Drinking excessively is harmful. Alcohol can reduce the body’s ability to utilise stored fat for fuel and encourage the storage of both fat and carbohydrates as fat in the body and spur the breakdown of muscle. It increases inflammation, stresses our excretory systems and reduces our muscle-building efforts. Long-term overuse of alcohol is a known cause of cancer, liver disease and heart disease.
But a little alcohol in moderation is completely fine and may even be associated with modest benefits for health. An evaluation of the scientific evidence shows that 1-2 drinks per day is associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia,12 diabetes,13, 14 reduced blood sugar,15 reduced risk for Ischaemic Heart Disease (IHD),16, 17 improved cardiac outcomes,18 improved cardiac markers,19 reduced risk for nasopharyngeal carcinoma,20 and a 10% reduction in total mortality risk,21 and isn’t associated with kidney function decline22 or weight gain!23
But a little alcohol in moderation is completely fine and may even be associated with modest benefits for health.
However, many cancer types are increased at all levels of alcohol consumption24 and oesophagal, and liver cancers are increased even with moderate (approx. 2.5 drinks per day) alcohol use.25, 26
From Carb-Appropriate 101 by Cliff Harvey PhD
Carb-Appropriate 101 gives you 101 daily tips to help you achieve the energy, health & performance you deserve. It includes daily tips for nutrition, movement, exercise, meditation, mindfulness, sleep, stress-reduction, and more! These tips are some of the themes that Cliff has written and spoken about over his decades in practice, in ‘bite-sized’ mini-articles.
Read the book from cover-to-cover, applying a tip a day, or simply open the book to any page to find a valuable health and performance tip to help you feel and perform at your very best.
