The good, the bad and the alcohol… is it okay to drink? (Happy New Year!)

The old tale of a glass of wine (particularly red) being good for your heart has been around for a while. Ask the average person this and they would probably nod in agreement.

Ask them about beer and spirits and the very same people will most likely have no reason to believe that they have any health benefits. Beer makes you fat and spirits are terrible for the kidneys. Well, so is wine in that respect, it is an alcoholic drink like the others.

Alcohol is alcohol, as cheddar and Red Leicester are both cheeses.

Studies into alcohol and its effects on the body have shown to raise good cholesterol and help with vasodilation – when blood vessels open to increase blood flow promoting better circulation and transportation of nutrients around the body. Alcohol is alcohol, as cheddar and Red Leicester are both cheeses.

You drink too much alcohol and the outcome isn’t going to be a six pack and the ability to run a marathon with ease. The operative word in that sentence being too much. Too much cheese isn’t good, because it’s too much.

All alcoholic beverages have these benefits to help prevent certain disease from heart attacks to kidney stones. However, so does a healthy balanced diet - which means a moderate amount of both wine and cheese!

Western cultures (British culture in particular) are big on drinking. If you told everyone that the benefits of drinking wine or beer are real, and studies have shown this, but it’ll be more beneficial if you just focused on having a healthy diet to get the same results, many will still reach out for the glass of rose or pint of bitter because it is something they enjoy, and you can’t deny that crave for things that are inherently bad for you.

There is nothing wrong with this (within moderation of course). Rather than restricting or preaching to others about the apparent ‘’poor life choices’’, we need to educate and convey understanding to others to help improve life quality.

I started this blog with the ‘fact’ that wine has benefits to the body whilst beers and spirits do not and choosing which drink will impact your diet either for better or worse depending on how you perceive things. It ended with the real fact that understanding your choices in what you eat, and drink have the real impact on your quality of life, using common sense should keep everything in check.

For further information on alcohol you can visit https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItsb3v9y93gIVSIjVCh1lxAVUEAAYASAAEgKzS_D_BwE