I’ve read on many sites that a glass of wine or an alcoholic drink a day is supposedly good for us (10.1). I want to explore both sides of this argument, its pros and cons, keeping in mind that we’re referring to a single drink per day, which is rare for most people. There are three common myths about alcohol: (1) one drink a day is beneficial because it reduces stress; (2) you can have just one drink and easily stop; and (3) since you don’t experience any major issues after drinking apart from a hangover that fades in a few days, moderation must be okay.
December 4, 2024
10.1 The Myth Of Alcohol
If stress reduction is the benefit, that effect lasts about six hours. However, the drawback is that inflammatory pathways are triggered by any amount of alcohol. This inflammatory response persists for about three days, the time it takes for the body to completely clear the alcohol. I’ve personally noticed this effect each time I stop drinking: by the third day, the sense of reduced inflammation becomes clear my skin feels smoother, and I can perform yoga poses more easily. Many research studies support these observations. When you weigh the six hours of stress reduction against seventy-two hours of inflammation, the harm far outweighs the benefit. Even conceptually, if you visualize these effects as areas under a curve, the short-term stress relief curve is tiny compared to the much larger inflammation curve, representing prolonged internal damage.
In healthy individuals, the inflammatory response may not be easily perceptible, as they may lack the sensitivity to bodily changes that older individuals like me can sense. Therefore, they may not notice the negative effects but do experience the rapid stress-relief benefits, creating a positive feedback loop and a sense of relaxation after just a few drinks. So, why stop after one drink? The immediate feedback from stress reduction encourages continued drinking. However, while the benefit of stress relief remains the same, the inflammatory response intensifies with each additional drink. In my own experience, the inflammation and discomfort are significantly greater after three drinks compared to one, indicating a steeper dose-response curve. Consequently, the total damage from multiple drinks far exceeds the brief benefit of stress relief from the first. The belief that moderate drinking is healthy is, therefore, a myth. The best approach is simple: all or nothing no limited drinking.