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We’re often told that enjoying a glass of red is a heart-healthy habit. But then we hear
about research that drinking increases your risk of high blood pressure and cancer.
Likewise, while some studies show that moderate drinking can actually improve bone density, others
confirm that alcohol consumption can make osteoporotic fractures more likely. With so much
seemingly conflicting information, how do you know what’s actually happening to your body? We present
the good and the bad when it comes to having a drink, according to the latest research, so you can
make a decision about what’s right for you.
 

What happens when you drink?

After just a moment on the lips, your body starts reacting in a number of ways. Here are a few of them:

After two minutes: the alcohol is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, mainly via the small intestine, but also
through the stomach. This happens more quickly if your drink is carbonated because the bubbles can cause the
stomach to empty more quickly, meaning the alcohol is absorbed faster. But it’s absorbed more slowly if
you’ve just eaten, since food prevents the alcohol from going directly to the small intestine.

After five minutes: the alcohol reaches your brain, where it starts to exert its intoxicating effects – the first of which manipulates the area of your brain that controls inhibitions and judgement. Even this early, there’s enough alcohol in the blood to measure.

After 20 minutes: the alcohol reaches your liver – the organ that’s responsible for metabolising more than 90 per cent of the alcohol you consume. The liver starts to break down the alcohol, neutralise it and, eventually removes it from the body.

After 45 minutes: assuming you’ve just had the one drink, your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) will peak. Your BAC will continue to rise with the more alcohol you consume.

After one hour: just 10g of alcohol has been metabolised by the body, the amount that’s contained in one standard drink. This means that if you drink three standard drinks in one hour, your blood alcohol concentration won’t peak until at least 45 minutes after your last drink, and it will take at least three hours after your last sip until your body has completely metabolised the alcohol, depending on a variety of factors, including your age and gender.

Brain
The Bad News: American researchers say enjoying more than 14 drinks a week can double a person’s risk of dementia. Another US study found that even light drinking cancause brain shrinkage in middle-aged people, over a period of years.
However... According to Spanish researchers, moderate alcohol consumption may provide some protection against Alzheimer’s, while US researchers say that people who drink between eight and 14 alcoholic drinks a week have a 37 per cent lower risk of dementia compared to teetotallers. The reason remains unclear, but the study’s authors say it could be that small amounts of alcohol stimulate the release of an important brain chemical linked to memory.

Breasts
The Bad News: Not only does consuming just three to four drinks per week increase the risk of recurrence for women who have previously been diagnosed with breast cancer, but Chicago-based researchers say that having three drinks per day can increase the average woman’s risk of developing the most common type of breast cancer by more than 50 per cent. In fact, even moderate alcohol consumption, defined as one or two drinks per day, is linked to an increased risk. Earlier studies have also shown that alcohol stimulates the growth and progression of breast cancer via something called angiogenesis – in other words, it ‘fuels’ the development of new blood vessels.

Liver
The Bad News: Considering that our liver breaks down over 90 per cent of the alcohol we drink – with the remainder being eliminated via our urine, sweat and even through breathing (which is why breathalysers can detect the presence of alcohol) – it’s not surprising that this organ comes under strain if we drink too much. Recent research has
confirmed that the risk of developing liver disease (such as cirrhosis of the liver) triples when you compare drinking half a glass of wine to 2½ glasses a day. Add excess weight or obesity into the mix and the risk gets even bigger. In fact, a UK study found that obese men who drank 15 units of alcohol a week were 19 times more likely to develop cirrhosis than normal-weight nondrinkers. It seems what’s considered a ‘safe’ level of alcohol consumption may need to be revised and lowered in people where weight is also an issue.

Blood pressure
The Bad News: Just three drinks in one sitting will temporarily increase blood pressure, but regularly drinking alcohol is linked to long-term increases, also known as hypertension. The reasons behind this relationship are complex, and possible explanations include the fact that alcohol may raise levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, and that
alcohol consumption alters insulin resistance.
However... Ceasing or reducing alcohol consumption seems to improve any type of alcohol-related hypertension in a short space of time, lowering blood pressure by an average of 3.8mmHg.

Mouth & Neck
The Bad News: Numerous studies have confirmed the link between alcohol consumption and an increased risk of cancer, particularly of the oesophagus, larynx and oral cavity. More research is needed to fully explain the link, but researchers think excessive alcohol consumption may accelerate telomere shortening. (Telomeres are protective caps on our chromosomes that have a hand in the aging process). This occurs naturally as we age and perhaps explains
why we’re more vulnerable to cancer as we grow older, but researchers believe heavy drinking can speed up the process.

Heart
The Bad News: The bad news is that, according to international research, the majority of studies that suggest moderate drinking may help prevent heart disease are flawed. Cancer Council NSW nutritionist Kathy Chapman, who agrees
that even small amounts of alcohol increase a person’s cancer risk, states that “there has been a rethink about the benefits of alcohol, and particularly red wine, for heart disease because the previously-reported benefits appear to have been overestimated. The existing evidence certainly doesn’t justify the promotion of using alcohol as a way to prevent heart disease.”

Stomach & Weight
The Bad News: Moderate to high consumption of certain types of beer and spirits has been associated with an increased risk of accumulating stomach fat, the type associated with a higher risk of everything from heart disease to
type 2 diabetes. Remember that per gram, alcohol comes second only to ‘fat’ in terms of how much energy it contains. While fat provides 37 kilojoules per gram, alcohol provides 29 kilojoules – this compares to just 17 kilojoules per gram for protein and 17 kilojoules for carbohydrates.

Bones
The Bad News: Researchers from Tufts University in the US found that men who consumed more than two drinks a day had significantly lower bone mineral denisty (BMD) in the hip and spine. Likewise, a review of several studies found that excessive drinking not only leads to bone loss, but also creates a higher risk of bone fractures which then take longer to heal.
However... Those same researchers say that moderate drinking – definedas one drink per day for women and two for men – is associated with higher BMD, an important measure for assessing osteoporosis risk. The type of alcohol that produced the ‘best’ results was beer and wine: it’s believed the silicon in beer may be one explanation, but it’s not yet known why wine produces a similar effect.

Alcohol & Gender
There’s a good reason why women are usually advised to drink less than men – it takes less alcohol for women to reach the same blood alcohol concentration. And it’s not just because women are typically smaller, but because it actually takes longer for the average female body to process alcohol.

Why? A woman’s body contains more fatty tissue and less water than a man’s. Because alcohol is water
soluble, it’s cleared more rapidly from the blood of a person with a higher body water content.

How Much Can I Drink?
Despite the fact that men can ‘process’ alcohol more quickly, the recommendations for how much alcohol
men and women should drink are not different. To reduce the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related
disease or injury, the guidelines also recommend:
• no more than two standard drinks on any day,
• having a minimum of two alcohol-free days each week.

What Does A Standard Drink Look Like?
You might think you know what a standard drink looks like – but Australia’s alcohol guidelines changed last
year. One standard drink is now considered to be 100ml wine, 375ml mid-strength beer or 30ml spirits.

What most of us would consider to be a standardsized serve of alcohol (for example, a regular-sized glass of wine, or a schooner of beer) often contains more than one standard drink. Both a regular-sized glass of wine and a schooner of full-strength beer contain 1.5 standard drinks, in fact. To work out how many standard drinks you’re consuming, the
easiest thing to do is check the label – by law, all bottled, canned or cask alcohol is required to state the number of standard drinks they contain. If you’re being served beer or wine in a restaurant, ask the waitstaff to let you know how many standard drinks you’re consuming – or stick to alcohol served in bottles.

What About Alcohol Percentage?
All bottled, canned or cask alcohol is required by law to list the percentage of alcohol it contains – which can make things confusing! As a general rule, simply remember that the higher the percentage of alcohol in a drink, the less liquid you need to consume to meet the limit of a standard drink.

The table opposite show the percentage of alcohol contained in some common alcoholic drinks. As you can see, the higher the percentage of alcohol, the higher the kilojoules tend to be. Remember that alcohol contains 29kJ per gram, compared to just 17kJ per gram in protein and 17kJ per gram in carbohydrates. Added ingredients such as soft drinks or juice also bump up the kilojoules. If you’re watching your weight, the best choices to make are those with the least amount of alcohol, since alcohol tends to stimulate your appetite, making you more likely to make unhealthy food choices.

Did You Know:
Research suggests women are most sensitive to the sedative effects of alcohol during the two weeks surrounding ovulation.

Kilojouls in Alcohol

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