Dumb alcohol question??

[coffee_strong]

I don't like the taste of alcohol, but reading some of the health benefits, I'm thinking about adding a few glasses of alchohol to my diet(weekly not daily). My question is, does it matter if the alcohol is in a mixed drink, like a pina collada or a strawberry daiquiri. Those are the only types I can actually tolerate. Since they'd be more fattening, I wonder if it would cancel out the positive benefits?

[RushIsRot]

1. I think that the health benefits have been disproved.

You're off the hook.

[Blue-Jay]

3. Not disproved. Confirmed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3266819.stm

snip--

The researchers told a meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida, that the most benefit they saw was from 24 fluid ounces of Guinness - just over a pint - taken at mealtimes.

They believe that "antioxidant compounds" in the Guinness, similar to those found in certain fruits and vegetables, are responsible for the health benefits because they slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls.

[RushIsRot]

6. Not everyone agrees. I love my beer however.

http://www.beveragedaily.com/news/ng.asp?n=64344-alcohol-health-obesity

[tjwmason]

9. Precisely.

They'll keep changing their minds ad infinitum - my advice, drink if you like it, don't drink if you don't.

[Skittles]

12. or maybe it's because

they are boozing instead of eating

[supernova]

2. Well, there's more evidence to suggest

certain elements of red wines and grape juice are beneficial.

As far as the alcohol istelf, your body can't tell the difference between a martini, a glass of wine, or a beer. I prefer just to drink a glass of wine a couple of times a week.

If you can handle the calories of mixed drinks, go ahead though.

[coffee_strong]

4. There's no way I could drink 24

oz of that and not become drunk. WOW, and hard liquor to boot. Guess I'll just up my veggie intake.

[supernova]

5. Who the hell said 24 oz of alcohol?

:wtf:

a glass of wine is roughly 4 oz.

edit: A serving of hard liquor like whisky or gin is about an ounce and 1/2 (a "jigger" or a "shot")

[Contrary1]

7. Why not 24 oz.?

That would be 2 oz. for coffee_strong and 22 oz for moi'.

[liberaltrucker]

8. 99 bottles of beer on the wall.....

:silly:

[tjwmason]

10. I'm probably not the best person to ask

because I think that the "nutrition experts" are producing a load of nonsense about food and health.

My own view is that balance and enjoyment are the keys to health eating. If you don't like the taste of alcohol, then drinking a glass at the week-end isn't suddenly going to make you into an ultra-healthy type.

If you find you like pina colada or strawberry daquiri, then drink them now and then as the fancy takes you.

[HamdenRice]

11. If you step back and look at the big picture, it appears to be about wine

I have a close relative who is a doctor who went back to school in her forties to study nutrition because she found she could cure many of her patients just by studying their diets and recommending changes. Her take on it is that to some extent, you have to look at it holistically, because when you start talking about nutrients and micronutrients, the interactions simply have not been mapped and maybe will never be mapped.

The big picture is that the French and Italians eat stuff that should kill them and yet the live long, healthy lives. So if you want to live like them, drink a good artisanal wine and cook with extra virgin olive oil. She thinks that hard liquor doesn't do it, and beer is a halfway measure.

Eat, drink and be merry -- but only with the good stuff. It's the Mediterranian diet.