Winter Maladies: Natural Approaches
June Russell's Health Facts
Health Benefits of Alcohol Questioned — Specific Topics
The French Paradox
The “French Paradox” was debunked in a 21-nation World
Health Organization study that showed many more French people died from
heart disease than official statistics seemed to show.
{Washington Post, Oct. 8, 1994}
The so-called “French Paradox” has prompted many physicians
to recommend alcohol to some of their patients, a medical mistake that
will be felt for decades. There is no need to drink wine to obtain health
benefits because you can get them in fruits and vegetables. Alcohol has
a toxic effect on the liver, kidneys, heart muscle, and gastrointestinal
tract, and is especially irritating to the urinary bladder and prostate
gland. Just two alcoholic drinks can reduce your heart’s work capacity
by about 20% for up to a full day.
{Permanent Remissions, Robert Haas, 1997}
In a report in the British Medical Journal, two U.K.
experts suggested that the reduced risk for heart disease lies in the
fact that the French diet traditionally contains less animal fat. And
because the levels of animal fat and cholesterol in the French diet have
risen in the past 15 years, the French will begin to experience higher
rates of heart disease because of the ‘time lag’. Serum cholesterol concentration
in 1970 was lower in France than Great Britain, but now is similar.
{“Wine may not explain France’s lower heart disease rate,” HealthCentral.com
- Nov. 1999}
The French may have less heart disease than us, but
there are cultures who drink no alcohol at all and have less heart disease
than the French, who by the way have no shortage of liver disease. I think
some studies suggest that no matter how little you drink, alcohol causes
brain damage and I don't think it is a health food. You can get flavonoids
and other benefits through other foods.
{Robert Craghorn, author of ‘Nutrition Made Simple,’ Townsend
Letter for Doctors and Patients, Aug./Sept. 1997}
France has taken action against alcohol and has banned
alcohol ads on TV, and alcohol sponsorship of sports and billboard ads. They hope
this will reduce the high toll alcohol is taking in their country.
{Drug Free Youth, 1992}
The French Paradox does not hold true everywhere in
France for it is really two countries: a sick north and a healthy south.
Life expectancy for men in the healthiest region in the south is almost
fivw years longer than for men in the least healthy region of the north.
In the north, beer and spirits are more popular while red wine generally
accompanies meals in the south. The south of France has better medical
care, higher living standards and less unemployment than the north. Inhabitants
of France’s northeast regions are the heaviest smokers and suffer higher
death rates from throat and lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. They have
high rates of cirrhosis of the liver and upper digestive tract cancers,
known consequences of alcohol abuse.
{“France’s Great Divide,” Health News, Washington Post Health, May 6, 1997}
Low levels of ischemic heart disease in France is not
due to drinking red wine, suggest researchers in the British Medical
Journal (BMJ). Beside the ‘time lag’ in the effect of the low animal fat
consumption of the decades up to 1970, rising between 1970 and 1980, there
was an underreporting of the deaths by French doctors which could account
for about 20% of the difference. That is, the French had a 20% higher
rate of death than reported.
{Alternative Health News Online, July 1999}
The French don't live much longer than others, and
apart from heart disease they aren't much healthier. Life expectancy is
only about a year more in France than in America, and not all French people
drink wine. Twenty years ago it was about one-third, and today it is up to one-half.
Significant numbers of French people seem to be fending off heart disease
without the benefits of wine. Everyone eats, so maybe it is the food. On
average the French consume almost five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables
daily, with the average here in the U.S., about three, and they eat more grains
which are rich in antioxidants that help the body fight off cancer and
heart disease. The French don't snack between meals.
{“Eat, Drink and Be Wary,” Newsweek, March 1992}
The French reserve desserts for only special occasions
and choose fruits instead, and French serving sizes are frequently half
the size of portions in this country. Women pay attention to what and
how they eat, and both men and women have their big meal in the middle
of the day, with a light dinner. They also have half the rate of obesity
that Americans have.
{“How French Women Stay So Slim,” Total Health -
Staying Fit, McCall’s Nov. 1991}
Coronary incidence data now deny that there is a French
Paradox, says France’s national medical research center. There is no scientific
consensus that alcohol is protective. According to a story published
in the Lancet, some of the information is bad data resulting from a different
ways of coding coronary mortality, that fails to distinguish between
the northern and southern populations. Many wonder whether the benefits
of drinking outweigh the risks.
{“Au Revoir, Paradox Francaise? Now that the rest of the world has accepted the story about red wine and health, the French are having second thoughts,” Washington Post Health, June 6, 2000}
Even in English, the expression of the ‘French Paradox’ sounded romantic in the November 1991 report by Morley Safer.... “now it’s confirmed, alcohol - in particular red wine - reduces the risk of heart disease. If you are a middle-aged man in America your chances of dying of a heart attack are three times greater than a Frenchman of the same age.” Within four weeks, U.S. sales of red wine rocketed by 44%, and consumers returned to levels of drinking that had not been seen since mid-1980's. These health announcements increased consumption more than anything else. Much of the media hype is from the Wine Institute, and although the world view is that the French can control their drinking habits, it is not true. Alcohol is the number one health problem in France. Alcohol is such a problem that they have banned alcohol ads on T.V. and movies, and restricts ads on the radio until after 10 p.m., and forbids alcohol industry sponsorships of sporting events.
Today 60% of the men and 40% of the women drink every
day, Ten to twenty years ago 90% of the French drank every day. The life expectancy of the French is about the same as Americans.
{“The Flip Side of French Drinking,” The Marin Institute web site, July 2000}
Researchers are getting closer to solving the mystery
of the French Paradox. It doesn't seem fair that the French can enjoy
butter, rich desserts, croissants, and still have the lowest rate of heart
attacks in Europe. How do they do this? One explanation has been their
consumption of wine. Now British researchers suspect that the polyphenols
found in red wine are particularly beneficial for the heart. Polyphenols
are pigmented plant compounds that give red wine its characteristic color
and flavor. Test tube experiments published in the journal 'Nature' (Dec.
20, 2001) now reveal that wine polyphenols block the production of chemicals
that cause constriction of blood vessels and build up of plaque. White
wine and nonalcoholic grape juice don't possess the same power. Cabernet
sauvignon grapes seem the most effective, but other red grapes were also
beneficial.
{People's Pharmacy, Public Radio, Dec. 22, 2001. Also in The Daily Progress in Charlottesville, VA}
Editor's comment: No mention that the French Paradox has been disproved or any of the dangers of light and moderate alcohol use.
The so-called French Paradox is nothing to drink to,
according to researchers. The French have one of the highest rates of
liver cirrhosis and did not live longer than the world average, says a
new study in the British journal Lancet. There was one characteristic of people who
lived longer had in common: they ate more fresh fruit.
{'Paradox Questioned,' www.jointogether.org - May 2001}
Alcohol is the number one health problem in France.
They have banned alcohol ads on television and movies, restricted them
on the radio until after 10 p.m., and forbidden alcohol industry sponsorship
of sporting events.
{"Drug Free Youth," 1992}
The January 2000 issue of the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition, reported that red wine without alcohol
can also keep the doctor away. The study compared the effects of wine
with alcohol versus the same vintage with the alcohol taken out. The dealcoholized
version actually increased flavolin levels in the blood more than the
alcoholic kind.
{"Can wine make you heart healthy?" laurushealth.com - May 2001}
A new report suggests that — despite past studies —
people who abstain from alcohol are not at a greater risk of premature
death compared to those who drink moderately. Former drinkers and long-time
abstainers were lumped together in the category of abstainers, which could
have accounted for the difference. This study casts some doubt on the
conclusions of other research that there are protective effects of light
and moderate drinking.
{"Alcohol Abstainers Not at Risk," report from 'Addiction' - 1998, mercola.com
- Jan. 2002}
Recent much publicized studies have suggested that
abstainers are at a greater risk of dying than light drinkers. According
to the study in "Addiction," important characteristics of the drinking
group were not always considered in the previous studies, and there were
many criticisms from the research community. A new analysis of ten previous
studies found that those who were former drinkers (male) were more likely
to be heavier smokers and marijuana users, or were depressed, unemployed, and
were of a lower socioeconomic status, compared with long-term abstainers.
Women who were former drinkers are also more likely to be heavy smokers
and in poorer health. "Our findings cast doubt that there are protective
effects from light or moderate drinking," says Kaye Fillmore, PhD, professor
in the UCSF School of Nursing, and principal investigator.
{Healthcentral.com - 2000}
Some researchers argue that the link between wine consumption
and reduced risk of heart disease remains unproven in the absence of long-term
human clinical trials.
{"New white wine may have health benefits of red,"
Reuters Health, Healthcentral.com - June 2001 Note: Michael Avrim of the Rambam
Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, lead researcher, made the comment that
he liked wine.}
In the journal, "Nature," researchers from the William
Harvey Research Institute at the London School of Medicine and Dentistry
say they have discovered the key component in red wine that explains the
so-called 'French Paradox,' where the French can eat lots of cheese, buttery
sauces and other rich foods and still suffer less heart disease than Americans.
Their explanation is that pigments known as 'polyphenols,' come from the
red wine skins; in white wine and rosé. The grape skins are taken out
before fermentation. The type of grape seemed to matter. This study was
done in laboratory dish experiments where cow cells were exposed to extracts
from different wines.
{"Red wine pigments keep arteries from hardening, researchers say," Associated
Press, in The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia, Dec. 20, 2001}
flavonoids in purple grape juice work in two related pathways; first they have a protective effect on antioxidants, allowing them to provide active protection against oxidative stress for longer periods. Second, they also seem to have a direct, positive effect on a number of biological functions like platelet activity, nitric oxide production, and signaling in cells, all of which may be protective factors. Jane E. Freedman, MD, lead author in the study and Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at Georgetown University, reported that, with grape juice the production of superoxide — a potentially harmful free radical — was reduced by one-third but cautioned that people who have diabetes should avoid grape juice because of its high sugar content.
This study adds to the growing body of research that
attributes heart health benefits to purple grape juice, say John Folts,
PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Coronary Thrombosis Prevention
Research Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison.
{"The Secret of Grape Juice's Heart-Healthy Action Revealed,"
CBS Healthwatch.com - June 2001 Note: This study was primarily funded
by the National Institutes of Health and an unrestricted grant from Welch
Foods, Inc., which is a major supplier of purple grape juice.
The apparent benefits of drinking wine may not be in the wine at all.
People who opt for a glass of wine after work may already be smarter,
happier and more well adjusted than their beer-drinking friends, say Dr.
Erik L. Mortensen from the University of Copenhagen, in Denmark, and colleagues.
Wine drinking in general was associated with higher parental education,
socioeconomic status and IQ. The average IQ of beer drinkers was 95.2
compared with 113.2 for wine drinkers the investigators found (and beer
drinkers more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs).
{"Wine drinkers are happy, healthy, wealthy, wise," Reuters Health,
Healthcentral.com - August 2001 ) Editor's comment:
Notice how the title misleads.
In a report published this week in the British Medical Journal, two experts dispute the theory that red wine consumption may explain why the French have a much lower rate of heart disease than other nations. They suggest that the reduced risk lies in the fact that the French diet traditionally has contained less animal fat, and they provide considerable statistical evidence to support the "time lag' theory. This theory suggests that because the levels of animal fat and cholesterol have risen in the past 15 years in France, it is only a matter of time before the heart disease rates in that country catches up with the rate in Britain (where heart disease mortality is about four times higher).
French doctors tend to attribute heart disease to other
causes, which could account for about 20 percent of the difference in
heart disease statistics, say Dr. Malcomb Law and Professor Nicholas Wald
from the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London, UK. They
add that the high consumption of wine in France "explains less than five
percent of the difference."
{"Wine may not explain France's lower heart disease rate," Reuters
Health, heartinfo.org - June 2001}
In France, Italy and Greece, life expectancies are 75, 75.5 and 76.5 years respectively.
In the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland, life expectancies are 76.5,
77.1, and 77.6 years. It seems the non-Mediterranean populations are living
slightly longer lives.
{"Mediterranean Diet; Myth or Magic," junkscience.com - June 2001}
The AFT, the governing body for wineries, allows wineries
to call a wine 'sulfite free' when the levels are under 10 parts per million
(ppm).
{"Sulfites and Wine," wine.about.com - Oct. 2001} Author's
comment: Those who are sulfite sensitive might have even more
reasons to avoid wine.
Investigators say that women who drank up to two drinks of wine daily
were less likely to have an ischemic stroke. The investigators reported a 40 to 60% lower
risk of stroke compared with women who never drank. The head researcher,
Dr. Ann Malarcher, from the CDC in Atlanta, told Reuters Health that the association
with wine is probably due to the flavonoids, and other lifestyle factors.
The women who drank the wine were more likely to be educated, nonsmokers
and have normal cholesterol. Also, the timing of the wine consumption
may also contribute to a lower risk of stroke. Wine with meals may influence
the movement of fats in the blood.
{"Wine may lower stroke risk for young women," Reuters Health, HealthCentral.com
June 2001} Editor's comment: No mention was made
of the two to three drinks a week doubling the risk of hemorrhagic stroke: this
was only the ischemic stroke. See Alcohol - Heart.
Editor's comment: In one investigation
ischemic stroke was lowered 30 percent in those who averaged five to six servings
of fruits and vegetables daily compared with those who ate less than three
- a way to decrease chance of ischemic stroke without the negative effects
of alcohol. Be aware that even light drinking increases the risk of hemorrhagic
stroke.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is taking a hard
line against claims that moderate alcohol consumption is good for your
health, the Associated Press reported. Alcohol, in fact, is responsible
for a whole range of problems, and people taking other steps toward cardiovascular
health, less smoking, less fat intake, and more exercise, are unlikely
to benefit from daily use of alcohol.
{"WHO disdains Healthy Alcohol," www.jointogether.com - May 2001}
Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine analyzed data on death rates for England and Wales in 1996 and
1998, and reported that the cardioprotective effects of moderate alcohol
consumption may be marginal because the main beneficiaries are men over
the age of 55 and women over the age of 65. Benefits from alcohol in many
instances may be outweighed by an increased risk of cirrhosis of the liver,
pancreatitis, upper digestive cancers, and an increased risk of violence
and accidents.
{"Protective Effect of Alcohol Mainly Confined To Elderly," Journal of
Epidemiology and Community Health, Doctors Guide, Oct. 2001).
See Alcohol - Seniors.
Researchers found that some alcohol consumption among
the elderly may lessen age-related brain injuries, such as silent stroke
(a stroke in which the effects are too subtle to be noticed when they
occurred) and white matter disease, but that any level of alcohol intake
may shrink brain matter. Every drink of alcohol is associated with greater
brain shrinkage (atrophy).
{American Heart Association, www.docguide.com - Dec. 2001)
Further Examination of Some of the Positive Reports
The study about French wines showing blood-vessel benefits, in the Feb. 5, 2003 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, suggested that French red wines, unlike German red wines, boosted the cell’s production of nitric oxide (NO), a compound that helps dilate blood vessels and helps to prevent blood clotting. However, Dr. Thomas Wallerath’s team speculated that it was the grape compounds that caused the difference between the French and German wines, as French wines have been found to harbor particularly high levels of antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants, found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, neutralize cell-damaging compounds in the body called free radicals.
Dr. Robert Vogel of the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore wrote an editorial accompanying the report, in which he pointed out that the study only looked at isolated endothelial cells. “The translation of that to what we should drink may be a stretch,” he said.
{“French red wines show blood-vessel benefits,” HeartCenterOnline for Patients, heartcenteronline.com - Feb. 2003}
More comments in the accompanying editorial, “Vintners and Vasodilators: Are French Red Wines More Cardioprotective?” by Dr. Vogel: Alcohol has both beneficial and detrimental effects on health. The reduction in cardiovascular risk is generally confined to middle-aged and older individuals, and less cardioprotection is evident in women. No randomized controlled trials of alcohol have been performed with cardiovascular events as the end point. European studies have generally found a greater reduction in cardiovascular risk associated with wine, especially red wine, compared with other alcoholic beverages. The same differential benefit has generally not been found in American studies. Wine drinkers tend to be less obese, to exercise more, and to drink with meals.
{Circulation 2002}
The lower cardiovascular mortality reported in the wine-producing and -consuming countries of France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland is not accompanied by overall death rates {Lancet 1994}. Red wine is more commonly consumed with meals than are other alcoholic beverages. Alcohol consumption at other times appears to be less cardioprotective, which suggests that the consumption of red wine may be a specific marker for other lifestyle confounders. Red wine consumption has been demonstrated to reduce the postprandial endothelial dysfunction caused by a high-fat meal, but no effect on those consuming a low-fat diet. Is a nonalcoholic component of red wine responsible for this effect? Probably yes.
{American Journal of Cardiology 2001}
Alcohol decreases LDL cholesterol modestly, and as with other sugars, alcohol increases triglycerides, sometimes dramatically. The recent sobering experiences with hormone replacement and antioxidant vitamin therapy suggest that the red wine story may be as complex as a classic vintage.
{Source (for this section): Robert Vogel, MD, “Vinters and Vasodilators} June Russell's note In researching the many medical journals, I became aware of the many advertisements for prescription drugs and the possible influence on drug studies.