But Daryl! Doctors say that drinking red wine is good for you

"But Daryl! Doctors say that drinking red wine is good for you." If I hear this one more time in my day I am going to vomit. People will hear of a research study that was done years ago that suggests that red wine is good for you and decide that it is okay to drink wine. Well let me tell you about the study. It was done in England a about a decade ago. A small population of subjects were taken for the study. The subjects drank a SHOT GLASS amount of wine, once per day for a few months. The results were that some of the people showed a reduction in triglycerides in their blood. Also, some showed a reduction in free radicals in the blood stream. After the study showed some positive results the world found out. Now every time someone drinks wine they are convinced that it is healthy because the doctors say it is. But the truth has been overly exaggerated. The benefit is only from a SHOT GLASS amount, not a half a bottle or more per day. The amount is so small that you wouldn't even get a buzz from it. But most people who drink enjoy the benefit of getting relaxed from the alcohol effect and can't just have shot glass full. This is when the alcohol becomes a problem.

I always find it interesting how people constantly find ways to believe that what they are doing makes sense. People will always argue with me about the benefits of drinking wine. When I tell them about that there is more antioxidants in broccoli than the wine they drink, they can't say anything. I say if the wine didn't have alcohol in it, would you still drink it for the antioxidants. Nine out of ten drinkers say that they wouldn't drink the wine if it didn't have alcohol. So much for drinking wine for the antioxidants idea.

Alcohol affects the body in a number of ways. In fact, I don't see any value with alcohol. It seems that there are way more disadvantages to drinking alcohol than there are advantages.

Here are the DISADVANTAGES:

1. Destroys the mitochondria of the cell. The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. It is where ATP (Adenosinetriphosphate) is manufactured. ATP is the high phosphate energy compound that provides energy to the cells and tissues. Essentially the more ATP you have the more energy you have and can produce. The more energy means greater fat burning ability. The more a person drinks the more they destroy the cells of the body. This will ultimately result in fat storage, and muscle loss.

2. Destroys brain neurons. When teenager's begin to drink alcohol they can damage the development of the brain. The brain is still developing during the teenage years. Full development ends during the ages of 21-25. Drinking too much alcohol during the crucial development years can result in psychological issues as the person ages.

* Depression
* Attention Deficit Disorder / Hyperactive Disorder
* Anger
* Loss of Short Term Memory
* Anxiety disorders
* Nervousness

Alcohol is a controlled poison. If you were to inject alcohol directly into the veins you would die. The liver has to filter out the alcohol to a safe concentration before entering into the bloodstream. However, when people over consume to the point of getting buzzed, the liver is unable to filter out all the alcohol, so blood alcohol levels rise. This is dangerous because now the poison is toxic.

Effects of Alcohol as Blood Alcohol Content rises.
• Cerebral cortex: This is the area of the brain associated with thought processing, and assists in voluntary muscle movements. Alcohol depresses the behavioral inhibitory centers. The person becomes more talkative, increased self-confidence and uninhibited. Also, sight, auditory sensitivity, smell, touch and taste become impaired. Poor thought processing also occurs. The person makes poor decisions.

• Limbic System is compromised. The limbic system controls emotions and memory. Alcohol affects the limbic system in a way that the person becomes emotionally exaggerated. Anger, aggressiveness, withdrawal and memory loss occur when the alcohol penetrates the limbic system

• Cerebellum: The cerebellum controls motor movements of the body. Alcohol affects the cerebellum forcing a person who has drunk too much to lose proprioception (balance) and motor control. They fall down, stagger, lose all motor control.

• Hypothalamus and Pituitary Gland: The hypothalamus controls and influences autonomic functions of the brain and coordinates many chemical and endocrine functions through chemical and nerve impulse actions on the pituitary gland. Sex, thryoid and growth hormones are secreted by the endocrine system. Alcohol impacts sexual performance and urinary excretion. Impotency, weakened ejaculatory processing, and genital insensitivity develops when the hypothalamus is affected by alcohol. This is because alcohol is a depressant and affects the nerves that connect to the genitalia. Though alcohol helps a person lose inhibitions, increasing sex drive. Sexual performance is diminished.

• Medulla: As the BAC rises the medulla is affected. The medulla is apart of the autonomic nervous system, in that it helps regulate involuntary physiological processes of the body; breathing, heart rate, temperature and consciousness. The more a person drinks the more sleepy they get. This is why driving under the influence is a poor idea. No matter how loud the music is or wide open the windows are, the brainwaves are shifting into a sleep state. Blood pressure and temperature falls to a dangerous level as well.

• The Immune System: Alcohol irritates the intestinal and stomach lining. Chronic alcohol abuse can lead to ulcers and cancer. Vomiting occurs when too much alcohol is consumed. The body protects itself when the levels of poisons rise in the digestive and blood system. An irritated stomach also influences an increase in stomach acid. Esophageal deterioration can result from too much acid. Too much alcohol will cause a reduction in blood flow to the muscles. Cramping, dehydration and all achy feeling in the muscle result from over consumption of alcohol.

• Broken blood vessels in face: This is called a condition called telengectasia. It is a result of dilated small vessels in the skin. Telengectasia is caused by liver cirrhosis. Chronic alcohol drinking will cause liver cirrhosis.

• Liver Cirrhosis: The liver slowly deteriorates and malfunctions due to chronic abuse or injury. The liver has to work very hard to reduce alcohol into a safer form of sugar before the alcohol enters the bloostream. As I mentioned before alcohol is a poison that must be reduced in order to enter the bloodstream. If it were to get into the bloodstream with being reduced then death is imminent. Due to the high potency of alcohol the liver enzymes have to overtime. This overwork taxes the liver beyond a normal functioning level. Over time this will begin to injure the liver causes irreversible damage. Once the liver shuts down, the show is over.

• Broken Families: Besides getting a buzz and feeling more comfortable after a hard day of work, there is nothing good that comes from drinking. It is estimated that parents who drink have children who drink by the age of twelve years old. This is due to the fact that alcohol is easily accessible and kids will be tempted to have a drink. It is also estimated that most domestic abuse cases, car crashes, violent and abusive behavior, is 95% related to alcohol.

• Addiction: Alcohol is very addicting for many people. Alcoholism accounts for 1 out of every 3 people in America. When a group of alcoholics (50) were asked how old they were when they began drinking 45 out of the 50 said that they were under the age of 15 years old. Alcohol dependency is hard to resolve. However, through the right measures a person can resolve their addiction.

• Fat Storage, Muscle wasting, Impacted Abdominals: One of the most noticeable effects from drinking alcohol is the weight gain. Alcohol is a sugar and when consumed can end up going into fat cells. A small drink of wine a couple nights a week is not going to affect your system too drastically. However, drinking every day will have adverse affects on your body composition. As mentioned earlier the mitochondria get's destroyed in the cell limiting the production of ATP. Fat accumulation around the abdominals is noticeable in people who over drink. For some the abdominals become impacted. This is the fat that accumulates around the visceral organs and omentum. This becomes stressful for the heart system and can ultimately result in a heart attack.

I realize that many people like to drink alcoholic beverages and are convinced that it is a healthy thing to do. There is nothing good that comes from alcohol. The body has no need for alcohol. The ill effects caused by alcohol are damaging in the long run. I never could understand why people drink. Taking something to relax the central nervous system is strange. Why are so many people unable to relax without having to drink something or take a pill. What ever happened to just breathing and calming yourself down naturally. Why do we all have to take drugs to change our personality, physical appearance or behavior?

Though I don't agree with drinking alcohol. Here are my suggestions to people who do.

1. Drink only 3-4 oz. of really good (not the cheap stuff with nitrates) wine 2 times per week. To reap the "so called" benefits of red wine.

2. Drink 1 beer once a week if not drinking wine (#1).

3. Avoid the hard liquor altogether.

Are you Addicted? Try this method.

To see if you are addicted to alcohol. Stop drinking any alcohol for one week. If you have intense cravings, mood changes, have headaches, shakes, irritability, anxiety, can't stop thinking about drinking. Then you could be addicted to alcohol. If you can walk away from drinking with no problem and no cravings or ill effects then chances are you are just a social drinker and have no problem.

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