Drink Up

Time - "Why Do Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers?"

A friend sent me that article back in August. Forgot until just now to post it. When I received it, I replied that I took exception to the fact that he had put me first on the distribution list. Then I wrote that I was just kidding and was honored. And also that it was probably why I was replying at 230 in the morning, from a bar.

Basically, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that, even accounting for every external variable that could be unrelated to the actual alcohol consumption, such as socioeconomic reasons, or work-related stress, etc., those who drink alcohol outlive those who do not.

So, it sounds to me like you'd better start drinkin'. Please also note the correct usage of the past participle of "to drink," that is, "drunk." Please, please, please learn it. It drives me crazy that people get it wrong so often.

I Drink at Home, YEEEEAAAAH, With Somebody Else

Alcohol sales are historically recession resistant, but not at bars anymore. It's way cheaper to buy some booze at the store, invite a few buddies over, and have a little party. If you live somewhere awesome like Miami, you can enjoy views of palm trees and water. If you live somewhere on the boring side, at least you can hang out outside during the summertime. Maybe play some bean bag toss and listen to music with a few beers. Good times.

From Time - 

"Sales of alcoholic beverages at bars and restaurants fell 4.6% in 2009, while sales at liquor stores, supermarkets and other retailers for "at home" drinking rose 1.2%, the report said. Americans are gulping 10 drinks on average each month at home, compared with only 5.7 drinks in bars and restaurants, the report notes."

The article goes on to discuss a proposal by New York's governor, David Patterson, to allow wine sales at grocery stores. I don't know why that guy gets such a bad rap. I think he's great.

Everything in Moderation

Doctors are reticent when it comes to recommending that their patients consume alcohol regularly, worrying that it could lead to substance abuse. However, study after study shows that men should be drinking 2 alcoholic drinks per day and women should be drinking 1.

From those wicked smaht guys in Cambridge, Mass. -

"A study by Harvard University researchers suggests that... even among men who are models of health, moderate drinking was associated with a lower risk of heart attack. Those who had one-half to two drinks a day had the lowest heart attack risk -- 40 percent to 60 percent lower than healthy men who didn't drink. And that was true no matter whether they were drinking beer, wine or liquor."

"'These results tend to refute the oft-quoted hypothesis that lower coronary heart disease seen among moderate drinkers is due to their associated healthy lifestyle habits, and not to their alcohol consumption,' wrote Dr. R. Curtis Ellison, director of the Institute on Lifestyle and Health at Boston University School of Medicine, and co-author of a critique of the study." Read the article on MSN Health & Fitness.

The Science of Sleep

Very interesting stuff on Time.com. People who sleep too little (fewer than 6 hours/night) or too much (more than 9 hours) are less healthy than people who sleep juuuuuust the right amount (7 to 8). Normal sleepers drink and smoke less, are of healthier weight and have lower rates of depression. As usual, there is no proof of a cause-and-effect relationship, but it's good to know this stuff if you're trying to take control of your life and move in a better direction.

Columbia University sleep researcher, James Gangwisch -

"We're getting to the point that they may start recommending getting enough sleep as a standard approach to weight loss and the prevention of obesity."

As my brother Mark says, "if you're not exercising or getting enough sleep, then you have your priorities screwed up". Which reminds me that I read in Forbes last night that the average American household watches 8 hours of TV a day! That horrifies me.

One last thing. "The Science of Sleep" is a great movie. Especially if you like weird European movies that employ several languages at the same time (English, Spanish, French, in this case).

14 Years! 14. Years!

This is not very surprising, but maybe if people keep hearing this stuff they'll make some changes-

"People with four healthy lifestyle behaviors -- not smoking, physical activity, moderate alcohol consumption, and eating five servings of fruit or vegetables a day -- live an average of 14 years longer than people with none of those behaviors, a new British study contends."

Read the entire article in U.S. News & World Report.

To Your Health (Revisited)

More news on the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption on WebMD.com -

"Drinking three or more alcoholic beverages per week may reduce the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a study shows."

"The study also shows that greater reported alcohol consumption was associated with even lower risks of developing RA. But researchers caution that they are by no means encouraging excessive alcohol consumption."

"The findings were presented here at the annual meeting of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) in Barcelona, Spain."

"While the exact protective mechanism of alcohol is not known, it may act by reducing inflammation, [Henrik Kallberg, a Swedish PhD student] says."

1 + 1 = 4

I was recently discussing the fact that a martini probably counts as several drinks, but I think when most people are out drinking, they think "a drink is a drink". Well, a martini is, in fact, more like 2 drinks. So, one martini plus one martini equals four drinks. That explains my wacky arithmetic in the title line, and it also explains the now standard aversion to the old-fashioned "two martini lunch" once popular among businessmen.

One alcoholic drink is the equivalent of a 12-ounce beer (standard can or bottle), a 4-ounce glass of wine, or 1.25 ounces of hard alcohol (a shot). Here is an interesting online resource from Loyola Marymount University that lists the drink-equivalent of some popular drinks among college students and young adults including the Long Island Iced Tea (4 drinks), a cup of keg beer (1 1/3 drinks), and a 40-ounce malt liquor (5 drinks).

If you're drinking Long Islands all night, you are not demonstrating moderation in your behavior.

New Year's Eve 2007!

I might be getting the word out a little early for next New Year's Eve, but I am definitely doing so too late for NYE 2006. Hopefully, you didn't end up with a massive hangover after celebrating a little too enthusiastically.

LiveScience.com has an article you can read here, published on 12/28/06, that dispels some of the myths about hangover cures. Sleep and water are the best ways to get back to normal, but the way to avoid a hangover, of course, is during the time you are actually consuming alcohol. Spacing drinks out by having water and food in between is a good way to minimize the pain that you have coming. The article points out that you should avoid acetaminophen (Tylenol) as it can cause liver damage when combined with alcohol.

Here's some advice from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism:

• Pace yourself. Drink alcoholic beverages slowly. Drink water or other non-alcoholic drinks throughout the evening to keep your body hydrated.
• Eat. Munch on snacks during the night to slow the absorption of alcohol and keep your blood alcohol level low.
• Try fruits. Studies have found that eating fruits and drinking fruit juices decrease the intensity of hangovers.
• Snack on crackers. Bland foods such as toast and crackers can raise low blood sugar and help with nausea.

The Skinny on the Article For Which I've Been Waiting

Prepare yourself to feel sorry for a chair -

"Obesity Worse Than Drinking Or Smoking"

"'Obesity is the most serious threat to the future health of [England],' said Prof Peter Littlejohns, the director of clinical and public health at [The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence]."

"American public health research has shown that for every 100 obese men and women, compared with people of normal weight, there would be 50 extra chronic diseases compared with about 20 among those who had ever smoked, nearly 60 among people living in poverty and a similar number for drinkers."

*Check out the comment on yesterday's post from Kari Chisholm, who works for Senator Wynd.

This Stuff is Bad (and by "bad" I mean "good")

"The Top Ten Bad Things That Are Good For You"