October 2008: Question 3
Given that most of the findings in the present review article are controversial or conflicting, which topic related to alcohol and health do you feel is most important to research further? Why? What are the implications to practice?
posted by Emily Moore @ 7:14 AM
17 comments
17 Comments:
I think further research is always necessary. I really want to know more about how quickly the benefits start occurring after consuming alcohol. Would you need to have a few drinks a day, your whole life, or would it be okay to start drinking later in life, and would you get the same benefits? I think that the alcoholic consumption pattern is something important to look at, also. I would like to know more about the alcoholic beverages being consumed. Do all alcoholic beverages have the same benefits? Is there one beer, wine, or mixed drink that is better to consume? I also think that the guidelines and recommended amounts need to be analyzed and redefined and do recommendations need to change depending on the age of the client? There are a lot of holes and conflicting information in this article, more research must be done.
First of all, I agree that most of this information the researchers are giving us is conflicting. I would want to know specifically the difference between consuming one alcoholic drink per day versus three. According to this study's definition, moderate alcohol consumption is equal to 1-3 drinks. To me, that is a big difference. Like Sam said, I would also want to know if there was a specific drink-beer, wine, distilled spirits-that would be most beneficial to health. I would also want to see a study that takes into consideration a person's diet as well as any medications they would be on, as these could play a role in the findings.
The first thing that came to my mind when asked about what area of research is needed is how much alcohol and what type of alcohol really will decrease your risk for heart disease? This article mentions that the data suggests that benefits are conferred by moderate consumption of alcohol, perhaps regardless of beverage type. All along we have been hearing that red wine is the healthiest but is it really? Can someone have a beer a day and get the same benefits? These are the types of things that I think would be interesting to find out with more research.
Sam,
I basically agree with everything you said and I liked that you pointed out that recommendations might need to change depending on someone's age. Do we really know if recommending 1-3 glasses of wine to an elderly person will benefit them? Great observation.
That last comment made to Sam was me.
Brittney-
Good point on the defination of moderate alcohol consumption (1-3 drinks). I agree completely that this is a broad defination. It's important to remember that everyone's body reacts differently to alcohol and maybe there isn't a set number of drinks because of this. I also agree that most of this article has been conflicting and more research needs to be done.
From a research standpoint I would want to know if the type of alcohol makes a difference? Also does one glass of wine have to same effect as two glasses of beer, or three shots of grain alcohol? These answers would be the most helpful for me as a RD since I would be the one doing healthy diet educations, and am suppose to be the expert on the team about nutrition. Another question would be do white grapes have the same effect as red grapes (for wine choices)?
Tori McRoberts
Sam,
I agree with your first statement about the time frame; does a person need to start drinking at age 21 to see the effects, or can a person start drinking at 50 and have the same results? Also another question to consider is the idea that a person could drink for too many years and see negative effects? For example a person starts drinking, moderately at 21 and another at 45, is the 21 year old going to have decreased effectiveness of alcohol since they started drinking moderately 24years earlier?
Tori McRoberts
Good question. I feel that the area that would perhaps need further research would be: the effect of the phytochemicals in alcohol on health, and as the article stated the "effects of alcohol consumption patterns on diet quality endpoints."
I think this area needs further study b/c this is one of the main issues (phytochemical health benefits) that seems to be brought up when talking about alcohol and health. It would be good to have more solid evidence for or against alcohol's phytochemcial affects, and it's ultimate effect on dietary quality.
Because if the effect is marginal or non-existent, then recommendations for consuming alcohol for these reasons would lose their potency.
Good point Sam. The pattern of alcohol consumption (by age category) needed to confer benefits would definitely be something that an RD would want to know before even mentioning this as a potential course of action for clients.
Myra
I would like to know the biological differences (health benefits/detriments) to consumption of 'hard' alcohol. Many people hear a rumor that alcohol will make you healthy and decide to take it too far by over consumption or generalizing information to conveniently fit their habits. It's difficult to explain to some people that they can have a little, which will result in health benefits, but not too much, otherwise they will cause harm. There are other substances (non-regulated foods) that have health benefits and do not require proof of age to purchase.
I am trying to respond as a dietetic intern leaving my side job out of this. I get questioned a lot of which alcohol to drink. Wish I knew. I always think of red wine but more research is being done with of course some conflicts. Moderation seems to be the answer to everything and it should be individualized. I guess that is what I want to know, what is the plan for me. How do I really know the answer for my clients and what is ok.
Susan
I believe that they need to better pin down and support the definition of moderate alcohol consumption. We know that it is a thin line between alcohol being a tonic or toxin. Where exactly does this line begin and end?
Genetic factors also play a crucial role in how alcohol is processed and used by the body, for example with Asians having less of the Alcohol Dehydrogenase enzyme. How much do genetic factors influence the actions of moderate alcohol intake, and will this affect each individual person when it comes to making recommendations?
There is always a need for long term research that study the long term health effects of moderate alcohol consumtion. In doing so, we can become more sure of our recommendations to our patients and clients.
My question is the same as many others responding to this blog, what type of alcohol and how much is best. There are many articles that talk about the benefits of red wine and the antioxidant resvaratrol being one of the main ingredients in question. If there are benefits from drinking alcohol like beer for example, what is in the beer that benefits us? Is it a blood thinning that reduces our risk for heart disease? There are a lot of unanswered questions about why and which types of alcohol can benefit us.
Sam,
My questions were very similar to yours. You bring up many good points about what type and when to expect these proclaimed benefits to start kicking in. There is a lot of questions that still need to be answered.
Sam and Tori,
You bring up excellent points on the fact that age does play a role. A lot of questions are raised when we start thinking about what age starting this moderate alcohol consumption will provide benefits.
Looking at everyone's comments about the type of alcohol consumed, I wonder if the rate of alcohol consumed makes a difference. For example, would a fast shot of hard liquor be good to stimulate the liver, or is sipping on a beer over an hour just enough to have some sort of effect? This maybe getting too nit-picky, but over several decades, this could add up to something significant. Just a thought.
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