Alcohol & Health Myths:

Here are a few things you might read on the Internet about alcohol and health - are they true or not?

Alcohol is good for your health - true or false?

THIS IS TRUE & FALSE

The all-important thig is the J curve – a small amount of alcohol can be better for you than no drinks at all, though the more you drink the more damage you are doing to your body.
On the other hand, alcohol can also increase the HDL (good cholesterols) in the blood, which lowers the risk of heart disease.

however

More alcohol than recommended can have a detrimental effect on the brain, liver, heart and many other bodily organs. The current safe drinking recommendations are: 1-2 standard drinks a day, 5 times per week
Alcohol has a diuretic effect which causes dehydration.

THIS IS TRUE

Red wine contains more amounts of antioxidants compared to white wine and other alcoholic beverages. The antioxidants in wine can help protect from heart disease.
All alcohol can have a beneficial effect on blood pressure.

However

More wine is still not better!

THIS IS FALSE

Alcohol does not kill brain cells. Studies have shown that heavy drinkers have the same amount of brain cells as the non drinker. The cells don't get killed, though damage may occur to the dendrites - the branched ends of nerve cells that bring messages into the cell.
There is no doubt that alcohol affects the brain, as seen in the slurred speech, clumsiness, slow reflexes, and a loss of inhibition of drunk people. However, these effects are not caused by the death of brain cells
So alcohol doesn't make you dumber, though you may act dumber!

THIS IS TRUE

Women do get drunk quicker than men, and they key difference is body weight. The average male is heavier than the average female. The extra blood volume and the greater number of body cells means that the ingested alcohol is spread out within the body, meaning that there is lower the concentration of alcohol.
Also, men have a larger amount of gastric alcohol dehydrogenase, which breaks down alcohol is the liver. This allows men to break down more alcohol leaving less in the blood stream.

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