Health for Body Mind and Soul

The Dietary Guideline (www.nutrition.gov.) recommends moderate drinking for women. This equates to one drink daily for women and two drinks or less for men. The good news if any, in this recommendation is that only about 60% of women report drinking alcohol at least once a year, but among this number 13% are noted to consume more than seven drinks in a week.

According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) the effects of even small amounts of alcohol are different for women than men. When looking at these differences it is possible to focus on the number of drinks and intoxication and overlook the more serious impact of alcohol on health.

Women drinking more than one drink per day can increase their risk for motor vehicle accidents in addition to increased risks for a number of negative disease outcomes such as heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and breast cancer.

In cases of alcohol dependence there can be more serious diseases such as stomach ulcers, liver disease, pancreatitis, increased incidents of osteoporosis, and mental impairment.

In view of the fact that alcohol adds to the burden of lifestyle related diseases should we be recommending even one drink, especially when there are so many great tasting grape beverages which provide all the benefits attributed to alcohol but without the side effects?

The active ingredient in the much publicized “beneficial” red wine is derived from resveratrol – the red pigment found in grape skins. Concorde grape juice has an abundant supply of resveratrol and all the benefits associated with alcohol (good for the heart, decreases risk for cancer, neutralizes free radicals, helps to protect the skin from UV damage, and wrinkles and slows bacterial growth which causes acne), but none of the side effects.

So the next time you raise you glass in cheers, let it be filled with a healthy dose of red or even white grape juice.