Alcohol: Poison or Medicine?
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I once had a conversation with a family physician who is often asked by his patients how and to what degree alcohol negatively affects one’s health, what are the limits on alcohol intake, and how great is the risk of becoming alcoholic from consuming alcohol regularly. As we talked, I realized that this doctor had a difficult time answering these questions because in university textbooks as well as in most publications of a general educational level, alcohol is described almost entirely in terms of its harmful effects. However, recent reports about the positive effects of alcohol consumption challenge these earlier-held views. This doctor’s attempts to make sense of a large number of scientific publications on the biochemical mechanisms of the alcohol influence, the role it plays in common diseases, and the reasons for addiction and alcoholism, did not bring about a real understanding of the problem. A survey of popular books on alcohol-related topic revealed that these publications mainly focus on the negative aspects of alcohol consumption and alcoholism. These books usually deal with various stories of individuals becoming alcoholics, emotions associated with the process, social consequences of alcoholism, and a moralizing on the subject. These books lack any reasonable discussion of any objective reasons why people consume alcohol. My conversation with the physicians, reading popular publications, and analyzing the reasons for alcohol consumption, gave me an idea to write a short book for the educated lay public and medical practitioners that answers the most important questions concerning alcohol consumption. The book gives a concise and easy-to-understand analysis of the most important studies of the effects of alcohol on the central nervous system, the role of heredity and how a person’s environment influences alcohol consumption. The common belief that a daily consumption of alcohol is associated with a high probability of becoming an alcoholic is critically appraised in light of modern knowledge of the role of genetic polymorphisms in forming individual features of metabolism and functioning of the central nervous system. This book is not a review of scientific literature. An interested reader can refer to the bibliography for sources used. These publications are known to professionals in the field of alcohol-related problems. What is perhaps interesting for them is a non-traditional estimation of some of alcohol's effects on the health and the role of heredity in drinking behavior. A survey of the literature and my own data point to an important circumstance: Ethanol (alcohol) is not a foreign substance to human body cells – it is a natural intracellular metabolite. This circumstance is of crucial importance, but it is not taken into account in scientific discussions of the reasons of alcohol consumption. An analysis of the biochemical mechanisms of actions of alcohol and an estimation of the risk and benefits of alcohol consumption lead me to the conclusion that alcohol in moderate doses is highly efficient protective remedy against a number of common diseases, such as depression, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarct, type II diabetes. This does not mean, of course, that I advocate excessive alcohol consumption; rather, it reflects my viewpoint on the problem proceeding from its biological nature.
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About the Book
A lot of scientific data have appeared recently, which significantly change widespread opinion that alcohol is just a harmful agent. As any medicine, alcohol is toxic when overdosed, but in low to moderate doses alcohol possess energizing and stimulating action. The author indicates that ethyl alcohol is normal cellular metabolite, but not a foreign substance to the human body, as many think. Ingested alcohol is included into the mechanisms, which provide body cells with energy. Probably by this way alcohol eliminates mental fatigue, which is usually accumulated to the end of workday and is light state of stress. Non-eliminated stress becomes chronic, which is a cause of many diseases. The book acquaints medical practitioners and lay public with new scientific data, which shows that alcohol in moderate doses is the number one remedy in preventing the appearance of stress, cardiovascular disease, and type II diabetes. Alcohol counteracts some processes in brain, which evoke anxiety and depression. This property of alcohol is important, in particular, for the elderly because they are more predisposed to mood disorders. Overall the book helps to the reader to answer the question: Why people drink alcoholic beverages and is it harmful or useful for the health?
About the Author
Anatoly G. Antoshechkin was graduated from the First Moscow Medical Institute as a Medical doctor in 1961. In 1968, he received Ph.D. degree in the field of genetics. In 1978, Dr. Antoshechkin began studying the biochemical basis of inherited metabolic diseases in his laboratory at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow. His articles have been published in Russian and international scientific journals. Dr. Antoshechkin now resides in the United States where he works as a researcher, author and lecturer. He is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, American College of Medical Genetics, the Council of the Healthcare Advisers, the Medical Council on Alcohol, American College of Nutrition.