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Five Convincing Reasons to Stop Drinking Forever

The Watchdog — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 17:04:39 +0000

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers: The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

I debated about writing on this topic, because I know there are many people who enjoy this substance, so I am here to apologize ahead of time for being the bearer of bad news.

This information I am about to present is about drinking alcohol and its effects on your brain, gut, mood, inflammation, DNA and hormones. It unfortunately applies to all drinkers including, and especially, those who may be mild to moderate regular drinkers (1-2 drinks per day).

This is quite frankly, information that cannot be ignored. While the research has been available for quite a while, it has been ignored, swept under the rug, or considered to be applicable only for those who participate in heavy usage of alcohol. Not true. If you drink on any kind of regular basis, this information applies to you, and you deserve to know about something that has such strong negative associations with your health.

Alcohol is a huge cultural and social institution. Most all holidays, year ‘round, revolve around drinking alcohol. Social gatherings including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and other celebrations often center around alcohol usage. Then there’s football, baseball, and other spectator sports. What would the Super Bowl be without beer? And don’t forget daily Happy Hour.

In 2021, the global market share of the alcohol industry amounted to around 1.45 trillion dollars. This is an increase of 72 billion dollars over 2019. This is BIG money, and I suspect the reason most people don’t hear about alcohol’s dangers has a lot do with this huge trillion-dollar industry and how they control the negative information surrounding alcohol.

Alcohol, despite its worldwide acceptance, and its many social and cultural contexts, has a very dark side which doesn’t get much notice, or is generally just ignored.

Drinking alcohol is as dangerous or more dangerous than smoking cigarettes, even in small amounts. In fact, some studies have compared 10g of alcohol a day (that’s one small glass of wine, 1 shot of liquor, or a beer) to smoking a half a pack or more of cigarettes a week.

This recent survey found that most adults in the United States have little knowledge of the link between alcohol and cancer, even though about 60-70% of the adult population drinks.

Even worse, over 10% of respondents wrongly believe that drinking alcohol, especially wine, is good for you. Yes, red wine does contain resveratrol, a natural antioxidant that slows aging. Unfortunately for you wine drinkers, the amount of resveratrol in wine is low.

Resveratrol concentrations in wine can range from negligible to around 2 milligrams per liter (for Pinot Noir which has the highest levels of resveratrol). This means you’d would have to get in about 1000 milligrams per day to receive any health benefits it offers.

To put these figures into perspective, you’d have to consume more than 500 liters, which equates to about 650 bottles of wine, per day. I don’t think 600 bottles of anything a day will do you much good, especially 600 bottles of wine.

What Happens in Your Body When You Drink Alcohol

Alcohol is a water- and fat-soluble substance, which means it can penetrate all organs and tissues, except bone and fat–and it’s damaging effects cross the blood brain barrier to cause damage to brain cells as well.

There are three primary types of alcohol, according to chemistry: isopropyl, methyl, and ethyl. All are toxic, but only ethyl, or grain, alcohol can be consumed by humans. However, ethyl alcohol is still very toxic to the body, and it causes substantial stress and damage to your cells.

When you drink alcohol, it is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and travels to your liver, where it is metabolized. The main enzyme responsible for metabolizing alcohol in the liver is called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH).

Alcohol dehydrogenase converts ethanol into acetaldehyde, a toxin, which is then further metabolized into acetic acid or acetone. Acetic acid is then broken down into water and carbon dioxide, which can be eliminated from the body through urine, breath and sweat.

The liver can only metabolize a small amount of alcohol at a time, and this varies from person to person. Generally, the liver can process about one drink per hour. If a person drinks faster than one drink per hour, the liver cannot speed up the detoxification process. Women metabolize alcohol slower than men, and older adults metabolize alcohol slower than younger adults.

Unmetabolized alcohol will circulate in the bloodstream, in the form of acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is the ‘poison’ part of alcohol, and the tipsy buzz you are feeling is actually the poison circulating in your bloodstream and your brain. In addition to making you feel tipsy, this poison is invading your cells and doing major damage to them.

1. Alcohol and Increased Cancer Risk

There is strong evidence to suggest that even mild to moderate alcohol consumption significantly increases the risk of certain types of cancer. The World Health Organization has classified alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning that it is a known direct cause of cancer in humans. Alcohol use is one of the most important preventable risk factors for cancer, along with tobacco use and excess body weight, according to the American Cancer Society.

Contrary to what most folks believe however, you don’t have to be a raging alcoholic to experience the damage that alcohol does to your body and your cells. It only takes one or two drinks a day, and the risk of increases as consumption increases.

Cancer and alcohol consumption have been studied extensively, with the following types of cancers most strongly associated with alcohol consumption:

Breast cancer
Mouth, throat, and laryngeal cancer
Esophageal cancer
Stomach cancer
Liver cancer
Colorectal cancer
Prostate cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Skin cancer

Let’s take a look how alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer. Breast cancer increases by about 8-15%, per drink (10g alcohol) per day—for both pre-menopausal and menopausal women. That’s the equivalent of one glass of wine, 1 12oz. beer, or 1 shot of liquor. So, if you drink two glasses of wine per day, your risk of breast cancer goes up by 16-30%. There’s a similar increased risk for other types cancer as well. That’s pretty sobering if you ask me (no pun intended).

One of the ways alcohol increases cancer risk is by increasing inflammation. Cancer often follows inflammation. Alcohol consumption increases inflammatory markers in the body, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and increases levels of circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines, all of which can contribute to the development of health problem, including cancer.

There are several ways in which alcohol increases inflammation in the body:

Alcohol damages the lining of the entire gut and gastrointestinal tract, leading to an increase in immune cell activity and widespread inflammation in the body.
Alcohol stimulates the production of cortisol, adrenaline, and estrogen, which can promote inflammation that encourages cancer cell and tumor growth.
Alcohol interferes with absorption and metabolism of nutrients that are important for healthy immune function, such as vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc. An effective immune system can fight and kill cancer cells.
Alcohol increases oxidative stress and free radicals, both of which cause inflammation and cell damage.
Most alcohol is high in sugar content, which further encourages cancer growth, as many different types of cancer feed on glucose.

The primary reason alcohol increases cancer risk is that it damages DNA in cells. DNA is the blueprint for healthy cell reproduction, and when this blueprint is damaged, the cells mutate and become cancer cells. Cancerous cells multiply into cancerous tumors, and then metastasize easily due to the high levels of inflammation and lowered immune response.

2. Alcohol and Mood Regulation

Alcohol hits your brain within about 5 minutes of ingesting it affects your brain function in about 10 minutes. This early stage is called subliminal intoxication. Reaction times, behavior and judgement are already impaired at this point. Just one drink suppresses the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for impulse control and inhibition.

Early stages of drinking also spike the neurochemicals, dopamine and serotonin. This is why most people enjoy drinking. They feel relaxed, confident, and often a little giddy. Subsequent drinks cannot restore these feelings that result from the increased dopamine and serotonin. The toxic effects of alcohol disrupt the brain circuitry so that after the initial spike in dopamine and serotonin, these neurochemicals take a long slow downhill route, resulting in a more depressed mood overall.

The problem comes when people seek more of the dopamine buzz. The more people drink to get those good feelings back, the more fleeting that feeling becomes. This can cause many people to become addicted to alcohol and dopamine spike, however short-lived it may be. Sadly, chronic drinkers often have persistent anxiety and depression from the alcohol.

3. Alcohol Shrinks Brain Matter

Even moderate amounts of alcohol (1-2 drinks per day) can cause thinning of the neocortex and shrinking of the brain.

Studies show alcohol intake is negatively associated with global brain volume measures, regional gray matter volumes, and white matter in the brain. Although nearly 90% of the brain shows significant negative associations with alcohol intake, the most extensively affected regions included the frontal, parietal, and insular cortices, with changes also in temporal and cingulate regions. Associations are also marked in the brain stem, putamen, and amygdala.

This research showing shrinking gray and white matter of the brain holds true for younger adults as well as middle aged, and older adults.

Alcohol also changes the relationship between the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenals, and the hormones they secrete.

The hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands are all part of the endocrine system. The hypothalamus is a small region of the brain that produces hormones and neurotransmitters that control the pituitary gland, which is a small gland located at the base of the brain.

The pituitary gland, in turn, produces hormones that regulate various functions in the body, including growth, metabolism, and reproduction.

The adrenal glands are two small glands located on top of the kidneys that produce hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, which help to regulate the body’s response to stress.

Alcohol affects this relationship between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands by disrupting the production of hormones and neurotransmitters in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which can affect various body functions.

Alcohol increases production of stress hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline, which increases feelings of stress and anxiety.

Alcohol also impairs the body’s ability to respond appropriately to the heightened stress.

In effect, regular alcohol consumption increases baseline levels of cortisol, leading you to feel more stressed and anxious, even when not drinking. This often leads a person to feel like they ‘need’ a drink after a stressful—or not so stressful day.

Although elevated baseline levels of cortisol can reverse after cessation of drinking, the problem persists quite a while after alcohol consumption.

Drinking alcohol makes you less resilient to everyday stressors, even when not drinking, and that increases your desire to drink more frequently.

4. Alcohol and Chronic Gut Inflammation

Rubbing alcohol is considered an antiseptic. The same goes for ethyl alcohol. Antiseptics kill bacteria, both good and bad. This also happens when someone drinks alcohol—it kills off the beneficial bacteria in the gut, and only a small amount of alcohol can cause damage.

Alcohol induces gut inflammation, which in turn promotes disease, both inside and outside the GI tract. In fact, many alcohol-related disorders, including cancers, liver disease, and neurological diseases, may be directly affected by the alcohol-induced gut inflammation.

The inflammation itself results from alcohol metabolism, that leads to leaky gut syndrome and increased system-wide inflammation, ‘bad’ bacterial and fungal overgrowth, imbalances in good and bad microorganisms in the gut, and alterations in immune function. Leaky gut can also cause food sensitivities and allergic reactions as protein molecules from food escape the gut and get into the bloodstream, where the immune system attacks them.

Along with the gut inflammation and gut dysbiosis, alcohol increases the risk of GERD, or esophageal reflux, which then often leads to esophageal cancer. Alcohol use can also cause gastritis, or inflammation of the stomach. Repeated episodes of gastritis open the door to ulcers and stomach cancer.

Gut inflammation often causes nutrients to be poorly absorbed and metabolized, leading to many nutrient deficiencies and decreased immune function. Some of the nutrients affected by alcohol include:

Vitamin A, important for vision, immune function, and skin health.
Vitamin B1 (thiamin), important for nerve function and energy production.
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) necessary for brain function, immune function, and metabolism of proteins and carbohydrates.
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin), important for nerve function and the production of red blood cells.
Folate helps produce red blood cells and promotes DNA synthesis. Because of its role in DNA synthesis, low levels of folate can increase risk of cancers. Folate is one of the nutrients most easily depleted by drinking alcohol.
Iron, also key to producing red blood cells and transporting oxygen throughout the body.
Zinc is necessary for immune function, wound healing, and appropriate taste and smell.

5. Alcohol Increases Testosterone to Estrogen Conversion in Men

Alcohol consumption can lead to an increase in estrogen levels in men due to its effect on the enzyme aromatase. Aromatase is an enzyme that is responsible for converting testosterone into estrogen. Regular alcohol consumption increases aromatase which causes more testosterone to be converted to estrogen.

The liver can normally break down and eliminate excess estrogen from the body. When the liver is inflamed by alcohol, it cannot break down estrogen as efficiently, leading to higher levels of estrogen circulating in the body.

This can happen to women as well as men. In women it causes symptoms of “estrogen dominance”, which can cause heavier than normal periods, exacerbated PMS, weight gain, and mood fluctuations.

Alcohol consumption also increases body fat, which also increases estrogen levels, as fat cells can create estrogen. Body fat can also convert testosterone into more estrogen. So, this increase in body fat can also increase estrogen levels in men lower testosterone. Lowered testosterone and higher than normal estrogen in men causes symptoms like gynecomastia (‘man-boobs’), lowered sex drive, loss of muscle mass, and erectile dysfunction.

The Truth About Cholesterol

The Watchdog — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 19:47:17 +0000

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers: The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Have you ever had that phone call from your doctor when he (or she) says, “Your cholesterol is too high.” Other than going on dangerous statins, what do you do if your cholesterol is high? Do you cut out butter, eggs, and steak? The answer is no, you don’t have to eliminate all foods containing saturated fat or cholesterol.

I have good news for you. You can actually lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease, and continue to eat those nutrition-packed foods.

I recently had my cholesterol panel checked. I eat a Paleo/primal diet of naturally raised meat, fish, poultry, a little full-fat sheep yogurt or cheese, lots of fresh veggies, small amounts of beans, and virtually no foods made of grains, tapioca, or other processed starches. Although I had eaten a big hunk of steak the night before and put a big hunk of grass fed butter in my coffee just prior to my lab visit, my cholesterol panel ended up looking pretty darn good. Here’s what my labs said:

Total Cholesterol—155mg/DL Under 200 is good
High Density Lipoprotein (HDL)—104 Over 50 is good
Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)—38 Less than 100 is good
Triglycerides—44 Less than 150 is good

As you can see, those cholesterol numbers are not too shabby.

While doctors tend to ‘freak out’ and want to put you on statins if your cholesterol is over 200, that’s not necessarily the best way to manage your cholesterol. Let’s look at where those numbers come from, and which ones are worth paying attention to.

Total Cholesterol

This is the number that many doctors tend to fixate on, and it’s actually pretty worthless. Guidelines show a total cholesterol between 200-240 mg/dl is best, there’s a lot more to the picture. Total cholesterol number will only tell us the amount of cholesterol contained in all of our lipoproteins, but it has nothing to do with which kind of lipoproteins.

Total cholesterol is determined by this formula: HDL-C+LDL-C+(Triglycerides/5) = TC.

Someone with low HDL and high triglycerides (not a good thing) could easily have the same total cholesterol numbers as someone with high HDL and low triglycerides (a very good thing) so long as the numbers work out.

Whether it’s used to predict health or disease, the total cholesterol number all by itself is pretty meaningless. So if your doctor is freaking out about your total cholesterol numbers, that is not as important as your LDL, HDL and triglyceride numbers.

Both LDL and HDL are critically important for heart health. And, surprise—diet and lifestyle are the keys to optimizing both levels.

LDL the ‘Bad’ Cholesterol

LDL is what is considered the ‘bad’ cholesterol and is one that concerns most medical professionals. However, did you know that higher blood sugar from eating a diet high in sugar and starchy foods contributes heavily to this number? High blood sugar means rising triglycerides. The liver then creates more LDL from this.

Why is LDL considered ‘bad’?

LDL particles, composed of a combination of fat molecules and protein (lipoproteins), transport cholesterol from the source in the liver to other organs.

Here’s a great analogy from Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple blog on cholesterol:

“…Both LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol, the standard, basic readings you get from the lab, do not reflect the number of LDL or HDL lipoproteins, or particles, in your serum. Instead, they reflect the total amount of cholesterol contained in your LDL and HDL particles…[this] is like counting the number of people riding in vehicles on a freeway to determine the severity of traffic. It’s data, and it might give you a rough approximation of the situation, but it’s not as useful as actually counting the number of vehicles. A reading of 100 could mean you’re dealing with a hundred compact cars, each carrying a single driver, or it could mean you’ve got four buses carrying 25 passengers each. Or it could be a couple buses and the rest cars. You simply don’t know how bad (or good) traffic is until you get a direct measurement of LDL and HDL particle number.”

Why is LDL Considered ‘Bad’?

The clearest picture of inflammation’s role in the onset of atherosclerosis comes from studies into LDL, the “bad cholesterol”. LDL particles, composed of fatty molecules and protein, transport cholesterol from their source in the liver and intestines to other organs. Scientists have long known that although the body needs LDL and cholesterol, excessive amounts promote atherosclerosis, which is, in layman’s terms, “clogging of the arteries”.

It is notable too, that LDL is made up of larger, fluffier LDL particles and also smaller, denser VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein) particles. These are generally the ones that are most damaging to blood vessels.

VLDL numbers are directly tied to triglyceride count. Since triglycerides come packaged inside VLDL, you can calculate VLDL by dividing your triglyceride count by 5.

At reasonable concentrations in the blood, LDLs can pass in and out of the inner part of the blood vessel walls. If there are excessive amounts, the LDLs can tend to become stuck, however. When LDL particles hang out in the blood too long, their fragile polyunsaturated fatty membranes are exposed to oxidation and the LDL particles oxidize.

Once oxidized, LDL particles are taken up by the inner layer of the blood vessels – to form atherosclerotic plaque. Sort of like a ‘band-aid’ in the blood vessel. When LDLs from the blood start to pile up in the blood vessels, the cells in the blood vessel wall interpret the changes as a danger sign, and signal for healing reinforcements from the body.

This begins an inflammatory response which is the type of chronic low-level inflammation that occurs in atherosclerosis. This inflammatory process changes the blood vessel wall, eventually generating a bigger, more complicated plaque. Ongoing inflammation signals to continue to build a bigger ‘band-aid’.

Other contributors to inflammation in the blood vessels include omega 6 fatty acids from vegetable seed oils (which are polyunsaturated) and elevated blood sugar levels from high sugar/carbohydrate diets. A high sugar/carb diet also leads to high triglycerides as well, which is sort of a precursor to higher levels of LDL.

LDL can also be abnormally high if you are losing weight, have a low thyroid, kidney disease, diabetes or Cushing’s syndrome.

Where Does HDL Come In?

The higher your HDL cholesterol the better, but benefits depend on how you get there.

HDL is generally very beneficial to the body. As levels of this “good cholesterol” decline, the likelihood of suffering a heart attack goes up. This is one reason why physicians measure cardiovascular risk by looking at triglycerides and the ratio of LDL to HDL.

HDL (the ‘good guy’ in the cholesterol panel) fights LDL (bad cholesterol). Like a well-trained military army, the HDL particles patrol the blood vessels, grabbing the cholesterol from circulating LDL particles and also from the dangerous, gunky plaque that lines blood vessels walls. This HDL army carries away their fatty cargo to the liver for recycling or disposal out the intestines.

However, HDL cholesterol is a bit more complex than just that. Instead of a single kind of particle, HDL cholesterol is a family of different particles. Some types of HDL are great at taking cholesterol away from LDL and blood vessel walls while other types are indifferent to cholesterol, and some even transfer cholesterol the wrong way — into LDL and cells.

Some HDL particles will protect LDL from oxidation, which is when LDL becomes dangerous. Other types of HDL particles can slow down inflammation and stimulate production of nitric oxide, a molecule that helps artery walls relax, and prevents blood clots from forming inside arteries, i.e., heart attacks and strokes.

So, the aim here is to keep the HDL numbers up. Exercise is a huge factor in raising up HDL numbers as is maintaining a healthy weight. And if you smoke cigarettes, quitting will raise up your HDL just by stopping—in addition to all those other health benefits.

In general, women tend to have higher HDL numbers than men, but postmenopausal women need to pay close attention to HDL numbers. After you’ve gone through menopause, HDL tends to decrease, raising your risk of heart attacks and strokes.

What About Triglycerides?

Having triglycerides over 150 can increase your risk of heart disease. Triglycerides are a type of fat found in your blood. When you eat, your body converts calories—especially from carbs and sugars into fat, via the liver. The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells and in your liver. Along the way, triglycerides can be released for energy between meals or for endurance activities.

The triglyceride measurement is a ‘no-brainer’. If you eat more calories than you will burn, particularly from high-carbohydrate foods, this is converted directly into triglycerides.

Many people have high triglyceride levels due to being overweight/obese, physical inactivity, cigarette smoking, excess alcohol consumption and/or diet. High triglycerides are primarily a lifestyle-related risk factor.

High triglycerides are strongly connected to the more harmful smaller, denser VLDL. High triglycerides, then, could indicate that you have more oxidized (or oxidizable) LDL.

High fructose corn syrup, when consumed, is immediately turned into fat by the liver. This fat is triglycerides. Only two weeks of modest consumption of high-fructose corn syrup causes cholesterol and triglycerides levels to rise, and the more consumed, the greater the increases.

A study reported in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that the more high fructose corn syrup, the worse the lipid profile. So, if you consume a lot of high fructose corn syrup, you can drastically—and quickly–lower your triglycerides and LDL just by eliminating that one ingredient.

Side note: when I worked in the hospital as a nurse, it was very obvious to see which people had high triglycerides. Much like salad dressing that separates, you could actually see the fatty particle layer in someone’s blood.

Because of the conflicting information tossed about concerning cholesterol and saturated fats, you may think that cholesterol in foods and saturated fats are harmful substances that should be avoided at all costs. Many still do—in fact, many conventional doctors do.

In fact, though, quite the opposite is true. Cholesterol is an essential element in our bodies. It is found in all the cells of the body, particularly in the brain and nerve cells. As cells go through the constant renewal process of dying, and news ones are created, cholesterol is the major building block for our cell walls.

Cholesterol is also used to make a number of other important substances: sex hormones (including testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone), participating in the immune response, helping creating bile acids, and vitamin D 3. Our bodies use large quantities of cholesterol every day and it is vital to life.

Your cholesterol profile may be influenced by other conditions such as alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, hypothyroidism, untreated diabetes or pre-diabetes, pregnancy, lactation, stress, kidney disease, and liver conditions. Weight loss or fasting can also temporarily increase cholesterol. Ask your health care provider to measure other important biomarkers, including C-reactive protein (an inflammatory indicator), oxidized LDL, and ApoB, or Apoliprotein B.

Cholesterol may be derived externally from animal products in your diet, but this less than twenty percent of your body’s cholesterol needs. Your body will make up the difference. If you eat less cholesterol than you need, your body compensates by making more.

Key to remember:

A raised blood cholesterol is not a predictor of coronary artery disease.
Research has established inflammation as one of the primary factors in atherosclerosis.
A low carb/low grain/low sugar diet consisting of grass fed meats, wild caught fish, free range chicken and vegetables combined with regular exercise and maintaining a good weight, can reduce risk of inflammation, heart attacks and strokes.
The level of cholesterol in your blood is affected very little by the amount of cholesterol in your diet.

References
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/sweet-tooth-spells-trouble-heart/
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/cholesterol/
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-interpret-cholesterol-test-results
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/triglycerides/art-20048186
https://www.healthline.com/health/vldl-vs-ldl

Barry Groves, PhD, “The Great Cholesterol Lie”
http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/cholesterol_myth_1.html

By Peter Libby, “Atherosclerosis: The New View”, Scientific American, November 10, 2008.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/hdl-the-good-but-complex-cholesterol

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