The medical profession generally discourages alcohol drinking at any age. Basically, alcohol has caused traffic accidents, ruined family relationships and generally harmed the body of those who drink to excess. For example, alcohol is a factor in about:- 30% of suicides.
- 30% of fatal motor vehicle crashes.
- 40% of fatal burn injuries.
- 50% of fatal drownings and homicides.
- 65% of fatal falls.
Over the past few decades, though, research has shown that:
- Moderate drinking makes you 25% to 40% less likely to have a heart attack, stroke or suffer from hardening of your arteries.
- Turns out that "small" amounts of alcohol can raise your high density lipoprotein (HDL), which removes other forms of cholesterols from your body, thus lowering the risk of heart disease.
- Alcohol also increases bone density and brain health.
- Alcohol does enhance mood, relax you and aid in combatting insomnia.
- 70% of American adults drink alcohol. Which ones are best?
- Red wine contains antioxidants, which is good for your heart system. White and rose also contain them, but in smaller quantities.
- Champagnes are high in phenolic compounds which can reduce the risk of dementia. One study showed that champagne improved memory in AGED rodents.
- Mice consuming the agave tequila plant increased calcium absorption and improve bone health. Tequila? Not confirmed.
- Whiskey also has an antioxidant effect, and may help decrease heart disease. Dark chocolate might be better.
- Here is something I've got to try, kombucha. Fermented black tea came from China and also became popular in Russia. Hard kombuchas have become the latest adult beverage of choice among health-conscious drinkers! Some kombucha makers are fermenting their brew to a kind of beer, from 4.5% to 8.0% ethanol. Unity Vibration Kombucha ranges from 7% to 8% alcohol. Sierra Nevada has Straing Beast at 7%. Tastes like sour beer. This drink can reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while aiding digestion and preventing cancer. However, much of this is hearsay and not medicaly proven. The original kombucha is a fermented drink (less than 0.5% alcohol) made with tea, sugar, bacteria and yeast.
Now this will confuse some, if not many.
- Japan also has kombucha, BUT made from SEAWEED. Thus, the Japanese a very long time ago came up with a drink called called kombucha from seaweed, but totally different from the version that was much earlier created in China, from that land plant called tea.
- As far as I know, Japanese kombucha has little to no alcohol. At least I don't remember seeing any when I visited Japan...but that was three years ago. You might have seen Hard Kombucha: Blueberry Yuzu (5.5% ABV), that sounds Japanese. However, it is brewed in the U.S. and made from green tea.
- Much of the seaweed (more properly, koNbu, but more recently expanded also to koMbu), is for flavor enhancement, the application for at least a thousand years. Only early in the 20th century did Japanese chemist, Kikunae Ikeda, find that konbu was exceptionally high in monosodium glutamate (MSG), which led to the company, Ajinomoto.
- There four primary types of konbu, each with a slightly different flavor.
- These are other types of non-konbu (kombu) seaweed: nori, wakame and arame.
- How much alcohol should you drink?
- One drink/day for women and 2 drinks/day for men...but for those 65 and younger.
- How much is one drink? Look to the right. A typical bottle of wine in the USA is 25.4 ounces. If you have two males drinking, you can each drink almost half the bottle, but leave around 5 ounces in the bottle.
- Supposedly, the older you get, the less one should drink alcohol.
- One drink/day is generally advised, and no more than three on any one day.
- Moderate drinking will enhance a healthy lifestyle.
Doctors prescribe atorvastatin (Lipitor) and simvastatin (Zocor) to lower LDL and raise HDL.- Exercising can lower triglycerides (fat) and increase HDL levels. How much? Varies with source, but 60 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise combined with some strength training will do wonders for you.
Gallup has had an annual poll about alcoholic beverages. Here is just one question.
I've never drunk much coffee in my life. When I was younger, coffee was prohibited anyway. As I aged, I never picked up this habit, as most of medical science thought coffee drinking was a negative. Then more recently, coffee gained in reputation, and, in fact, I'm looking at an article entitled Why Coffee is a Health Food for Older Adults, which I'll report on later. For now, from Coffee: Consumption and Health Implications: (And, by the way, I noticed that the Kindle and Hardcover price are both $125).
Scientific understandings of how coffee affects health have been closely linked to the moral and political discourses of the changing times. Inquiries into coffee began in the 16th century, as Europeans wrestled with understanding the effects of this newly introduced beverage. These early studies built on the nascent fields of chemistry and physiology to examine how coffee stimulated the body. Coffee invoked strong scientific and moral opinions about its effects, and its portrayal in the literature has swung from seeing it as the cause of a variety of conditions to seeing it as a potential cure for an equally impressive range of ailments. Most recent studies on the bioactivity of coffee emphasize its salubrious potential, and popular opinion and health promotion policies are changing their recommendations accordingly.
Here is something from European dietitians:
A new report by the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD), supported by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC), has revealed that almost two-thirds (62%) of European dietitians believe drinking coffee in moderation has clear health benefits, with 86% agreeing that regular moderate intake can improve alertness and 69% agreeing that regular, moderate intake is associated with an improvement in overall sports performance.
Of course, I've long known that coffee was a positive. Read my posting of over a decade ago.
What about that article of coffee being a health food for older adults:
- Research shows that coffee can help prevent dementia, improve cardiovascular health and increase lifespan.
- For one, caffeine has lost that bad reputation, and is now referred to as an anti-oxidant to delay aging.
- Coffee keeps cells elastic, reducing hardening of the arteries.
- Reduces strokes by up to 22%.
- Cuts the risk of mouth, throat and other cancers by 50%, as well as Type 2 diabetes.
- Increases motivation and alertness.
- Increases longevity.
How much caffeine?
- Most studies say 3 to 5 8-ounce cups, or up to 400 milligrams of caffeine/day.
- That amount reduces the risk of suicide for both men and women by 50%, and overall risk of early death by 15%. This latter statistic holds true even for decaf drinkers. Thus, in addition to caffeine there are other beneficial molecules in coffee.
- There might be a tendency for elders to reduce the caffeine content. Don't reach for lighter roast,
- You negate the positive effect of coffee by adding cream, sugar and anything else that add calories and fat.
- The type of brewing can make a big difference in minimizing LDL cholesterol.
- Filtered coffee keeps out dangerous oily chemicals diterpenes.
- Using a French press is not so good in lowering triglyceride and bad cholesterol.
- Cold brew coffee made by steeping the grounds in cold water for a period of hour, then strained through a paper filter, is also recommended for iced coffee lovers.
- The ideal time to have your initial sip is not on awakening, but 60 to 90 minutes after waking up. Why? Coffee disturbs the production of cortisol, which tells you to wake up and be alert. It takes that long to reach your natural cortisol peak.
- The common belief is that 98% of coffee taste is due to the water you use. Somehow, I find it hard to believe this is true, in consideration of how far coffee lovers go to find and pay for expensive beans.
- Go for a NAPPUCCINO! That is, drink your afternoon cup of coffee just BEFORE your nap.
- Caffeine takes about 20 minutes to kick-in. Hopefully you will be asleep before then.
- Plus, with coffee, you won't sleep too long.
- The medical recommendation is that you should only nap for 10-20 minutes. Longer naps make you groggy and disoriented, and most important of all, make it harder to get a good night's sleep.
- Worse, research shows that daytime naps longer than an hour are associated with a higher risk of heart disease and dying from all causes.
- There is an exception. If you get sleep-deprived, for whatever reason, a nap of at least 90 minutes to provide a complete full cycle sleep could be beneficial.
- There are numerous judgement calls when it comes to naps and sleep.
- Caffeine is the enemy of good sleep.
- Diarrhea and gastrointestinal issues can occur because of the high acid content.
- Rapid heart rate.
- Dehydration, putting stress on your kidneys.
- Elevated blood pressure.
- Will interfere with certain drugs like ephedrine, echinacea and theophylline.
To summarize, in consultation with your personal physician, older people should be able to drink alcoholic drinks and coffee in moderation. These beverages can enhance your lifestyle, health and longevity.
Well, here is a beer video from America's Got Talent featuring Dom Chambers.
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