June Russell's Health Facts

[Cancer Risk]   [Statistics and Scope]   [Metabolism and Physiology]   [Appetite Sensation]   [Complications of Obesity]   [Role of Sleep]   [Weight Loss Strategies]  

Cancer Risk

A study by scientists at the American Cancer Society (reported in The New England Journal of Medicine) found that obesity is a major risk factor for cancer death, second only to smoking. Being overweight is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and several other serious health problems. More than 60% of American adults are overweight and more than 1.2 million Americans this past year, were diagnosed with cancer, according to the cancer society. People who carry their fat around the abdomen are at increased risk of cancer of the esophagus, the result of more gastric reflux that sends stomach acid back up the wrong way.
{“Obesity a Major Risk Factor for Cancer Death,”healthcentral.com - April 2003   Editor's comment: alcohol use raises the levels of cortisol, a hormone that steers the fat toward the tummy, and makes it more likely you will get the munchies when you’ve been drinking.}

Excess weight may account for 20% of cancer deaths in women and 14% in men.
{“Cancer: fat chance,” Washington Post Health, Apr. 19, 2003   Editor's comment: Alcohol use is a risk factor for both weight and cancer.}

Consuming one or two alcoholic drinks per day was found to increase blood levels of the fat hormone leptin in postmenopausal women taking part in the National Cancer Institute Study — a 24% increase among women between the ages of 49 and 54. Early research shows that elevated leptin levels may be associated with an increased breast cancer risk, as well as colorectal and prostate cancers. In addition to cancer, there is also evidence that leptin is associated with infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders, says Mark J. Roth, MD, on WebMD Medical News, Nov. 2003.
{November issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute}

Being overweight is also associated with elevated leptin levels. American cancer epidemiologist Marji McCullough, ScD, tells us that maintaining an ideal weight and limiting alcohol consumption are two things women can do to reduce their risk.
{“Alcohol may increase breast cancer risk: fat hormone leptin could explain alcohol, breast cancer link,” Weekly Health News & Safety Alerts, on www.nvo.com}

Statistics and Scope of the Obesity Problem

A staggering 61% of American adults meet the scientific definition of obese, putting them at increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, depression and several forms of cancer. Weight-related illnesses cause more than 300,000 deaths each year and surveys indicate that obesity is a greater health risk than smoking. At least 58 million Americans are on a diet to lose weight.
{Sally Squires, Washington Post, Dec. 14, 2001}  Editor's comment: The use of alcohol increases the risk of having each of the six health problems mentioned, including weight. Alcohol calories are usually stored as fat.
{Heart Information Network, June 2001}

Alcohol increases insulin which increases appetite. The average American over the age of 14 consumes 2.65 gallons of pure (absolute) alcohol per year, which would average out to be more than 20 pounds of weight for every person in the U.S. Since one-third of the population does not drink, this figure would be 28 pounds of weight per year on the average for a person who does drink. Alcohol prevents the body fat from being burned, and alcohol removes the self-control required to tolerate hunger.
{The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss, 1993}

Direct medical costs of obesity in the U.S. (1994) are $51 billion yearly, and being overweight and obese leads to many diseases.
{ HealthScout.com, Jan. 23, 2003}

Effects of Alcohol on Metabolism and Physiology

Dean Ornish, the famous diet doctor, suggests eliminating alcohol because it suppresses the body's ability to burn fat. This fact is also in the New England Journal of Medicine, Apr. 1992. They point out that that alcohol can slow your fat metabolism by about 30%, or in other words, while your body is burning alcohol, it's not burning fat.
{A Swiss study in the NEJM in May 1997, Reader's Digest}

Alcohol is high in calories and devoid of nutrients, so it can contribute to a weight problem. Besides the issue of calories, alcohol consumption can make you overeat, since it anesthetizes your taste buds, makes your food less satisfying and can make you eat more than you would if you hadn't imbibed.
{“Preventing heart disease,” The New Pritikin Program, 1998}

Alcohol is listed as the worst drink if you want your belly to be flatter. Beer and liquor tend to raise levels of cortisol, a hormone that appears to steer fat toward the tummy. You're also more likely to get the munchies when you've been drinking.
{Prevention, Dec. 1999}

Fluid calories add to your caloric intake, but with little effect on your satiety or feeling of fullness, says Richard Mattes, PhD, nutrition professor at Purdue University. Alcohol slows down the breakdown of fat. Fat is burned in our liver, but when we drink alcohol, the alcohol burns instead of fat, cautions Charles Lieber, MD, Director of Alcohol Research, Bronx Veterans Administration Center.
{"Anatomy of a pigout," marieclaire.women.com, Oct. 2001}

Metabolism is the energy our body uses while at rest. The BMR (basic metabolism rate) is the rate at which calories are expended for basic activities such as keeping the heart beating, lungs breathing, etc.). People who are more muscular, with a lower percentage of body fat have a higher metabolism. One of the recommendations to increase BMR and keep it elevated is to avoid alcohol, which can depress your metabolism and stimulate your appetite.
{"Metabolism," Fitness, laurushealth.com, May 2001}

Alcohol consumption may increase yeast-related symptoms, such as bloating, gas and cravings for sweets, and can therefore interfere with weight loss, says Dr. Atkins Web site. Beer, which contains yeast, probably has the most yeast-forming components of any alcohol.
{www.tallahassee.com, May 2002}

Alcohol is a diuretic and can cause you to become dehydrated. Your body metabolizes fat more efficiently when properly hydrated.
{Bottom Line Health newsletter, Jul. 2002, Jim Karas, weight loss management}

As a cellular toxin, ethanol is catabolic and promotes structural tissue loss. The catabolic effect causes a greater loss of weight than caloric input can replace in the form of fat stores. Typically, fat distribution shifts to the belly and trunk, leaving the extremities skinny and weak. Men often grow female breasts, as estrogen accumulates in their system. There are a host of body responses to ethanol ingestion, as it acts in its drug/chemical pathogenic role.
{“Ethanol & alcohol abuse,” nutramed.com, Apr. 2003}

Less than 5% of the alcohol calories are turned into fat; instead the main effect of alcohol is to reduce the amount of fat your body burns for energy. Research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that for several hours after having two drinks of vodka, whole body lipid oxidation (a measure of how much fat the body is burning) dropped 73%. It appears that the alcohol is converted into acetate (2.5 times higher than normal after the two drinks) which puts the brakes on fat loss. After the drink or two, a small portion is converted into fat; your liver then converts most of the alcohol into acetate; the acetate then is released into the bloodstream, and replaces the fat as a source of fuel. Alcohol acts as a potent appetizer, and the combination of alcohol and a high-calorie meal is especially fattening. Alcohol and a leaner, stronger body just doesn’t mix.
{“Why alcohol calories are more important than you think ...” the factsaboutfitness.com, Oct. 2003}

Alcohol and Sensation of Appetite

Drinking alcohol can often lead to overeating, warns Jamie Pope, a nutritionist consultant to Vanderbilt University, and author of "The Last Five Pounds." Alcohol weakens restraint and heightens the sensation of hunger, and alcohol is high in calories.
{"20 Ways to tame your crazy appetite," McCalls, Dec. 1996}

At the Eleventh European Congress on Obesity, data showed that wine with meals increases food intake, and stimulates the appetite more than does beer or soft drinks.
{Vienna, Reuters Health, Dr. Benjamin Buemann and co-workers from the Research Department of Human Nutrition at the Royal Veterinary and Agriculture University in Fredericksburg, Denmark, organtx.org, May 2001}

If you opt for a glass of wine instead of dessert, you may think you are only getting 90 calories instead of the 300 in a chocolate mousse, but the wine isn't filling and you may end up eating that dessert, too. Barbara Rolls, a nutrition professor at Penn State University and co-author of "Volumetrics" (HarperCollins, 2000) warns that having an alcoholic drink may also loosen your diet inhibitions. She says that once you get that first glass of wine, you may get to the "what the hell?" effect in which you would eat more than you otherwise would. Beverages provide psychological stimulation that leads to physiological stimulation which primes the body to salivate and anticipate food, said Richard Mattes, a professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
{"Watch what you drink," thirdage.com, Aug. 2002}

When having wine or beer with a meal, the amount of food consumed increases, and the consumption is even higher than when having a meal with a soft drink. Wine increases consumption even more than beer. Beer and wine accelerate gastric emptying.
{International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, 2002;26(10):1367-72} and {Nutrition Hints, # 1211, Betty Kamen and Michael Rosenbaum, MD, June 2003}

Alcohol consumption on the Atkins Diet? When given a choice, your body will burn alcohol for energy before it burns fat, and alcohol consumption may also increase yeast-related symptoms, such as bloating, gas and cravings for sweets, and can therefore interfere with weight loss.
{atkins.com - April 2004}

Cortisol is linked to appetite. Cortisol stimulates your appetite in response to the flight-or-fight response. If this stress response continues, the result is an insatiable appetite for sweets, a false sense of stress relief, and an expanding waistline.
{“Stress makeover” by Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, Prevention magazine, Nov. 2000}

Complications of Obesity

Overweight people tend to have high blood pressure, which is often worsened by alcohol, says HealthNews Associate Editor, George Blackburn, MD.
{"Weight gain and wine, "HealthNews, May 6, 1997}

Alcohol should not be used by anyone who is trying to lose weight. Alcohol is not a food, but rather a drug. In fact, it may be considered a poison because it causes metabolic damage in the body and depresses the immune system.
{"Optimum Health," The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, book by Stephen Sinatra, MD, FACC}

'Double Whammies for weight!' Alcohol contributes to weight, and weight contributes to other health problems, such as obesity, a preventable disorder. Obesity is the strongest determinant of an enlargement of the upper-left chamber of the heart, a known risk for heart disease and death.
{"Obesity a major risk for oversized heart chamber," HealthCentral, May 2001}

Weight gain in women, particularly in the abdominal area, triggers inflammation in the body and significantly raises the risk of heart disease, according to the Jan. 15, 2002, issue of Circulation: Journal of the American heart Association.
{"Ladies: Keep a Watch on That Belly," WebMD Medical News, Medscape health - Feb. 2002}  Editor's comment: which means that alcoholic drinks, because they contribute to obesity, also increase the risk for heart disease.

Obese people have higher levels of free radicals (substances in the body that damage cells) than do thin people. An oversupply of free radicals, a condition known as “oxidative stress” is thought to contribute to heart disease. This study by the Boston University School of Medicine, was reported in the March 2003 issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.
{Why is obesity hard on health?” AARP Bulletin, May 2003}

Role of Sleep in Obesity

Studies in JAMA and the Lancet show that sleep loss may sabotage the success of weight loss. Sleep loss, which is a common problem in America, affects the secretion of cortisol, a hormone that regulates appetite and this may result in a continuation in feeling hungry despite adequate food intake.
{Washington Post article, “To sleep, perchance to ... eat less?” Apr. 2, 2002}

One of the sleep tips is to avoid alcohol in the late afternoon and evening.
{Thyroid Weight Loss Center: Planning to Lose Weight in the New Year? Experts say, “Think Sleep,” thyroid.about.com, Jan. 2003} For more information see Alcohol - Sleep on this Web site.

Strategies for Losing Weight

In Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld's article, "The Best Way to Shed 20 Pounds," he recommends reducing alcohol intake, or better still, stopping alcohol consumption as one of the best ways to shed 20 pounds.
{"The best way to shed 20 pounds," Parade magazine, Sep. 17, 2000}

Cure for midlife weight gain: put down the glass, and take up walking. A study of 418 Massachusetts women ages of 50 to 60 showed that the ones who gained weight over a 10-year period were the ones who started to drink more alcohol.
{Menopause, Mar./Apr. 2000, in Prevention, Sep. 2000}

When trying to lose weight, be mindful of the simple sugar intake. Abstain from alcohol, which quickly turns to sugar.
{"Diet right-2," Vegetarian Times.com - Dean Ornish's plan to lose weight, Oct. 2002}

In the August 2003 issue of Obesity Research it was reported that those in the 19 to 50-year old age group consumed an average of 115 extra calories from fat and alcohol on each weekend day. This translates into 5 pounds yearly.
{“Weekend eating is hazardous to your health,” Nutrition News Focus e-mail, Sep. 2003}

“A liver overloaded with pollutants and toxins cannot efficiently burn body fat,” says Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS. She says that there is probably nothing you can do to control your weight that is as important as keeping your liver healthy, which means avoiding as many damaging substances as possible (like alcohol) while embracing liver boosters like milk thistle.
{“Are toxins fattening?” Taste for Life magazine, Apr. 2003}