|
Alcohol and Triglycerides Alcohol has a number of effects on
triglyceride levels. Alcohol is a major source of excess calories
which get turned into fat, so the triglyceride levels in the blood
increase. Alcohol also has been shown to inhibit the burning of fat.
A 2003 study conducted in Geneva, Switzerland found that alcohol in
the bloodstream can slow down fat metabolism by more than 30%.
(Journal of the American Medical Association. July 2003).
It should also be noted that drinkers
of alcohol usually consume foods high in sodium and fat while
drinking.
When
alcohol (ethanol) is present in the blood, the liver prioritizes
removing alcohol from the blood over other metabolic processes. The
liver can detoxify about one ounce of alcohol (distilled spirits) per
hour, which is about 1 serving of an alcoholic beverage (equivalent
to 12 ounces of beer or 4 ounces of wine).In the meantime, however,
glucose tends to be further processed into triglycerides which raises
their blood levels.
Alcohol
spurs the liver to make more triglycerides, and even light drinking
(two to four ounces of wine a week) can raise
triglycerides.
{Diabetes Organization, Feb. 2000, and Tufts
University Health & Nutrition Letter, July 1997}.
Alcohol
reduces the amount of the enzyme that breaks down triglycerides. It
even spurs the liver to make more triglycerides. {Steven Inkles, MD,
assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCLA Medical School and
physician at Pritikin Longevity Center}
Fatty
liver is a condition is which large deposits of triglycerides form in
the liver. It may be temporary or permanent. The condition is not
harmful in itself, but may indicate a more serious problem. In severe
cases, the liver can increase to over three times its normal size and
may be painful and tender. The most common cause of fatty liver is
alcoholism. The over-consumption of alcohol interferes with the way
the liver breaks down and stores fat.
Some
research has been done to suggest that drinking red wine can actually
help prevent heart disease. Results, however, are not conclusive with
some suggesting that it is the overall lifestyle of the participants
rather than the drinking of red wine that led to the improvements. If
consuming red wine to benefit your heart health, the
wine should be made with organic
grapes - free of toxic agricultural chemicals, synthetic herbicides,
pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers. For example, it may contain
little antioxidants and/or no resveratrol (res-VAIR'ah-trol) at all.
(Resveratrol is a prostate cancer-fighting compound found in red
grapes from which red wine is being made; it also prevents platelets
in the blood from sticking together).
It should also
be stated that consuming large amounts of red wine or just grapes -
which have a much lower concentration of antioxidants than wine -
will increase your insulin levels and eventually have a negative
impact on your lipid health due to their high fructose (sugar)
content.
In
addition, a recent study suggested that regular wine drinkers have
elevated systolic blood pressure levels. In an attempt to see if the
antioxidant chemicals in red wine could offset some of the blood
pressure effects of alcohol, researchers compared the effects of red
wine on blood pressure with beer. Compared with the men who did not
drink any alcohol, the red wine drinkers had a nearly 2.5 point jump
in their systolic blood pressure. Beer drinkers' blood pressure rose
nearly two points. Heart
rate also rose. The researchers tested heart rate during sleep to
rule out any effect of activity. Red wine drinkers' heart rate
climbed five points for eight to 10 hours after drinking. Beer
drinkers' heart rate rose four points.
The
researchers conclude that the blood pressure effects of red wine and
beer appear to be similar. (Zilkens, R. Hypertension:
Journal of the American Heart Association, May 2005; vol 45: pp
1-6.).
| 
