Thirty years ago, a 60-Minutes segment called “The French Paradox” described low rates of heart disease deaths in the French despite eating a diet high in saturated fat (think cheese and croissants). The show pinned their health outcomes on red wine consumption. Thus, the red wine health halo was born and the day after the story aired red wine sales increased 40%. To this day, many people think red wine is “healthy” drink. And we often hear that moderate amounts of alcohol protect us from heart disease.
The positive health benefits of alcohol are based on observational research showing a correlation of moderate alcohol consumption on health outcomes. New research on alcohol shows that for adults over the age of 40, small amounts of alcohol are not harmful to health, but the key is the amount consumed. As we age, the risk for cancer increases and alcohol intake contributes to that risk.
Aging brings some changes that affect our ability to tolerate alcohol.
- We metabolize and eliminate alcohol at a slower rate than younger adults, leading to a higher blood alcohol level.
- Many older adults take medications that may interact negatively with alcohol. This may result in exaggeration or interference of desired effect of some medications and/or exacerbation of adverse effects of others (e.g., aspirin, Tylenol, Zantac).
- Women tend to tolerate alcohol less well than men. Alcohol’s effects are due to blood alcohol concentration (BAC) which is determined by the volume of total body water (TBW) and the amount of alcohol mixed with it. On average, women tend to be smaller than men, with lower body weight and higher proportion of fat to lean body mass. This generally results in a lower TBW in women, and hence a given dose of alcohol will result in a higher BAC in women than in men. Thus, the lower definition of moderate drinking for women: one drink versus two for men.
The best advice remains to follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, “If alcohol is consumed, it should be in moderation—up to 1 drink per day for women and up to 2 drinks per day for men. However, the Guidelines do not recommend that people who do not drink alcohol start drinking for any reason.” A standard drink is 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits (80 proof which is 40% alcohol), 5-ounces of wine with 12% alcohol, and 12-ounces of beer with 5% alcohol.
Here’s the rub, many alcoholic beverages are higher in alcohol content that you might think. Ready-to-drink cocktails, triple distilled spirits, and craft beers can contain more alcohol than a “standard” drink. Hard seltzers, like Truly and White Claw, have 5% alcohol by volume (ABV) but their “extra hard” or “surge” drinks are 8% ABV. Craft beers can range in alcohol content from a low of 4.5% to a high of up to 20%. For example, Dogfish Head 120 Minutes IPA is 16.5% ABV compared to 4.5% for Bud Light. If you like Prosecco, it is a at the lower end of ABV for wine at 12.5% whereas as California and Australian Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are at 14.5% ABV.
To figure out if your drink fits the definition of a “standard” drink, check out this easy online calculator from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. All you need to know is the volume you drink and the ABV, which is found on all alcoholic beverages.
Click here to go to the calculator.
Using the calculator, 12-ounces of Bud Light is equivalent to 0.9 or slightly less than one standard drink whereas a 12-ounces of an IPA like Voodoo Ranger, with 9% ABC is equal to 1.9 drinks.
Back to that red wine health halo. A theory developed that the health benefit of red wine is due to a substance called resveratrol, a natural phenol that is present in the skin of grapes. However, resveratrol is quickly eliminated from the intestines, and one needs to drink large amounts of wine to attain any appreciable amounts of resveratrol. Although it is sold as a dietary supplement, there is no good evidence that consuming resveratrol affects life expectancy or human health.
Keep in mind that alcohol doesn’t have a nutrition label like foods, so look for the ABV or Alcohol by Volume on the label. The higher the number, the higher the alcohol content.
A standard drink contains 0.6 ounces of alcohol; it doesn’t matter if it is beer, wine, or spirits and there is no health advantage to one over the other.
Alcohol can be an enjoyable part of social life but keep the amount in mind and check the ABV.
The bottom line? Rethink your drink and watch your pour!
Chris Rosenbloom is a registered dietitian nutritionist and a nutrition professor emerita at Georgia State University. She is co-author of Food & Fitness After 50 and blogs about optimal aging. Click here to subscribe to her blog.
