alcohol Drinking – By Sam Fernando
Source : Qld Sri Lankan Newsletter – Dæhæna – July 2023
The Radio 4EB Arunella program on 4 June included a segment on latest medical findings on light and moderate alcohol drinking. A well experienced medical practitioner provided advice on the subject, based on recent advice from the World Health Organisation.
This article highlights salient points discussed in the above program. To listen to the full program go to: https://www.4eb.org.au/shows/arunella/ and select the program dated 4th June.
What is alcohol?
• Alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance.
• It is water soluble and fat soluble. It has no trouble in passing through organs and cells in the body fast.
• Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows functioning of the central nervous system.
• It is classified as a Group 1 Carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer– this is the highest risk group
responsible for cancer, which also includes asbestos, radiation and tobacco.
What happens when you drink alcohol?
Because alcohol is toxic, the body first converts it to acetaldehyde (which is also toxic) and then converts it to acetate, which is harmless. This acetaldehyde is the reason to get the drunken effect. People don’t understand that being drunk is actually poison-introduced disruption in our nervous system.
Alcohol is responsible for many health problems affecting the brain, central nervous system, heart, digestive system, kidney, liver, immunity system and sexual and reproductive system.
Alcohol causes several types of cancer.
Is drinking little such as a glass of wine a day good for us?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says even consuming little alcohol is harmful.
The risk of developing cancer increases substantially as more alcohol is consumed. However, latest available data indicate that half of all alcohol-attributable cancers in the WHO European Region are
caused by “light” and “moderate” alcohol consumption – less than 1.5 litres of wine or less than 3.5 litres of beer or less than 450 millilitres of spirits per week. This drinking pattern is responsible for the majority of alcohol-attributable breast cancers in women.
We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage.
Then why have we been talking on potential health benefits of light or moderate drinking all this time?
Although past studies have indicated that moderate alcohol consumption has protective health benefits (e.g., reducing risk of heart disease), recent studies show this may not be true. A robust 2018 study published in The Lancet suggests the only truly “safe” level of drinking is zero.
WHO explains: Potential protective effects of alcohol consumption, suggested by some studies, are tightly connected with the comparison groups chosen and the statistical methods used, and may not consider other relevant factors.
You can read more on this subject by visiting the World Health Organisation webpage: https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health
Sam Fernando
Sam is a broadcaster with Rdio 4EB for more than 10 years
