Tag Archive for 'alcohol'

Both abstinence and excess drinking linked to dementia

Published on January 24, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Scientists have recently found that whether you drink too much or not at all, you may increase your risk for developing dementia.

In the December issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, a Finnish study found that people who either didn’t drink at all or those who drank heavily, are at increased risk for dementia later in life.

Led by Jyri Virta from the University of Turku in Finland, scientists discovered that the pattern of drinking and the amount of alcohol consumed were both crucial factors in the risk for dementia.

For example, people who drank the quantity of a bottle of wine at one sitting only once a month but controlled their drinking the rest of the time, still increased their risk for dementia according to the researchers. The study found that binge drinking actually doubled the risk.

Even more scary was the fact that the study claims that passing out from heavy drinking just once was enough to increase one’s risk for cognitive impairment.

The research depended on a study group established in 1974 called the Finnish twin cohort. It explored links between the environment and chronic diseases.

In a statement the scientist  Jyri Virta said, “Our finding is significant as the changes typical of Alzheimer’s disease – the most common dementia syndrome – are thought to start appearing two to three decades before clinical manifestation and therefore identification of early risk factors is imperative.”

Surprisingly, people who never drank alcohol were found to be at more risk for cognitive impairment than moderate drinkers. This finding provides even more proof that totally staying away from alcohol can increase some health risks. In earlier research, non-drinkers were four times more likely to get rheumatoid arthritis than moderate drinkers.

The researchers used questionnaires on which people rated their own drinking, possibly distorting the results.

Virta said that one explanation for moderate drinkers showing some health benefits could be that they are more likely to live healthier in general.

Caffeine and alcohol drink: A dangerous combination

Published on November 1, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

We’ve all heard of people who have taken caffeine while drinking alcohol. Recently though, a breakout of cases where students, as well as others, have ended up the hospital after they had drinks that contained both caffeine and alcohol in the same can. College and health officials are very alarmed and concerned by these occurrences.

Doctors report that the drinks are dangerous, because the caffeine conceals the effects of the alcohol, preventing those who drink them to feel just how intoxicated they really are.

There is a brand in particular, called Four Loko, a fruit-flavored malt beverage with an alcohol content of 12 percent containing as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, that has come under specific criticism. Students at Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J. and Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington, drank it and wound up in emergency rooms, some with very elevated levels of alcohol poisoning.

Dr. Michael Reihart, an emergency room doctor in Lancaster, Pa., said it “is one of the most dangerous new alcohol concoctions I have ever seen.” He has treated more than twelve teenagers and adults in the last three months who came to him after drinking Four Loko. He said it is a deadly recipe because your body naturally wants to sleep, but it is tricked by the caffeine.

After 18 attorney generals urged that the drinks be examined, the Food and Drug Administration is looking into whether or not the drinks are safe. The FDA has never approved of adding caffeine to alcohol. In July, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., asked the FTC to investigate if the drinks are especially designed to appeal to underage drinkers. It is a fact that the drinks have colorful packaging and flavors such as watermelon, blue raspberry and lemon-line.

Even though no legislation has passed yet, several states have tried to ban the drinks.

The president of Ramapo College, Dr. Peter Mercer, banned Four Loko and other energy drinks that contain caffeine and alcohol after 6 students ended up in the hospital after drinking Four Loko. One of the students said he had 3 three cans of Four Loko and a couple of shots of tequila in only one hour. He had a blood alcohol level of .400 after this.

The co-founder and managing partner of Phusion Projects, which is the 5-year-old Chicago company that owns Four Loko, said that the drink, introduced in August of 2008, was being unfairly scrutinized. According to him, the company takes measures to try to keep minors from being able to obtain the drink. Also, Phusion Projects wonders why a police investigation into the Central Washington University incident had centered on Four Loko, when the police report claimed that several other alcoholic drinks, including beer, were also discovered at the party where the students became sick.

Study finds that teen use of pot and alcohol is increasing

Published on March 2, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

3917056433_2940ff8494After ten years of declining, a new study has found that alcohol and marijuana use is on the rise. Sean Clarkin, director of strategy at The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, said that we have learned from the past that you usually see an increase in recreational drugs first and the harder stuff usually follows.

The  survey, which is done yearly, discovered that the amount of teens in grades 9 through 12 who said they drank alcohol in the past month rose 11 percent in the past year; with 39 percent reporting alcohol use, which is about 6.5 million teens.

Pot use among teens is up 19 percent. About 25 percent of teens said they smoked marijuana in the last month.

Until recently, these numbers for pot and alcohol use had been on a steady decline since 1998. At this time, use lingered around 50 percent for teens using alcohol and 27 percent for teens using pot.

In addition, the new study unfortunately discovered that teens using the party drug Ecstasy is on the rise. Six percent of teens interviewed admitted that they used Ecstasy in the last month, compared with 4 percent in 2008.

Clarkin said that if parents do suspect their teen might be using, they need to act swiftly. Try to watch them closely, talk to them about the danger of drugs, set rules and if necessary, and get outside help such as a counselor, doctor, clergy or other resource.

During the study researchers asked the teens how they felt about doing drugs or about the friends who did them. It was found that a higher percentage of teens than the last year said that they like being high and more friends said they had friends who often got high at parties. Also, less teens admitted that they would not hang out with kids who smoked pot.

MetLife Foundation sponsored the partnership’s “attitude tracking” study. Researchers in the study surveyed 3,287 teens in grades 9 through 12. Data was drawn from surveys that the teens completed from March to June 2009. The study has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.

The New York-based partnership is a nonprofit group that works to decrease illicit drug use.

Alcohol may raise risk for some cancers

Published on March 2, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

A study was done involving about 1.3 million British women that provided even additional proof that moderate drinking can raise the risk for a few cancers.

At breast cancer screening clinics, British researchers questioned middle-aged women about their drinking habits and observed their health for seven years.

One-fourth of the women said they did not drink at all. Almost all the others said that they drank less than three drinks a day, and the average had one drink a day. The lightest drinkers were compared with people who drank heavily.

On February 24, University of Oxford researchers reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that for every extra drink each day, there is an increased risk of breast, rectal and liver cancer. In this study, it did not matter what kind of alcohol was consumed. In earlier research, consuming alcohol was associated with esophageal and oral cancers only when smokers drank.

However, moderate drinkers in reality had a smaller risk of thyroid cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and renal cell cancer. The alcohol risk is minor for the average woman. About 118 out of every 1,000 women form any of these cancers in prosperous countries, but the study found that every added daily alcoholic drink affixed 11 breast cancers and four of the other types to that rate. The researchers deduced that 13 percent of those cancers in Britain can be blamed on alcohol.

So what is safe now? Well, moderate alcohol use has been believed to be heart healthy for a long time, although the new research doesn’t discuss it. This encourages more debate about what levels are safe. It is already established that U.S. health guidelines suggest that women should consume no more than a drink a day; two drinks per day are suggested for men, because they metabolize alcohol differently.

Because of all this, officials have been concerned about giving the wrong message – giving young people, pregnant women and those vulnerable to alcoholism – the green light to drink alcohol. It has been difficult for them to balance the declaration of the benefits of alcohol without influencing people to begin drinking or abusing it.