Gates Foundation: Zero Benefits from Alcohol

People under the age of 40 start risking their health if they consume any more than two teaspoons of wine or two and a half tablespoons of beer per day, a new study suggests.

The analysis—part of the wider Global Burden of Disease study—was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and published in The Lancet medical journal on Thursday.

It found that for young adults between the ages of 15 and 39, there were zero health benefits—only risks—associated with drinking alcohol.

Globally, almost 60% of people who consumed unsafe amounts of alcohol in 2020 fell into this age bracket, according to the findings.


Researchers said that for people aged between 15 and 39, the recommended amount of alcohol that could be consumed before risking their health was “a little more than one-tenth of a standard drink.”

They defined a standard drink as 3.4 fluid ounces of red wine or 12 fluid ounces of beer.

By this definition, the study’s findings suggested that alcohol stops being “safe” to consume for under-40s after around two teaspoons of red wine or two and a half tablespoons of beer.

The Global Burden of Disease study is massive in scope. It has been ongoing since 1990 and uses data from 204 countries and territories, and is described in the Lancet as "the most comprehensive effort to date to understand the changing health challenges around the world."

But the young-adult side of this isn't the whole story.

'Benefits' of drinking alcohol

While the study warned that drinking only led to health risks for younger generations, the GBD research team found that for people over the age of 40 with no underlying health problems, consuming a small amount of alcohol each day could provide some health benefits.  READ MORE...

Alcohol in Your Body

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention says two-thirds of adults in 2018 drank alcohol. How much obviously varies, but no one wants to end the day with a DUI because they mistakenly believed they were sober when that was not the case.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), an abundance of factors contributes to how long alcohol stays in your system. Misunderstanding these factors makes it difficult to tell whether you’re legally safe to be behind the wheel and can lead to tragic consequences.

How long does alcohol stay in your system?

Healthline.com says how long alcohol stays in your system is dependent upon age, weight, whether you’ve eaten food recently, medications, liver disease and the time between drinks. One cup of beer may stay in one person’s system longer than it will for someone else with a different weight.

The ability to metabolize alcohol slows as you age, health.clevelandclinic.org says. Alcohol will have heightened effects on those with lower weights and smaller body sizes. If you’re drinking on an empty stomach, then the effects of alcohol may be enhanced. Different medications can have dangerous side effects when paired with alcohol. Any present liver conditions can harm your ability to handle alcohol and process it. Binge drinking in a short period will also increase the effects of alcohol, all according to health.clevelandclinic.org and healthline.com.

A shot of liquor is estimated to metabolize in an hour, a pint of beer in two, a glass of wine in three, and several drinks could take multiple hours, according to healthline.com.

The NIAAA estimates that one drink would be metabolized and out of your system after three hours, two drinks after slightly over four hours, three drinks by six hours and four drinks by seven. The NIAAA goes on to state that this is, again, dependent on the factors above.

As for driving, healthline.com advises: "The safest thing you can do is not get behind the wheel after you’ve been drinking."  READ MORE...

Alcohol Endangers the Heart

How much alcohol is safe to drink? It sounds like a simple question, but it is hard to figure out from health authorities because there is such a wide discrepancy in advice between different countries.

It can get even more confusing because they don’t agree on how much alcohol is in a standard drink. For example, in Austria, a standard drink is a whopping 20 grams of alcohol, compared to just 8 grams in Iceland. In the United States, a standard drink is considered 14 grams of alcohol, which is around the amount contained in a 1.5-ounce shot of distilled spirits, a 12-ounce beer, or a 5-ounce glass of wine. Of course, you also have to pay attention to the specifics of your drink, because your favorite double IPA may have twice the alcohol content of a regular beer.

And even if you figure it out completely, the recommendations from your health authorities may be too high according to new research. In the study, scientists found that to minimize your risk to the heart, you should limit your consumption to less than 5 cans of 4.5% beer or less than one bottle of wine per week.

Levels of alcohol consumption currently considered safe by some countries are associated with the development of heart failure, according to new research presented at Heart Failure 2022, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

“This study adds to the body of evidence that a more cautious approach to alcohol consumption is needed,” said study author Dr. Bethany Wong of St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. “To minimize the risk of alcohol causing harm to the heart, if you don’t drink, don’t start. If you do drink, limit your weekly consumption to less than one bottle of wine or less than three-and-a-half 500 ml cans of 4.5% beer.”  READ MORE...

Setting the Tone/Mood

Many people watch TV shows, Cable Series, and Movies with the simple understanding that they are sitting in the seat watching what is taking place for shear pleasure and/or enjoyment.  They observe the characteristic with neutrality and don't try to understand the plot or the subplots or even analyze them to see if they make sense.  They don't question motives or say anything critical about the acting or the lack thereof.

I, on the other hand, do look at stuff like that and do not really look at the time spent as wasted or not wasted but as time that was simply spent doing something.  As I sit there and watch, I do look at the quality of the acting, the quality of the sets, the storyline and if it makes sense or is logical, especially if the theme of the movie is dealing with a science fiction theme.

One issue that has always bothered me is that everyone is always drinking alcohol, either beer or whiskey and sometimes Vodka.  Everyone always drinks after work...  and, if there is a meal involved as part of the Director's methodology, everyone always drinks wine with their meal...

When I was working...  I never drank wine with my meal except for a special occasion like over the Holidays.  I never had a drink or a beer or two after work...  and, when I talk with other people, they basically say the same thing...  so, what do movie directors think that it is important to have everyone drink alcohol?

Is Hollywood trying to create a society of potential alcoholics?

Exercising

Did You Know???

...that the fatter you are, the more calories you burn...  of course this sounds logical after I have shared it with you...  but, one would think that the more you walk on a treadmill the more calories you burn and while that is true also...  weight also seems to be an important factor in burning calories...  however, this is not to suggest that you should bulk up now so you can burn more calories when you finally start exercising...

I have always been one for exercising or working outside at something so that I SWEAT a lot such as splitting wood with a sledge hammer and wedges or using a push mower to mow an acre lot or moving 7 rooms of furniture with just a hand truck, a sturdy rug, and a 1/2 inch nylon rope.  If that was not good enough for me, I usually would fast walk for 90 minutes around the community which included hills, some of which were fairly steep....  since a mile is covered in about 15-20 minutes, I figured I walked 4-6 miles each time...  and, I would typically walk everyday unless it was raining or snowing.

BUT, exercising is not enough to STAY HEALTHY...

If you really want to stay healthy, you must:

1. Quit smoking cigarettes, cigars, and/or marijuana
2. Quit or  substantially reduce your intact of alcohol & red meat
3. Quit eating all friend foods
4. Quit eating sweets
5. Eat more fish and chicken, turkey
6. Eat more vegetables, fruits, and nuts
7. Manage stress with exercise and/or meditation
8. Get the required hours of sleep for you age
9. See your family doctor & eye doctor annually
10. See a dentist twice a year

OR, you can just get lazy, fat, and old and die earlier than expected...