Detrimental Effects Of Alcohol Consumption example essay topic

Position Statement: In recent years, alcohol has been reported as a beneficial addition to the everyday diet of Americans to assist in the prevention of heart disease. These reports and articles, siting recent studies conducted by acclaimed institutional facilities, often justify moderate drinking and misinterpret the information and research. It is true that certain types of alcohol have been proven to be beneficial to a selected type of individual and that heart disease was not as prevalent in these individuals who were consuming alcohol in moderation. However, alcohol as a whole is not beneficial to most individuals whom consume it and these studies fail to communicate that to the American public. This report intends to refute the popular notion that alcohol is beneficial or healthy for most individuals and will touch on the major points documented in defense of moderate alcohol consumption and present them in a manner which will shed light on the often misinterpreted subject. Outline: I. Introduction A. What is Alcohol B. History of Alcohol C. Different Types of Alcohol Consumption.

II. Is Alcohol Beneficial to Human Health? A. Two Different Theories 1. Alcohol is Beneficial to Health a. How? b. To Whom? 2.

Alcohol is Detrimental to Health a. How? b. To Whom? Which Theory is Right? A. What theory is Out shined? 1. The Bad Outweighs the Good IV.

Balancing out the benefits of Alcohol A. Who Should Consume Alcohol for Beneficial Reasons? 1. Why? B. Who Should Abstain From Alcohol Consumption? 2. Why? V. Conclusion In the modern world of today, many controversies over substances that can be beneficial or detrimental to human health exist. Common misconceptions combined with hasty publication of medical theories based on faulty or inconclusive research can often lead the nation into deluded health frenzies.

One of the more recent frenzies has to do with alcohol and it's beneficial qualities. Alcohol (specifically ethanol or ethyl alcohol, EtOH, CH 3 CH 2 OH) is the most socially accepted and vastly addictive drug that has potential life-threatening side effects and can pose serious health hazards. Its pleasures are very widely acknowledged and its harmful effects are equally ignored. Alcoholic beverages are often accepted as a standard lubricant or anxiety-reliever at social gatherings, and those who refuse to consume ethanol run the risk of being shunned as social outcasts or looked down upon as being overly self-righteous. Yet a large majority of people feel concern about consuming a substance which causes physical & mental disorientation and inhibits reaction time. Although the effects appear to be temporary, one could easily wonder about the physiological changes being wrought on the brain and body.

One could also wonder whether the temporary effects are really desirable, even if pleasurable, and whether the brain really escapes permanent harm caused by the decreased blood flow to it during alcohol consumption. For those who highly value their health, this should be a matter of great concern and one that demands their attention if the decision to consume alcohol for beneficial reasons is selected. The detrimental effects that alcohol poses to the physical and mental well being have been recorded and argued back to the early 17th century, and the list of known harmful side-effects continues to grow and grow. The lawful regulation and distribution of alcohol is an ongoing issue in this country and has been since the formation of it.

The complete eradication of alcohol consumption was attempted on numerous occasions by early settlers, due to its role in immoral and inappropriate behavioral patterns. In the 1920's, those attempts became a reality when prohibition went into effect with the ratification of the 18th amendment and all alcoholic substances were deemed to have a harmful demeanor to society and therefore outlawed. The theory behind prohibition was to eliminate the instigator and the inevitable reduction in alcohol related crime, accidents, abuse, and death could possibly lead to their eradication. But like most drugs that are made illegal, alcohol was produced and distributed illegally and the supply and demand of alcohol was hardly diminished.

Americans simply did not want to give up alcohol and had no intention of allowing the government to tell them they had to. The overwhelming disapproval of prohibition along with the inability of the US government and state police to enforce it led to its downfall. More recently, the closely regulated advertisement of alcoholic beverages is considered a modern solution to the increasing abuse of alcohol. The dominant contemporary vision of alcohol in the United States by the general public is that alcohol (1) is primarily negative and has exclusively hazardous consequences, (2) leads frequently to uncontrollable behavior, and (3) is something that young people should be warned against. The consequences of this vision are that when children do drink (which teenagers regularly do), they know of no alternative but excessive, intense consumption patterns, leading them frequently to drink to intoxication. This type of drinking habit, in which multiple alcoholic beverages are consumed over a relatively short amount of time, is referred to as binge drinking.

Problem drinking can also be a possible risk that may arise out of only a few "harmless" drinks a day. Problem drinking is a pattern of alcohol use in which a drinker's behavior creates personal difficulties or difficulties for other people around them (Focus on Health textbook). Alcoholism can essentially be thought of as "rock bottom" for a drinker, considering that it can only be cured through extensive rehabilitation and the alternative to rehab is a long painful death. When an individual becomes an alcoholic, they form a physical and psychological dependency on alcohol. Alcoholism is such a serious and puzzling addiction, that some consider it a disease. It is also widely accepted that alcoholism may be more prevalent or more likely to occur in situations where past family members were alcoholics, suggesting a genetic, pre-existing disorder that might be triggered by a mere few drinks.

Drinking tends to override an individual's inhibitions and typical behavior patterns can be altered. Irresponsible drinking can inadvertently lead to drunk driving, physical violence, property destruction, date rape, criminal activity, police arrest, and a decline in career or school related work performance possibly leading to termination from that facility. Although there have been numerous publications on how alcohol consumption can be harmful, destructive, and possible fatal, a new study has recently emerged in the last thirty years or so that preaches the beneficial effects of alcohol, and in turn, recommends the consumption of it. Health benefits are now frequently associated with alcohol when consumed in "moderation". Most of the claimed benefits are involved with apparent reduction in the risk of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). In the past three decades, most of the follow-up research on these large scale studies of alcohol effects on the human body found that individuals who drink small to moderate amounts of red wine have a lower risk than non-drinkers of dying from CHD.

The results of these large-scale research projects were widely publicized and the general public, not surprisingly, accepted these results as fact with little proof and persuasion. However, many of these early studies were widely critiqued and criticized by reputable scientist for including in the category of non-drinkers, both lifetime abstainers and ex-drinkers. One must question if these benefits do indeed outweigh the largely known and acknowledged detrimental effects of alcohol consumption. The incentives for wishful thinking are very high and the study designs were very poor, considering conditions were present that could make for bad science and often has. Ex-drinkers often quit due to alcoholism and have high rates of ischemic heart disease (A decrease in the blood supply to the heart caused by constriction or obstruction of the blood vessels), hypertension, ulcers, diabetes, gall bladder disease, bronchitis, and cirrhoses of the liver.

People often abstain from alcohol due to interaction with prescription drugs or other health-related reasons that might be jeopardized by the consumption of alcohol. The poor health of many of the individuals that abstain from alcohol consumption, as described above, should not be taken as proof of the beneficial effects of ethanol and these individuals certainly should not be included in the large demographic on which these supposed "scientific" studies are conducted. However, unfortunately they usually are and therefore corrupt the results of these costly and ineffective studies that often misinform the public. Life-long individuals whom abstain from alcohol are more often non-conformists, anti-social, and are less frequently married. Since unmarried people have a higher mortality rate statistically, should marriage be considered a health benefit?

One might reconsider the consumption of alcohol and its misleading and inconclusive beneficial nature after doing a little research on the true aspects of alcohol and comparing the ratio of possible good effects to the known detrimental risks. I only say that after I, myself considered alcohol as being a beneficial addition to my daily diet. I know first hand that it is easy to get caught up in these health frenzies that are so carelessly publicized and, in my opinion, marketed to the American public in attempts to boost consumer sales in what ever is being glorified as a new discovery in health preservation. A good example of this obvious attempt to undermine the intelligence of the American public is the newly discovered health benefits associated with the consumption of eggs. Not so long ago, it was widely reported the exact opposite effects could be expected from including the moderate consumption of eggs in one's diet. It was concluded that according to results derived from large-scale studies, that eggs significantly raise that cholesterol level in individuals that consume them on a regular basis.

This report, in turn, greatly influenced the American public to reduce their ingestion of eggs and products containing eggs. This vast reduction in egg consumption greatly hurt the egg industry and the revenue derived from it, thus concerning corporate America. It is with little doubt that with the assistance of the American government, a campaign was launched to overturn this popular notion that eggs are detrimental to human health to boost the sales of the egg industry. Good old Uncle Sam thinks in terms of dollar signs, and there is good reason to believe that this propaganda might have alternative monetary motifs.

There is a little food for thought! So then where did this misguided interpretation that moderate alcohol consumption can be beneficial to overall health originate? In the late 60's early 70's, when coronary heart disease became the major cause of death in the United States and many other major industrialized nations, researchers began to look for scientific ways to approach the problem. They began researching nations that had relatively low cases of coronary heart disease. The research yielded France as a paradox due to their national average diet that was high in fat and their statistically low average of heart disease.

The researchers deducted that since a glass of wine with dinner was French tradition, then alcohol in moderate consumption might be beneficial in reducing heart disease. This was a rather good observation and it was quite sufficient to receive the generous donations from investors to begin the medical research and collect information on the benefits of certain antioxidants and polyphenols that are present in red wine. However, these studies often did not explore effects of alcohol consumption on overall mortality rates. Specifically, it was not known whether increases in death from other diseases that are associated with alcohol abuse, such as cirrhosis of the liver, colon cancer, reduction in brain activity, high blood pressure, and breast cancer offset the apparent benefits of low to moderate alcohol consumption in combating coronary heart disease. Although there is little doubt that moderate red-wine consumption might be directly associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease, the risk of death from many other diseases that are linked to alcohol is still present. Risks of hemorrhagic stroke (excessive discharge of blood from the blood vessels; profuse bleeding) and prostate cancer in men may be associated with even the smallest amounts of alcohol introduced into blood stream.

Certain studies indicate that the risk of breast cancer in women may significantly increase with only the suggested "moderate" levels of alcohol intake. Every 10 grams per day of ethanol consumption is associated with a 9% increase in breast cancer (European Journal of Medicine), while four drinks (60 grams ethanol) per day is associated with a 21% increased risk of prostate cancer (European Journal of Medicine). Heavy drinking accounts for nearly 20% of all prostate cancers. Also, any alcohol, from red wine to whiskey, will raise blood pressure if anything over a "moderate" amount is consumed. So what is moderate? Well just from the 4 or 5 studies that I personally researched that argued in favor of moderate alcohol consumption, all had different suggestions of what "moderate" should be classified as.

A few suggested one to two normal sized wineglasses were sufficient. Another suggested three to four glasses, without clarifying what amount could be considered a glass. Yet another suggested up to five half filled wine glasses (one and a half pints) of red wine a day! Which one of these suggestions should an individual take without having to fear any repercussions from consuming too much alcohol? Furthermore, alcohol does not affect everyone in the same manner. Certain situations would cause alcohol to have diverse effects such as (1) the consumption of food with the alcoholic beverage, (2) the individual's weight, (3) the individual's sex, (4) the individual's body type, (5) the strength of the drink, (6) and how many drinks are consumed.

Why risk the chance of doing more harm to the body than good when consuming alcohol? Another important fact in the pro-alcohol studies that is often left out of their propaganda is that the alcohol that is widely utilized for these tests is red wine. Most of these results are based on one type of alcohol! And on top of that, it is not entirely clear that it is the alcohol in the red wine that helps the heart. Purple grape juice, for example, contains more resveratrol than most wines. Resveratrol is a compound that is proven to lower cholesterol levels in blood (Alcohol; Opposing Viewpoints).

Another ingredient of red wine which is also found in grape juice, polyphenols, is also linked with preventing the narrowing of arteries and blood clots (European Journal of Medicine). So non-alcoholic wine, grapes, grape juice, and raisins may be every bit as good for you as red wine. Furthermore, the population of individuals that would benefit from the integration of red wine in their diets is much smaller than assumed. Individuals that already consume alcohol should not be encouraged to consume more alcohol or given reason to justify a possible problem.

Non-drinkers, as stated previously, are usually individuals that refrain from alcohol consumption for plausible reasons (i.e. illness, medication, religion, pregnancy, age, and history of alcoholism). Elder individuals, who might stand to benefit the most from a modest, daily dose of red wine would not be so well served with the recommended two to five glasses with dinner. Their bodies, which are higher in fat and lower in concentrations of water, may not tolerate that much alcohol. In fact, they may be more susceptible to crippling falls or traffic accidents. Encouraging alcohol as a method of treatment also might cause an estimated 10% of individuals to become alcoholics (percentage base on the average of alcohol consumers to alcoholics in Alcohol; Opposing Viewpoints), and inadvertently condone underage drinking. Alcohol is also considered a gateway drug that allows young experimenters to taste intoxication.

Therefore, an encouragement of alcohol could also lead to an increase in controlled substances on our streets and work against the campaign to eliminate underage smoking and drug use. With a long list of reasons why people should abstain from alcohol (red wine, beer, cocktails, hard alcohol), it seems ridiculous to promote alcohol intake to any demographic as a precautionary tactic when alternatives are available. In conclusion, there is reason to believe that red wine has some benefit for coronary heart disease, but most (if not all) of the benefits can be achieved more safely by other means. Ethanol alcohol is damaging to many body organs, organelles, molecules, cells, and most troubling, to the brain. It seems quite foolish an ironic that one might actually consider placing themselves into a possibly more harmful situation in trying to avoid an already unhealthy heart condition. Whatever the reputed health benefits of alcohol, the health costs are vastly greater in my opinion.

Any individual that is considering the incorporation of a moderate amount of alcohol to assist in the prevention of coronary heart disease should definitely research the subject and investigate the alternatives to decide if in fact they are willing to subject themselves to the potential dangers of such a decision. Any modifications in the choices we make to ensure the utmost quality of life should be approached in an intelligent manner to ensure that they do, in fact, benefit our health, and as in any diet change... please consult a doctor!

Bibliography

Alcohol; Opposing Viewpoints Multiple Authors Green haven Press, Inc. San Diego, California Copyright 1998 Scott Barbour, Senior Editor David L.
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