By Dr. Mara Karpel
“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.” ~ W. C. Fields
©M. Karpel, 2015
I occasionally enjoy a glass of wine with my dinner, along with good conversation. I sometimes drink red wine, sometimes white, depending on what I’m eating and what I’m in the mood for. On a hot summer’s evening, I usually prefer a chilled glass of white, while I enjoy red when it’s cool outside. I’m pretty simple that way. Perhaps, you enjoy your wine this way, as well.
Whether or not imbibing alcohol is something to be concerned about, with regard to our health, really depends on a few things, including how much you drink, when you drink, as well as if you have health issues, alcohol dependence issues, and if you’re taking medications that don’t mix well with alcohol. Keep in mind, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz, excessive alcohol can actually speed up the aging process and cause premature wrinkles! (“How Fast Can Alcohol Age You?” at DrOz.com)
Benefits of Moderate Drinking
The U.S. dietary guidelines have recently given “official permission” for moderate drinking for the benefits of keeping our brains sharp as we age and for decreasing the risk of diabetes or heart disease. Some studies have found that moderate drinking can raise the levels of “good cholesterol” in the blood as much as 20%, when this is done along with eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly, which can lower the risk of heart attack. Drinking in moderation has also been found to increase insulin sensitivity, which, in turn, can reduce the risk of diabetes. However, don’t get too excited about this because alcohol also contains a lot of non-nutritional calories, which can lead to weight gain, which, in turn is linked to the development of type-2 diabetes. More on this in a bit.
Interestingly, there was a study that was published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2005 finding that women who regularly drank moderate amounts of alcohol showed a 23% lower risk of cognitive decline when they were compared with non-drinkers. All of the experts, however, agree that, for those people who don’t drink, the benefits of moderate drinking are not enough to make it a good idea to start drinking. There are many other ways to receive these benefits that don’t have the health risks of alcohol, such as eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, and by not smoking.
Moderate drinking is best defined as the optimal amount to drink in order to derive possible benefits. Both, the American Heart Association and the U.S. Dietary Guidelines specify that moderate drinking is one drink for women and two for men per day. This is for a single day and not the average for the week. “One drink” is 5 oz. of wine, 12 oz. of beer, or 1.5 oz. of 80-proof distilled liquor.
Timing is Everything
Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach can increase the chance of developing high blood pressure, while, when consumed with a meal, it can slow down how long it takes to empty the stomach and, therefore, decrease the amount of food that we may eat at the meal, helping with maintaining a healthy weight.
More is Not Better
Alcohol as Mood “Medication”
What I’ve seen in my practice with my clients, as well as in evaluating veterans for PTSD, is that many times, when people are experiencing emotional distress, as well as sleep disturbance, they reach for alcohol to try to find relief from their symptoms. However, although alcohol might give a feeling of calm and ease in the short-term, right after drinking, it can actually backfire in the long run when used to deal with stress, anxiety, depression, or sleep problems. Using alcohol as a way of dealing with emotional issues can lead to dependence on alcohol. In a study conducted by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 13% of study participants with anxiety disorders, who reported using alcohol to find relief from their symptoms, developed an alcohol use problem over the course of the three-year study, compared to only 5% of those participants who did not use alcohol in this way.
While it was found that having a glass of wine to ease the tension of a stressful day does not seem to put a person at risk for becoming dependent on alcohol, habitually relying on alcohol or other drugs to ease anxiety, rather than using healthier coping skills, will. And, although alcohol feels like it eases stress in the short run, it actually causes a stress reaction in our bodies when we drink it in excess because alcohol is not metabolized like other foods and drinks. It takes a lot more energy by the body to metabolize a large amount of alcohol, which is very stressful to the body. So, while we might feel relaxed after drinking, the feeling of stress is actually increased once the alcohol wears off.
Further, alcohol is a nervous system depressant. That’s the reason that it often makes us feel drowsy. In depressing our nervous system, alcohol actually contributes to or causes depression when the intoxication wears off. While intoxicated, the risks are numerous if we’re depressed, anxious, or angry, because alcohol causes very poor judgment and impulsive behaviors. Therefore, those things that we wouldn’t do if we were to take the time to think them through with a clear mind are behaviors that we might impulsively do while intoxicated, such as risk-taking behaviors, violent behaviors, or suicide, some of which have obvious irrevocable consequences. Therefore, I strongly advise that if you’re feeling “out of sorts,” avoid alcohol completely. Also, if you notice, or the people around you notice, that you’re more irritable when you drink or the day after you drink, even if you’ve just had one drink, reconsider having even that one drink.
Alcohol and Sleep
As for sleep, alcohol makes for a poor sleep medication. In a nutshell, in order for all of the good stuff to happen while we sleep, the regeneration of cells, the strengthening of our immune system, the feeling of being rested, the sharpening of our brains, the boosting of our mood, and so on, we need to have several complete cycles of sleep during the night. Alcohol may knock us out, but it interferes with allowing the brain to go into all of those important stages of sleep. Therefore, drinking alcohol close to bedtime will keep us from waking up feeling refreshed and from strengthening of our immune system. What’s more, alcohol has a rebound effect and will frequently knock us out and then wake us up! There have been numerous studies showing that this wakefulness or restlessness occurs during the second half of our sleep, if we’ve consumed alcohol right before sleep. This is because the alcohol affects the chemicals that control our sleep, causing greater sleepiness while the alcohol is still in our blood-stream, but the affects on these chemical reverse after the alcohol in our blood has metabolized. If you want to sleep well, stay away from alcohol close to bedtime and don’t use it as a sleep medication. The more alcohol consumed, the worse it will be.
Some More Effective Coping Strategies
The bottom-line is that while there are times when alcohol can have some health benefits, when consumed in moderation, it’s a very poor sleep or mood medication, and it would be advisable to avoid alcohol at those times when dealing with emotional issues. Instead, utilize some healthier coping techniques. For example, try mindfulness meditation. You can read more about mindfulness in my previous blog, “Mindfulness Meditation for Breaking the Pain Cycle.” Also, you can find in-depth guidance on mindfulness in Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book, Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illnes. Take a yoga class or check out a DVD of these yogis, and previous guests of my show, Ravi Singh and Ana Brett, at RaviAna.com, and Peggy Cappy’s, Yoga For the Rest of Us on YouTube. Most importantly, work on eliminating negative thought habits that create our emotional distress (See my Blog, 11 Tips for Increasing Self-Love Right Now.).
Here’s to your health and happiness! Cheers!
©M. Karpel, 2015
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