Some Interesting New Research on Alcohol, Your Health, and a Challenge that has Merit
To Drink or Not to Drink, has been the question for generations. With the rise in craft breweries and wine- ‘o- clock culture, having a drink as a hobby or a way to unwind at the end of the day has become the social norm.
In 2016, the Canadian Cancer Society launched a campaign called the “Go- Dry Challenge”. Participants raise money for cancer research by committing to not consume alcohol for the entire month of February. Whether or not you choose to raise money for cancer research, Going- Dry for a month (or more) is a great idea! Here are 3 interesting facts about alcohol that you may, or may not be aware of, and all great reasons to think about laying off the booze for a while.
One drink a day has a profound impact on brain health. It is fairly common knowledge that the prefrontal cortex is affected by alcohol, as this is the part of the brain that is in charge of cognition, decision making, judgment, etc. Which is why people begin to feel relaxed with one or two drinks and may make poor decisions when they’ve had more. However, more extensive studies are finding that just one unit of alcohol per day kills neurons within the brain and then- prevents them from growing back! When neurons aren’t growing back, your brain actually begins to shrink and in turn, ages faster. (Read more about this here)
Frequent consumption of alcohol, even in “light” amounts, has now been confirmed to negatively affect heart health. Gone are the days of 1-a-day, being good for your heart. Unfortunately, the original studies were flawed. The “non-drinking” study group, was comprised of people who had a past of chronic heavy drinking and were now sober. The data of the former drinkers was analyzed against people who were having one drink per day. By comparison, those in the one-a-day group had better cardiovascular outcomes, and everyone latched onto the “health benefits” of 1-a-day. However, newer, larger, and less-biased studies are showing that even one unit of alcohol per day increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and of course, the more heavily a person drinks, the greater the risks become. (Read more about that here)
Alcohol is a confirmed Group 1 Carcinogen. This means that it is known to cause cancer in humans. It’s right in there along with tobacco, asbestos, and radiation. There are a minimum of seven different types of cancer that alcohol can cause, breast cancer and colon cancer being two of the big ones. While the more you drink, the greater your risk will be, recent studies have shown that half of alcohol induced cancers were present in people who were light to moderate drinkers. (Read more here, or here)
These 3 facts alone are good reasons to cut back or quit drinking altogether. There is no mention here of how alcohol affects gut health (HELLO leaky gut syndrome!), fertility, blood sugars, and more. All said, alcohol is a toxin to your system. Obviously, what you do with this information is entirely up to you. But while you’re researching and deciding, why not try Going-Dry this February and take it from there?!
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