Reducing Alcohol for a Positive Lifestyle

Fact Sheet 26 - article from April 2023 Newsletter

Wine and beer have been brewed since antiquity and will always be with us. Belgian monasteries in the Middle Ages, unable to grow grapes suitable for wine, needed to provide a beverage for important guests and so began the production of beer using grains. They began with herbs and spices and later added hops; soon consumers realised their beer was much safer to drink than the often-contaminated town water supply. In the 1980’s it was suggested the reason why France had a low incidence of heart disease, despite their high-cholesterol animal fat diet, might be their high consumption of red wine. This is referred to as the French Paradox, and provides legitimacy to those who wish to consume more vino.

There is universal agreement that excess alcohol consumption - binge drinking (consuming 4 or more drinks on an occasion for a woman or 5 for a man) and heavy drinking (10 or more drinks for a woman or 15 or more drinks for a man per week) - is bad for your health. But what about alcohol in moderation?

In January of this year Canada’s Public Health leaders announced a change in health advice, advising that consuming No Alcohol improves health, drinking less than two drinks per week minimises any adverse risk, and drinking more than that has harmful consequences. (see chart) Canadian media report a mixed reaction to the advice but that 40% of Canadians are considering reducing their consumption of alcohol.