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Member Comments
by reznelson on September 29, 2009 at 8:34 AM
How stupid is this?! First of all, it sounds like the narrator has already had her 1-2 beers for the day. Second, have we really gone from one apple a day to one beer a day?? The cumulative ill-affects of alcohol in important chemical processes in the body far outweigh any potential "health benefit" from consuming something just for the sources of few ingredients that have nutritional value. We don't advise people to drink bleach for the benefits of consuming electrolytes for obvious reasons. Find a source other than alcohol for antioxidants and/or other nutrients!
by vent on September 29, 2009 at 11:05 AM
I won't disagree with you that she might have been a little tongue-tied and tipsy in a couple spots, but I think you're being incredibly narrow-minded. "The cumulative ill-affects of alcohol.." C'mon, man. We're talking ONE beer not twelve. Doctors have been telling patients with heart problems to drink a beer a day for years.
You take your bland multi-vitamin, and I'll drink my creamy stout.
by seanomoric on September 29, 2009 at 8:50 AM
Beer actually is healthy. The cumulative ill-effects of alcohol are not relevant when you're speaking in terms of a single beer per day or every other day. My own doctor suggested that I start drinking beer in order to combat my levels of LDL cholesterol. Just because moderate to heavy levels of drinking have well-established detrimental effects on the body does not preclude the existence of health benefits derived from light drinking.
It is not a way of saying "Hey, go out binge drinking; it's okay, it's healthy." One beer per day is not going to kill you and in many instances it may in fact prove beneficial. The point is moderation: One beer. Even water in large quantities has ill-effects.
by daverodmunch on September 29, 2009 at 12:59 PM
reznelson, are you a teetotaler? Ever hear of "The French Paradox"? If not, look it up. One beer a day is not going to have any ill effects on anyone, with the possible exception of a person with a damaged liver or someone taking medicines where alcohol is contra indicated. Using the logic of your example of drinking chlorine, no one should drink water because of hyponatremia. My advice to you is to lighten up and have a beer!
by mistressk on September 29, 2009 at 3:52 PM
realistically, while one beer per day may not be harmful, for those trying to lose body fat there are much better ways to get antioxidants, folate, potassium, and magnesium.
while alcohol may not be harmful to your body, it does reduce the rate at which your body metabolizes fat for up to 24hrs after consumption. see this article, with references (and links) to the relevant studies:
http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/alcohol.htm
by reznelson on September 29, 2009 at 8:14 PM
The studies on the cumulative effects of alcohol are in the literature, albeit recent (last 8 years or so). But as researchers felt compelled to look into these notions of drinking wine or beer on a minimal but regular basis, alcohol consumption is being found to have these cumulaitve effects, specifically on neurophysiology. I guess I jumped to the conclusion that people in this venue would all have a baseline understanding of the issue. Unfortunately, anecdotal statements from your middle-aged physicians don't hold as much sway with me as peer-reviewed projects by properly trained researchers. Sorry.
by ksauls on October 1, 2009 at 5:50 AM
hmm ... care to include some links or titles/authors/journals for those studies? I ran a search against the National Library of Medicine and the NIH database on "cumulative effects of alcohol" and came up with nothing that didn't also include "abuse", "excessive" or "alcoholism". So, providing reference data would be helpful to all.
I do need to point out, though, that your points lost some validity by your inclusion of the comment "...anecdotal statements from your middle-aged physicians..." This implies that practicing physicians are not keeping up with current research and best practices and that physicians of a certain age are of poor quality. I beg to differ. I work with many "middle aged" physicians who are very up-to-date on best practices and rarely rely on anecdotal evidence. I personally would much prefer an experienced MD than one whose only knowledge came from a book. Sadly, your comment comes across as arrogant, suggesting that you are better prepared than a practicing, licensed physician. I certainly hope that that was not your intent.