Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are interested in research about drinking, because drinking alcohol is prohibited by the LDS health code known as the Word of Wisdom. Here are the results of recent research on alcohol. Persons visiting this site are invited to share their opinions and experiences with alcoholic drinks and other uses of alcohol.
"Would you put whiskey in your baby's bottle? Drinking during pregnancy
is not that much different," she said. "If you ask me if you have three
glasses of wine during pregnancy will your child have FASD, I would say
probably not. If you ask if there will be changes in the brain, I would
say, probably. There is no safe level of drinking during pregnancy."
Researchers have discovered a gene that regulates alcohol consumption
and when faulty can cause excessive drinking. They have also identified
the mechanism underlying this phenomenon.
"Many bone fractures are alcohol-related, due to car accidents, falls,
shootings, etc.," Natoli said. "In addition to contributing to bone
fractures, alcohol also impairs the healing process. So add this to the
list of reasons why you should not abuse alcohol."
Researchers have long known that violence toward spouses and partners
increases with the frequency and volume of drinking. A study published
today in the scientific journal Addiction shows that the context in which drinking occurs also appears to play a role in violence
against partners, with male violence being linked to drinking away from
home and female violence being linked to drinking at home.
The risk of becoming a smoker among
young adults who have never smoked
is high: 14% will become smokers between the ages of 18 and 24, and
three factors predict this behaviour. “Smoking initiation also occurs
among young adults, and in particular among those who are impulsive,
have poor grades, or who use alcohol regularly,” said Jennifer
O'Loughlin, a Professor at the University of Montreal School of Public
Health (ESPUM) and author of a Journal of Adolescent Health study
published in August. O’Loughlin believes smoking prevention campaigns
should also target young adults aged 18 to 24.'
Consuming five or more alcoholic drinks in a row is common among high
school seniors, with some students engaging in extreme binge drinking of
as many as 15 or more drinks, according to a study published by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.
More than a quarter of high school seniors drive after using alcohol or
drugs, or ride with a driver who has. Driving after marijuana use on the
rise. A new study in the American Journal of Public Health
finds that 28 percent of U.S. high school seniors have driven after
using drugs or drinking alcohol in the past two weeks, or ridden in a
vehicle with a driver who did. In particular, driving after smoking
marijuana has increased over the past three years.
Previous studies have shown that long-term alcohol abuse increases the
risk of dementia. The Loyola study found that in the brain cells of rats
exposed to high levels of alcohol, a fish oil compound protected
against inflammation and cell death.
On an average day, 881,684 U.S. teenagers aged 12 to 17 smoked
cigarettes, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The report also says that on an
average day 646,707 adolescents smoked marijuana and 457,672 drank
alcohol.
2 Comments (click to add your comment):
That last report you posted seems to imply that moderate consumption of alcohol actually lowers the risk of some kinds of disease and other health problems.
Hi Joseph,
That particular article was comparing the effects of a few drinks on a scheduled basis vs. binge drinking. Here is another quote from the article.
In the journal Atherosclerosis, scientists found that daily moderate drinking -- the equivalent of two drinks per day, seven days a week -- decreased atherosclerosis in mice, while binge drinking -- the equivalent of seven drinks a day, two days a week -- increased development of the disease. Atherosclerosis, or the hardening and narrowing of arteries, is a serious condition that can lead to a heart attack or stroke.
The article didn't say what kind of drinks were used. If the drinks were wine, then the question of antioxidants comes into play since wine comes from grapes and grapes are a good source of antioxidants. I've read several articles about the effects of wine, in which the authors weren't concerned whether the positive effects were from the alcohol or from antioxidants. I'm keeping an open mind about this and am waiting for more test results to be published.
A similar situation exists with caffeine. Some tests have shown that coffee has certain positive effects on our bodies. Those tests were focused on the effects of caffeine as a stimulant, that is, stimulants have a positive effect when administered in certain ways. The tests used coffee as a way of giving caffeine to the persons. Other ways of giving caffeine could have been used. The Lord didn't say that caffeine is not for the body. He said "hot drinks", and he didn't say why those drinks are not for the body. So, keeping an open mind about health matters is good.
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