Sept. 5, 2007

How Much Booze Is Good For You?

Light Drinking Helps Health, But A Little Too Much Is Far Worse Than None

  •  (AP)

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(WebMD)  Light drinking helps heart health. But more than one drink a day for women and more than two daily drinks for men are harmful.

That's the bottom line from a state-of-the-art review of drinking and health by University of Missouri cardiologist James H. O'Keefe, M.D., and colleagues.

The researchers note that study after study shows health benefits for moderate drinking. These benefits appear to come not from the type of alcohol, but from the alcohol itself.

That's been seen as terrific news for tipplers. If a little is good, wouldn't a little more be better? No, O'Keefe and colleagues assert. More is not only not better - it's harmful. Just a little too much is worse than none at all.

And binge drinking, the researchers say, is harmful even for otherwise light drinkers.

A drink may be smaller than you think. O'Keefe and colleagues say a drink is a 12-ounce bottle of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled liquor which all have between 13 and 15 grams of alcohol.

Despite the health benefit of moderate alcohol consumption, the researchers warn doctors against advising people to drink.

"Sobering statistics warn that moderate daily drinking is a slippery slope that many individuals cannot safely navigate," they note.

O'Keefe and colleagues report their findings in the Sept. 11 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.




By Daniel DeNoon
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2007 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Add a Comment See all 18 Comments
by reporter21 September 6, 2007 3:14 PM EDT
Sisters keep their mother''s body in a fridge for ten years! Maybe they need a drink?
Two sisters have kept their dead mother in an a fridge for 10 years - so they can visit her every week.....

Is this something to write home about?

Continue....www.poconocommunitynews.com
Reply to this comment
by emma915 September 6, 2007 2:55 PM EDT
Look at it this way. While you''re swallowing, you''re not breathing. Breathing these days is really bad for your health.
Reply to this comment
by rray52 September 5, 2007 10:16 PM EDT
%u201CThat''s the bottom line from a state-of-the-art review of drinking and health by University of Missouri cardiologist James H. O''Keefe, M.D., and colleagues.%u201D

State-of-the-art
Is this a new ranking category for research reviews? It implies that other published research reviews are not state-of-the-art. What criteria is used to classify it as state-of-the-art?
Reply to this comment
by cfin5 September 5, 2007 8:49 PM EDT
sevenveils, Spectrum108,.....I advocated no such "chip" implant or national ID card. Rather the opposite as I see no need for it. My point is guns don''t kill people, bad attitude does. Drinking and driving is bad attitude towards those who want to be as safe on the road as they can without a BA someone killing them with a car.....If you have any better suggestions then post them for us to consider instead of griping about it.
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by badbrown126 September 5, 2007 8:19 PM EDT
Diet, eat right ... still die. You might as well have some fun while you are here. Make mine a double!!!
Reply to this comment
by themurph2000 September 5, 2007 7:51 PM EDT
There are more old drunks than old doctors.
Posted by scribe7716 at 12:37 PM : Sep 05, 2007

Ah, but that was back in the days when you could retire a rich doctor at 50 instead of half your salary going towards malpractice insurance because of people suing you for $100 M because you left a scar two inches too long for their liking.

"And that, more than anything else, led to my drinking problem."------Ted Striker, "Airplane!"
Reply to this comment
by jetlizhan September 5, 2007 7:18 PM EDT
cheers!!
Reply to this comment
by lewiston14 September 5, 2007 6:33 PM EDT
It would also be a privacy matter that will never make it off the table. Hell everybody in washington is on something
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by lewiston14 September 5, 2007 6:29 PM EDT
"then why is it not important for someone with DUI offenses to be restricted from alcohol purchases? Put the international prohibiting "BIG RED CIRCLE SLASH MARTINI GLASS" mark on their next drivers license and make it mandatory for anyone buying alcohol to present drivers license at the point of sale no matter one''''s age or gender. License holders with that mark are then rejected from the purchase"


now that is funny. Just go have a 16 year old buy you a few cases. end of story.
Reply to this comment
by boldwin223 September 5, 2007 5:50 PM EDT
Down south, Bubba called his attorney and asked, "Is It true theys suin them cigarette companies fer causin People to git cancer ?"

"Yes, Bubba, sure is true," responded the lawyer.

"Well, I was thinkin . ..
What I want to know is, kin I sue Budweiser fer all
them ugly women I slept with?"
Reply to this comment
by usayesterday September 5, 2007 4:53 PM EDT
...looks like I picked the wrong week to stop drinking!


:-)
Reply to this comment
by sevenveils September 5, 2007 4:52 PM EDT
cfin5 - how about a scarlet letter?
Or throw them in a well and see if they sink?

And for people like you, maybe wear a badge with some sort of religious symbol on it, just so we know who you are and where you live.

Do you see where your thought process is leading?
Reply to this comment
by kimfin01 September 5, 2007 3:43 PM EDT
I''ll drink to that...Klingon69
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by scribe7716 September 5, 2007 3:37 PM EDT
There are more old drunks than old doctors.
Reply to this comment
by cfin5 September 5, 2007 3:31 PM EDT
It''s use in moderation and according to the law is in fact biblical......1 Timothy 5:23---Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach''s sake and thine often infirmities.-----It says "use a little", not abuse! Since I''m on the subject , I have been trying to get folks to understand that alcohol is more dangerous than guns. I directly influences one''s attitude. A gun does not (unless your a looney). If it is needed for someone to go through a background check to purchase a firearm, then why is it not important for someone with DUI offenses to be restricted from alcohol purchases? Put the international prohibiting "BIG RED CIRCLE SLASH MARTINI GLASS" mark on their next drivers license and make it mandatory for anyone buying alcohol to present drivers license at the point of sale no matter one''s age or gender. License holders with that mark are then rejected from the purchase. You need to make it illegal for alcohol "STRAW PURCHASES" likewise with accessory charges. This should be a very cheap and bi-partisan rule to make and enforce. Not to mention there is a good chance that this would lower our driving insurance rates across the board for us. Put this rule into effect on the first DUI offense as shaming the person with certain colored license plate do not stop more alcohol purchases/convictions. But all in all, it''s just a better band-aid to someones bad attitude than what we have now.
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by nolalou September 5, 2007 3:28 PM EDT
Rafterman1,

That may be so, but being elected President isn''t so great for your health either!!

Reply to this comment
by rafterman1 September 5, 2007 2:47 PM EDT
Are you kidding? Too much booze every day can get you elected President!
Reply to this comment
by klingon69 September 5, 2007 2:25 PM EDT
blah, blah, blah.
There is nothing wrong with drinking, like most everything else, it needs to be in moderation. Also, don''t put yourself in situations that you may/will regret in the future.
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