The following article by Dr. Alex Berezow is reprinted by permission of the American Council on Science and Health. In it, he points out fallacies of an Atlantic anti-alcohol article. Completely banning alcohol would only prevent about 3.5% of cancer deaths. That, of course, means the other 96.5% of fatal cancers are caused by things other than alcohol. Given that cancer is the #2 leading cause of death in America, there’s a good chance that you’re going… Read more

Government dietary guidelines must be be reasonable and science-based. Imagine you’re at a friend’s party. You finish nursing your first beer and casually reach for a second. Everyone immediately stops and stares. Your friends start whispering to themselves, wondering if they should stage an intervention. Ridiculous and unjustified, right? Wrong! At least according to a proposal to significantly alter the U.S. Dietary Guidelines by recommending men drink no more than one alcohol beverage per day.… Read more

What are the DUI trends in the US? (DUI is driving under the influence of alcohol. Often defined as DWI or similar initials.) Fortunately, it has dropped greatly since 1980. However, it remains a major problem. That’s because even a single DUI death is a needless tragedy. I. The Study Researchers wanted to measure DUI trends over a 15-year period. To do so, they used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health… Read more

Peripheral arterial disease is caused by plaque (fat and cholesterol) in the arteries that supply the extremities. The plaque narrows the arteries and decrease blood flow. It usually causes leg problems. The most common symptom of PAD is leg pain while walking (claudication). Over 200 million people around the world suffer the disease. This is important because PAD increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. People want to know the answer to a simple… Read more

Many people are concerned about drinking alcohol and gallstone risk. Gallstones are hard bits from bile (digestive fluid) that can occur in the gallbladder. That’s a small organ just below the liver. Gallstones can be very painful if they cause blockage of bile by lodging in a duct. Thus, people want to reduce their risk of developing them. I. Gallstone Symptoms If a gallstone lodges in a duct, it may cause any of these symptoms.… Read more

The relation between drinking alcohol and cognitive function in ageing (or aging) is important. Most people drink and most look forward to mentally active ageing. But is there a connection between the two? I. The Study Researchers wanted to learn the answer. Therefore, they looked at participants drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). That’s a nationally representative sample of US middle-aged and older adults.  Participants had taken an initial cognitive test. Then researchers… Read more

Is there a connection between drinking alcohol and chronic kidney disease? This is an important question. For example, 37 million people in the U.S. have chronic kidney disease. Also, many millions more are at risk. And most people in the country drink alcohol. I. Risk  These are risk factors for developing the disease. Abnormal kidney  Being African-American, Native American or Asian-American Diabetes Family history of kidney disease Heart and blood vessel disease High blood pressure… Read more

I. Frailty It’s important to avoid frailty in ageing. That’s because frailty is linked to poor health, disability, and death. Of course, being healthy helps ward off frailty. But specifically, what can we do to reduce our chance of frailty in ageing? Most research has studied those who are already of advanced age. Also, it doesn’t look at them over long periods of time. That doesn’t help those in their 40s and 50s to know… Read more

Mississippi Mississippi is a dry state and was so long before National Prohibition began in 1920. And it was also the first state to ratify National Prohibition. Upon Repeal in 1933, it kept its own state-wide prohibition. Later, it “reaffirmed prohibition.” Thus Mississippi has a very long and strong temperance tradition.  However, local governments do have local option. That is, they can vote to permit alcohol sales within their borders. Nevertheless, Mississippi is a dry state to… Read more