Alcohol – friend or foe ?
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Alcohol – friend or foe ?
When it comes to advice regarding alcohol consumption it’s hard not to think it’s actually healthy, with studies telling us that:
- Drinking wine is good for our heart
- It’s ok to drink in moderation
- We can have a certain amount of standard drinks a day (whatever standard is)
- It will help you live longer, fight off the common cold and even improve your libido
Yet despite the studies telling us that a glass of wine does our heart good, it’s hard to ignore the evidence showing that alcohol is not good for us, no matter how much we might wish it to be otherwise.
According to many sources, alcohol is ranked as the third leading contributor to death and disability worldwide (after high blood pressure and smoking), and is the single leading risk factor for death and disability in young people.
It is a causal or contributing factor in over 250 diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, alcoholic liver disease, respiratory diseases and pancreatitis.
On top of all this alcohol makes us gain weight, not just because of the sugar in alcoholic drinks but because alcohol itself is energy dense. Drinking a few glasses of wine is the equivalent of having a second serving at dinner.
But what many of us don’t realise, and this may come as a surprise, is that alcohol is linked to cancer. Since 1989, alcohol has been recognised as a Group 1 carcinogen. That's the same carcinogen rating as tobacco and asbestos — meaning there is strong evidence that alcohol causes cancer; specifically cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colon, rectum and breast.
According to the National Cancer Institute, the more you drink, the greater your risk of these types of cancer.
If we were to take the guidelines applied to other carcinogens and apply them to alcohol, we would only be recommended to have the equivalent of two drinks a year. This is because the exposure to carcinogens in food and drinks should be no more than one thousandth of the toxic dose.
In fact cancer experts say, “There is no safe level of consumption" of alcohol.
So what about alcohol's purported health benefits like ‘red wine is good for our hearts?’ Well it turns out the benefits have been overblown, and any benefits that alcohol may have for the heart are outweighed by the harms to the rest of the body.
Let’s face it – alcohol is actually a proven poison. How can something be good for our hearts when it is poisoning our liver for example?
After all, for something to be good for us it surely has to be good for us as a whole being, as our bodies do not work as isolated individual components but one whole interconnected being.
"We are not truly well until we are totally vital and not needing sugar, caffeine or alcohol or any form of stimulant to get through the day. Otherwise, you are just functional – and conventional medicine for example, is based on function without actually looking at the true quality of life."
Serge Benhayon Esoteric Teachings and Revelations, p 579
What is really going on when we drink alcohol?
When you say ‘I love my wine’ or ‘I enjoy my drink’ – what are you really saying? Here is an invitation to take an honest look at the relationship you have with drinking alcohol.
Filed under
Lifestyle, Cancer, Alcohol, Human body
