Summary of ZOE Science And Nutrition Podcast Episode: Alcohol: Can it ever be healthy?
— Description —
Red wine, unlike white wine, contains beneficial polyphenols for heart health and gut microbes Moderate alcohol consumption, particularly red wine and beer, has protective effects on blood vessels and cholesterol levels Individual responses to alcohol vary based on metabolism, genes, and gut microbes, making it challenging to manage
Alcohol can have unfavorable effects on blood sugar, insulin sensitivity, and certain cancers, and should be avoided by individuals with high blood pressure and lipid levels Kombucha fermentation produces beneficial bacteria, unlike beer fermentation, which produces alcohol with negative effects Natural and organic wines are preferred for sustainable production methods and higher quality, although there is no hard evidence that they are better for health
Alcohol consumption should be considered based on type, dose, frequency, and social context, with excessive intake having detrimental effects on health Red wine, in particular, has consistently shown reduced heart disease when consumed in moderation The balance between the benefits of polyphenols and the unfavorable effects of alcohol is emphasized, with one or two drinks a day potentially balancing out the negative effects with the positive effects of polyphenols.
Alcohol: Can it ever be healthy?
Key Takeaways
- Red wine, unlike white wine, contains polyphenols that are beneficial for heart health and gut microbes.
- Moderate alcohol consumption, particularly red wine and beer, has shown protective effects on blood vessels and cholesterol levels.
- Individual responses to alcohol vary based on metabolism, genes, and gut microbes, making it a challenging drug to manage.
- Alcohol can have unfavorable effects on blood sugar, insulin sensitivity, and certain types of cancers, and should be avoided by individuals with high blood pressure and lipid levels.
- Kombucha fermentation produces beneficial bacteria, potentially reaching the gut, unlike beer fermentation which produces alcohol with negative effects.
- Natural and organic wines are preferred for their sustainable production methods and higher quality, although there is currently no hard evidence that they are better for health.
- Alcohol consumption should be considered based on the type, dose, frequency, and social context, with excessive intake having detrimental effects on health.
Red Wine: A Health Elixir?
- Alcohol can be delicious, but our relationship with it is often complicated. Good times with friends don't come for free. And many of us have felt the morning after impact of a few too many drinks.
- Red wine, unlike white wine, is left for a long time. The grape skin is left in contact with the mixture, allowing the good chemicals in the grape skin, mainly polyphenols, to leak into the liquid, which is very good for health.
- Red wine consistently shown to be different to other types of alcohol in terms of its health benefit, at least for the heart. Studies have consistently shown red wine to have reduced heart disease when drinking less than two glasses a day on average.
- Alcohol in small amounts might be okay and that allows what else is in the drink to give you that benefit. But in large amounts, it's definitely harmful for health.
- Red wine was the only drink that came out as being beneficial for gut microbes. The more alcohol you drank, the less healthy your gut health was looking like. The benefits are actually due to gut microbes rather than some direct effect of polyphenols on the heart.
- Alcohol, regardless of whether it's got polyphenols in, increases good cholesterol up to a certain point. But the dose is crucial, with very low amounts increasing the risk of certain diseases, moderate amounts having favorable effects, and higher amounts rapidly increasing the risk.
- Red wine and beer have shown to have protective effects on blood vessels, reducing oxidative stress and inflammatory markers, and preventing damage to the lining of blood vessels in the short term.
- Alcohol without any polyphenolic substances over the long term does improve HDL cholesterol, but the risk rapidly increases with higher amounts.
Alcohol: Finding the Polyphenol Balance
- Sarah Berry and Tim Spector discuss the balance between the benefits of polyphenols and the unfavorable effects of alcohol. They emphasize that one or two drinks a day can balance out the negative effects of alcohol with the positive effects of polyphenols.
- Tim Spector highlights that distilled alcohols like whiskey, vodka, and gin have very little polyphenols, while red wine and artisan ciders have high polyphenol levels. He also mentions that white wine has significantly fewer polyphenols compared to red wine.
- Tim Spector explains that the effects of alcohol vary based on individual metabolism, genes, and gut microbes. He suggests that alcohol is a difficult drug to get right in terms of dose and timing, and that the idea of being better off without alcohol is generally true.
- Tim Spector discusses the complexity of hangovers and mentions experiments showing that probiotics or poo transplants can reduce the toxic effects of alcohol. He also highlights the impact of drinking habits and dietary patterns on alcohol intake.
Alcohol's Impact on Health Outcomes
- Having the same amount of alcohol with a meal versus without a meal has significantly different impact in some of these health outcomes.
- Genes had little impact on most foods and responses to them, but two sort of exceptions to that. One is how you deal with milk through the lactase gene. And the other is alcohol dehydrogenase gene, which, through evolution has changed.
- Alcohol increases your blood sugar, doesn't it? On average, most of the conventional drinks will increase your blood sugar or not.
- Some people actually impairs insulin sensitivity acutely.
- Certain polyphenols, certain flavonols actually interfere with how glucose is absorbed.
- Non-alcoholic beers can still have sugars in them or things that get turned into sugars and that can have quite a big impact on those blood sugar spikes.
- For certain kinds of cancers, there's strong evidence to show that even moderate intake of alcohol has an unfavorable effect.
Avoid Alcohol for High Blood Pressure
- Skipping alcohol altogether is important for people with high blood pressure, as the flex point in the J-shaped curve is shifted for them.
- People with high blood lipids and blood triglyceride levels should also limit alcohol consumption, as it can worsen their condition by increasing triglyceride production and impeding breakdown.
- Beer is not as good as kombucha because the fermentation of beer, which produces alcohol, can have negative effects, whereas kombucha fermentation produces beneficial bacteria.
Kombucha: A Live, Gut-Boosting Brew
- Tim Spector explains the process of making kombucha, involving a mother blob, brewed tea, and sugar, which is left to ferment for 10 days.
- Compared to beer making, kombucha involves natural fermentation with 30 different species of bugs, resulting in a live product with rich flavors.
- Jonnathan Wolff highlights the difference in live bacteria in kombucha potentially reaching the gut, unlike the sterile product of beer making.
Beer is not a health elixir
- Tim Spector emphasizes that there's no hard evidence that beer is good for health, despite some advertisements suggesting otherwise.
- Tim Spector explains that most kombucha, if made at home, is not very sweet as the sugar is turned into alcohol or acetic acids. However, caution is needed with commercial varieties that may contain added sugars.
- Tim Spector discusses the movement towards natural and organic wines, highlighting their sustainable production methods and the preference for higher quality over mass-produced wines.
Organic Food: No Health Benefits
- Tim Spector emphasizes that there is currently no evidence that organic food is better for health, but in theory, it could be beneficial due to fewer chemicals and herbicides, which can affect gut microbes.
- Sarah Berry discusses the considerations made when implementing alcohol scores, highlighting the importance of how alcohol is consumed, the type of alcohol, the dose, and the frequency. She also emphasizes the detrimental effects of excessive alcohol intake on health.
- Tim Spector points out the variability in individuals' responses to alcohol and the potential impact of factors like ethnicity. He also emphasizes the importance of the social context in which alcohol is consumed, suggesting that small amounts in a social setting can improve general wellbeing.
- Jonathan Wolff concludes the conversation, highlighting the preference for red wine, cautioning about white wine and beer, and thanking Tim and Sarah for their insights.