What is alcohol?

	Alcohol There are mixed messages about alcohol, so what are its proven health benefits and risks, and how much should you be drinking?

What is alcohol?

Alcohol is a common term for ethanol, a compound produced when glucose is fermented by yeast. The alcohol content of a particular drink is controlled by the amount of yeast and length of fermentation.

Fruit is used to make wine and cider, while cereals such as barley and rye form the basis of beer and spirits.

Alcohol is a drug that has the immediate effect of altering mood. Drinking it makes people feel relaxed, happy and even euphoric, but in fact alcohol is a depressant. It switches off the part of the brain that controls judgement, leading to loss of inhibitions. Drinking even small amounts of alcohol can affect physical coordination.

The liver breaks down and eliminates alcohol from the body. It takes the liver about one hour to deal with one unit of alcohol (8g).

Benefits

Alcohol consumed in moderation is thought to help reduce the risk of heart disease. Indeed, alcohol consumption in conjunction with high intakes of fruit and vegetables may well explain the so-called 'French paradox'. The French diet is considered to be very high in fat, especially saturated fat, yet the death rate from coronary heart disease (CHD) remains relatively low.

A research study published in 1992 suggested that the low death rates from CHD could be due to the relatively high consumption of wine in France. A similar pattern of diet and alcohol consumption has also been found in other south European countries where heart disease rates are also lower compared with other parts of the world. Read more...