The A-Files, Alcohol A-Z for Alcohol Awareness Month: Prediabetes and Diabetes

(see online video/article)

Twenty-six episodes of 'The A-Files' air throughout Alcohol Awareness Month on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Alcohologist.com and AddictedMinds.com, among other web and social media sites. Episode P covers the links between Prediabetes and alcohol use. Alcohol use carries a significant danger of developing type 2 diabetes. The blood sugar disorder has reached near epidemic status in the United States and has largely been blamed on an increase in the percentage of the population considered overweight. However, alcohol use and the disease of alcoholism also contribute to the disease.

Alcohol use damages the pancreas, the organ responsible for producing insulin naturally to regulate blood sugar. The more a person drinks, the more damage to that organ and the higher the risk of developing prediabetes, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), prediabetes is when a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be type 2 diabetes. Prediabetics are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

The risk of prediabetes may be even higher for people with high blood pressure, according to preliminary research introduced in 2013 at the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation's EuroPRevent meeting. The University of Padova, Italy, found that patients with high blood pressure who drank more than 10 drinks a day had a six-times higher risk of developing a prediabetic condition.

Drinking alcohol, contributes to diabetes in three ways.

1. Drinking can reduce the body’s sensitivity to insulin (according to the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism)
2.Diabetes is a common side effect of chronic pancreatitis, which is overwhelmingly caused by heavy drinking, especially in men. (See The related Nature Genetics report)
3.Alcohol contains a huge amount of calories. One beer can be equivalent to a slice of pizza. The extra calories increase your chance of becoming overweight, another diabetes risk factor.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 26 million children and adults in the U.S. have diabetes and another 79 million Americans have prediabetes. Many people with alcohol use disorders already may be prediabetic and not know it, according to the ADA, “because the symptoms develop so gradually, people often don't recognize them. Some people have no symptoms at all.”
Diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death… part of that is due to the third-leading cause of death, alcohol use. The entire 26 episode HD series is available on disc, along with fact sheets, for helping professions. See the preorder special at tr.im/AFiles

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Another interview is on Alcohol Awareness.  Syndicated radio program Savvy Central Radio did this interview, too. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud and the first for Adding Fire to the Fuel also can be found on www.alcohologist.com. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today. Stevens also is the public relations officer with AddictedMinds.com 

USDA “healthy” diet guide to misguide and injure Americans for another five years years

New governmental dietary guidelines are dangerous to the health of America and contradict common sense and evidence-based research, including research by the very organization that released the five-year recommendation. The 2015-2016 Dietary Guidelines, were released jointly by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA) Jan. 7.

BUT… There are no documented health benefits to consuming beverage alcohol.

Evidence-based studies provide robust data that conclusively demonstrate alcohol's undisputed ability to ruin otherwise healthy tissue. It isn't a health-conscious dietary addition in any amount.

The eighth edition of the government's guidelines state: “If alcohol is consumed, it should be consumed in moderation—up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men—and only by adults of legal drinking age.” The statement leads to an alcohol appendix, which, “in 300 words doesn't mention a single health consequence of drinking a toxin.” The appendix: If alcohol is consumed, it should be in moderation—up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men—and only by adults of legal drinking age. For those who choose to drink, moderate alcohol consumption can be incorporated into the calorie limits of most healthy eating patterns. The Dietary Guidelines does not recommend that individuals who do not drink alcohol start drinking for any reason; however, it does recommend that all foods and beverages consumed be accounted for within healthy eating patterns. Alcohol is not a component of the USDA Food Patterns. Thus, if alcohol is consumed, the calories from alcohol should be accounted for so that the limits on calories for other uses and total calories are not exceeded. For the purposes of evaluating amounts of alcohol that may be consumed, the Dietary Guidelines includes drink-equivalents [table]. One alcoholic drink-equivalent is described as containing 14 g (0.6 fl oz) of pure alcohol. The following are reference beverages that are one alcoholic drink-equivalent: 12 fluid ounces of regular beer (5% alcohol), 5 fluid ounces of wine (12% alcohol), or 1.5 fluid ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits (40% alcohol). Packaged (e.g., canned beer, bottled wine) and mixed beverages (e.g., margarita, rum and soda, mimosa, sangria) vary in alcohol content. For this reason it is important to determine how many alcoholic drink-equivalents are in the beverage and limit intake. [Table] lists reference beverages that are one drink-equivalent and provides examples of alcoholic drink-equivalents in other alcoholic beverages.

First of all, to endorse any amount of alcohol for a person with the disease of alcoholism – which afflicts 21 million Americans – is entirely irresponsible, yet they only caution those who are pregnant. Secondly, the guidelines are said to be “components of a healthy and nutritionally adequate diet to help promote health and prevent chronic disease such as cancer, hypertension, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.” Alcohol use – even moderate use – is a risk factor for all five of those chronic diseases. Consider the evidence-based data:

• Cancer: Even moderate alcohol use may substantially increase the risk of dying from cancer, according to a study published in Feb. 2012 in theAmerican Journal of Public Health. Alcohol use accounts for about 3.5 percent of all U.S. cancer deaths annually, according to the study. “Most deaths seemed to occur among people who consumed more than three alcoholic drinks a day, but those who consumed 1.5 beverages daily may account for up to one-third of those deaths,” the researchers concluded.
• Hypertension: Even modest alcohol consumption can cause blood pressure to increase, according to two studies conducted in Japan. Noriyuki Nakanishi, M.D., Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan and lead author of one of the studies, concluded that even very low alcohol consumption can be a health risk, especially older adults. Nakanishi and his research team observed that systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) went up 1.4 points in those between the ages of 25 and 35, but increased 5.4 points for men between the ages of 48 and 59, for just 12g-22g of alcohol per day. A glass of wine contains about 20g alcohol on average. In the second of the two studies, researchers from Kyushu University followed more than 1,100 people over age 40 for 10 years. One hundred men and 106 women developed hypertension, with the risk of developing hypertension higher for drinkers, even those who drank less than 23 grams daily. Both Japanese studies were published in the journal Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.
  Quitting drinking has the expected benefit of reducing blood pressure. In one study reported in the journal Hypertension, researchers concluded that a reduction in alcohol intake among drinkers significantly reduced their blood pressure. They found that when alcohol consumption fell by 16 to 100 percent, there were significant drops in systolic blood pressure. Diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) also dropped significantly in eight clinical trials. The greatest drop in blood pressure was seen in patients with the highest blood pressure before treatment and those who cut back on alcohol the most.
• Heart Disease: A report released July 2014 in The BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal) debunks decades of misinformation about alcohol's heart-health benefits. According to researchers, even a single glass of wine or beer can be damaging to the heart. The University College London and Pennsylvania University conducted no new experiments or studies. Scientists instead analyzed 50 studies that looked at drinking habits and heart health, with data from more than a quarter-million people. They conclude: less alcohol is the only sure way to improve and protect heart health.
  Some studies have previously suggested moderate amounts of alcohol could be good for heart health. These studies were dealt a blow in March 2013 when the journal Addiction concluded that such health claims were based on observational studies, not evidence-based ones, and amounted to little more than wishful thinking. (See “Alcohol's health benefits deemed wishful thinking”) The authors of the 2014 study concur. “We now have evidence that some of these studies suffer from limitations that may affect the validity of their findings," said study author Juan Casas, a researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
  Data compiled for the 2012 alcoholism recovery book, Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, also found alcohol had more heart-damaging impact that life-giving benefit. “Alcohol itself raids the body of vitamin B (Thiamin) which is essential for a healthy heart. B-deficiency enlarges the heart and creates distended neck veins, narrow pulse pressure, elevated diastolic blood pressure (the second number in your BP) and peripheral edema. Acetaldehyde [alcohol metabolism byproduct] also physically weakens muscle, the heart being your body’s most important one. The weakening causes damage that accumulates.” Acetaldehyde also increases cholesterol, especially triglycerides. High cholesterol is a leading indicator of heart trouble on the horizon and the number one condition treated with prescription drugs in the U.S.
• Diabetes: Alcohol use (with moderate use being defined as one drink daily for women, two a day for men) damages the pancreas, the organ responsible for producing insulin naturally to regulate blood sugar. The more a person drinks, the more damage to that organ and the higher the risk of developing prediabetes, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.
  According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), prediabetes is when a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be type 2 diabetes. Prediabetics are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
  The risk of prediabetes may be even higher for people with high blood pressure, according to preliminary research introduced April 18 at the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation's EuroPRevent meeting. Lucio Mos, of San Antonio Hospital at the University of Padova, Italy, found that patients with high blood pressure who drank more than 10 drinks a day had a six-times higher risk of developing a prediabetic condition.
  Drinking alcohol contributes to diabetes in three ways.
  1. Heavy drinking can reduce the body’s sensitivity to insulin (according to the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism)
  2.Diabetes is a common side effect of chronic pancreatitis, which is overwhelmingly caused by heavy drinking, especially in men. (See related article on the Y-chromosome and pancreatitis)
  3.Alcohol contains a huge amount of calories. One beer can be equivalent to a slice of pizza. (see examiner.com article on alcohol calories) The extra calories increase the chance of becoming overweight, another diabetes risk factor.

“Lastly, saying daily consumption is 'okay' diminishes the fact that daily use is one warning sign of the disease of addiction,” concludes the recovery advocate and alcohol/health author, who has a chapter in each of his two most recent books detailing the health consequences of alcohol use. “Daily use is a contributing factor to more than 60 other diseases. Including eight cancers. The HHS even lists the drug (alcohol) as a known, not a suspected, human carcinogen in its 13th list of carcinogens released only four months ago.” (See “Alcohol: A carcinogen hiding in plain sight” and the HHS Report on Cancinogens)

The author notes dietary guidance for the UK, released in the same week as the US recommendations, clearly stated there is no justification to drink for health reasons, and consumption of any level of alcohol increases the risk of a range of cancers. “We're on the same planet, using the same data, but we're clearly not on the same page when it comes to promoting public health.”
Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on risky myths of about "healthy" drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud and the first for Adding Fire to the Fuel also can be found on www.alcohologist.com. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today. Stevens also is the public relations officer with AddictedMinds.com and works with TheAddictionsAcademy as well.

Immediate and long-term stroke risk connected to alcohol use

Stroke disables more people in the United States than breast cancer and is a leading cause of long-term disability. Evidence-based studies prove a connection between alcohol use, stroke onset and slower recovery from a stroke. (View the whole article and share the YouTube video)

Ninety percent of strokes are ischemic, where a blood clot halts the flow of blood to the brain. The University of California San Francisco notes the one in five strokes may be alcohol-related. That's 160,000 alcohol-related strokes every year, and 26,000 alcohol-related stroke deaths annually. That toll is more than two times the number of people killed each year in alcohol-involved traffic crashes.

Alcohol use is a risk factor for stroke because booze increases the progression of atherosclerosis, which is doctorspeak for a hardening of the arteries. The risk sharpens for those who have one binge weekly, or at least one hangover a year. That's from the UCSF study.

A separate study in the journal Stroke in Jan. 2015 found that people who average more than two drinks a day have a 34 percent higher risk of stroke compared to those whose daily average amounts to less than half a drink. By age 75, high blood pressure and diabetes are the leading stroke risk factors, but for men and women younger than 75, how they use alcohol increases stroke risk just as much as those other two conditions. In fact, Midlife heavy drinkers were likely to have a stroke five years earlier in life, regardless of genetic and lifestyle factors. Not coincidentally, either: Earlier Sobriety :60+ episodes point out prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (see episode 6) and high blood pressure (see episode) also are caused by alcohol use.

The stroke risk in those two studies, of course, is long term, but there's immediate danger as well. According to a 2010 Canadian study, one drink instantly doubles stroke risk. Two hours following that drink, the stroke risk remains 1.6 times higher than someone who isn't drinking. The stroke danger alone is reason enough to consider that sobriety is a better thing to have than to lack.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on risky myths of about "healthy" drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus the NEW book, Adding Fire to the Fuel, is now available. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today.

Alcohol increases autoimmune disease risk, worsens symptoms

If you don't know what an autoimmune disease is, you haven't had the distinct pleasure of hearing from your physician that you have one… your fortunate. It's just like it sounds: A body's immune system goes on auto and instead of fighting intruders only, it attacks healthy cells by mistake. You hear about them every day. Rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, MS, celiac disease, and lupus are some of the more common autoimmune diseases, but there are more than 80 of them. (YouTube video, episode #51 here)

Alcohol increases risk of these disorders and worsens many symptoms. Here's how.

1) Stress. Alcohol is considered by many to relieve stress, however, alcoholics have a higher level of the stress hormone cortisol – I cover that extensively in Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud. A 2002 study led by French researcher Arnaud Cenac indicated that major stress caused by or self-medicated by alcohol in the previous 24 months increases risk 140 percent.

2) Alcohol use increases blood levels of immunoglobulins. It's a mouthful, but these proteins are used by the immune system to identify and neutralize bacteria and viruses. Although an increase in a given antibody is usually associated with a specific immunity, such as the immunity resulting from a flu shot, alcoholics with these greatly increased antibody levels are often immunodeficient because the proteins go postal looking for something to neutralize.

3) Alcohol consumption increases whole body inflammation by reducing the effectiveness of antioxidants such as vitamins A, C and E, according to studies by the University René Descartes in France. In other words, inflammation is a key symptom of autoimmune disease and alcohol will make it worse.

Fact is, there isn't anything a drink won't make worse. When it comes to autoimmune diseases a 2006 study indicated the risk of acquiring these chronic conditions increases 65 percent with smoking… and 98 percent with alcohol consumption.

(see the full article)

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on risky myths of about "healthy" drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus the NEW book, Adding Fire to the Fuel, is now available. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today.

The Sobriety :60 - Alcohol and blood sugar for diabetics and non-diabetics

Whether or not diabetics can/should drink is a common question in health forums.  Because of the interaction between the liver and pancreas, non-diabetics and diabetics alike face alcohol dangers. Episode #6 - Alcohol and blood sugar management in diabetics and non-diabetics can be found at  http://youtu.be/k1AXV6yZ1wM

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Bringing Inspiration To Earth show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Scott Stevens on Health Media Now and one at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  

In the time it takes to read this article, 15 people will die an alcohol-related death

In the two and a half minutes it takes to read this story, fifteen people will die an alcohol-related death. A death toll surpassing violence, TB and AIDS combined hangs on what many view as a benign substance found in nearly every grocery store and ballpark. Alcohol, the world's third-leading cause of preventable injury and death, claims 3.3 million lives a year according to a May 12 report by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Including intoxicated driving, alcohol-induced violence and a causal relationship with more than 60 diseases and disorders, alcohol causes one in 20 deaths globally every year, says the WHO. "This actually translates into one death every 10 seconds," says Shekhar Saxena, who comment on the WHO's 2014 Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health. Intoxicated motorists are responsible for one in seven of those deaths.
Alcohol caused the deaths of 7.6 percent of men and 4 percent of women who died in 2012, the year of the study data.

More people in countries where alcohol consumption has traditionally been low, like China and India, are also increasingly taking up the habit as their wealth increases, according to the WHO report. "More needs to be done to protect populations from the negative health consequences of alcohol consumption," Oleg Chestnov of the WHO's Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health unit said in a statement.

The popular misconception is that alcohol causes only the disease of alcoholism, according to alcoholism recovery book Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud. However, drinking is linked to more than 200 health conditions, including liver cirrhosis and some cancers. "Many of the diseases don't appear until years after the person stops drinking. The damage is done early and cumulatively.”

A separate 2013 oncology report (see related article) went so far as to say, “When it comes to cancer, no amount of alcohol is safe.” Alcohol abuse also makes people more prone to contracting or worsening infectious diseases like tuberculosis, HIV and pneumonia, the WHO found.

Most deaths attributed to alcohol, around a third, are caused by associated diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This despite observational claims that a moderate amount of red wine has cardiovascular health benefits. Researcher call those claims, “wishful thinking,” and say they don't hold up in evidence-based studies (see related examiner.com article).

The world's wealthiest nations – in Europe and the Americas – are boozier than people in poorer countries, but rising wealth in emerging economies is also driving up alcohol consumption. Eastern Europe and Russia are home to the world's biggest drinkers. Russian men who drink consumed an average of 32 liters (8.5 gallons) of pure alcohol a year, according to 2010 statistics, followed by other Western countries including Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia and South Africa.

On average, every person above the age of 15 worldwide drinks 6.2 liters (about a gallon and a half) of pure alcohol in a year, according to the report. Counting only those who drink though, that rises to 17 liters (4.5 gal.) of pure alcohol each year. Nearly half the world's adult population is entirely abstinent.
-- from examiner.com (See full article)
www.alcohologist.com

Scroll down for the replay of the April 13 Sound Health Options show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Scott Stevens on Health Media Now and one at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  

Cinco duh Mayo: Tequila myths, drunk driving facts

A staple of the Cinco de Mayo celebration of Mexican heritage and pride is tequila. The humorists note the agave beverage's side effects as a desire to fight in order to show off your new-found super-human strength, unexplained urges to pole dance, increased risk of your clothes falling off and discovery of a new apartment (because you don't wake up in yours). The drinking humor aside, here are five not-so-funny tequila facts.


1. Darker alcoholic beverages (e.g. red wine, brandy, whiskey and tequila) may contain chemicals called congeners -- kind of like impurities. Congeners give a liquor most of its taste or odor, and contribute to or worsen hangovers. These substances include small amounts of chemical by-products of fermentation, such as acetone. Look on a bottle of nail polish remover for another use for acetone. (Here are cinco myths I've posted about hangovers.)

2. Urban legend spins a research study into health benefits of drinking tequila. Science does not back up any health benefit.  In 2007, Mexican researchers found the agave plant – the key ingredient in tequila – has a high level of inulin, which is credited with helping digestion, reducing cholesterol and retaining more calcium in the body. (Inulin is not to be confused with insulin.) Guillermo Toriz, a researcher at the University of Guadalajara, notes, "Inulin is very good to the digestive system because it helps you to grow good bacteria." That is the good news for the agave PLANT. Toriz says all of the health benefits found in the plant that produces it are lost when it's fermented to make alcohol.  It's one of those "wishful thinking" attributes drinkers try to pin on alcohol use I mentioned April 12.

3. An open clinical trial was carried out in 2004 on eight healthy non-obese, young male volunteers who were given tequila, one shot daily. The tequila-specific study found a significant increase in their glucose concentration. This can lead to prediabetes: When a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be type 2 diabetes.  It is a potentially dangerous health condition leading to type 2 diabetes.

4. A single margarita can carry half of the daily calorie requirement (see related article). Tequila consists of more calories than vodka, rum and whiskey. That's before the margarita mix. One mix claiming “all natural flavors” listed it's main ingredients as high-fructose corn syrup, citric acid, sugar, corn starch, etc., totaling 30 grams of sugars and 33 grams of carbs per 4 ounces. . . and who has seen a small margarita on Cinco de Mayo?

5. Cinco de Mayo has become one of the biggest drinking holidays in the United States, and one of the deadliest. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2011 — the latest year for which statistics were available — 35 percent of crash fatalities that occurred on May 5 were alcohol-related.


These health and safety risk are above and beyond the troubles of alcohol abuse and the disease of alcoholism.  With the holiday, any holiday, drinkers can and do find a way to drink.  Many are able to drink responsibly, which doesn't necessary mean "risk free."
www.alcohologist.com

Scroll down for the replay of the April 13 Sound Health Options show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Scott Stevens on Health Media Now and one at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK.  

Purple with a Purpose: Alcohol misuse ups pancreatic damage, especially in men

People wearing purple Nov. 22 are doing so in support of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. One of the easiest ways to reduce the risk of pancreatic disease and cancer is to cut back on the alcohol or stop all together. Alcohol abusers and those with the disease of alcoholism are 1.6 times more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, the most fatal of cancers and one of the hardest to detect.

Pancreatic cancer is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, but is expect to become the second in 2020. According to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 45,000 Americans will be diagnosed with the disease this year alone.

Pancreatic cancer is more common in men than women, however it has recently moved from the tenth to the ninth most common cancer in females. As an additional shot across the bow for men: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers isolated a gene variant in men that puts those who drink heavily at risk for pancreatitis. While painful and treatable, long-term pancreatitis has been linked to cancer of the pancreas.

The researcher’s report, online in the journal Nature Genetics, found the genetic defect in half the men with chronic pancreatitis.

Pancreatitis is a disease in which the pancreas becomes inflamed. Acute pancreatitis occurs suddenly, with severe upper abdominal pain and can be a serious, life-threatening illness if not treated. The most common symptoms of pancreatitis acute abdominal pain, pain radiating into the back, nausea, vomiting and fever. The symptoms may last for a few days then disappear off and on.

Alcohol abuse and alcoholism are risk factors for developing the disease of pancreatitis, but the new research shows men with a flaw on the X chromosome are more likely to have pancreatic troubles if they drink heavily. Women with the same flaw were not as likely to get the disease. The study suggests the second X chromosome in women protects them, while men have only one X chromosome and a Y.

The gene doesn’t cause pancreatitis but increases the risk in drinkers.

“The discovery that chronic pancreatitis has a genetic basis solves a major mystery about why some people develop chronic pancreatitis and others do not,” study lead author Dr. David Whitcomb, professor of medicine, cell biology and physiology, and human genetics, said in a university news release.

“We also knew there was an unexpected higher risk of men developing pancreatitis with alcohol consumption, but until now we weren’t sure why,” he said. “Our discovery of this new genetic variant on chromosome X helps explain this mystery as well.”
(from examiner.com -- see full article)
www.alcohologist.com

Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK.

SATURDAY REWIND: Alcohol warning for prediabetes, type-2 diabetes during Diabetes Month

November is American Diabetes Month -- the 14th is World Diabetes Day -- and this article from the alcohol research news archive notes that among the many health risks associated with alcohol, a significant danger among them is developing type 2 diabetes.


The blood sugar disorder has reached near epidemic status in the United States and has largely been blamed on an increase in the percentage of the population considered overweight. However, alcohol abuse and the disease of alcoholism also contribute to the disease.

Heavy alcohol use (with moderate use being defined as one drink daily for women, two a day for men) damages the pancreas, the organ responsible for producing insulin naturally to regulate blood sugar. The more a person drinks, the more damage to that organ and the higher the risk of developing prediabetes, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) , prediabetes is when a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be type 2 diabetes. Prediabetics are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

The risk of prediabetes may be even higher for people with high blood pressure, according to preliminary research introduced April 18 at the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation's EuroPRevent meeting. Lucio Mos, of San Antonio Hospital at the University of Padova, Italy, found that patients with high blood pressure who drank more than 10 drinks a day had a six-times higher risk of developing a prediabetic condition.

Drinking alcohol, especially in large quantities, contributes to diabetes in three ways.
1. Heavy drinking can reduce the body’s sensitivity to insulin (according to the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism)
2.Diabetes is a common side effect of chronic pancreatitis, which is overwhelmingly caused by heavy drinking, especially in men. (See related examiner.com article on the Y-chromosome and pancreatitis)
3.Alcohol contains a huge amount of calories. One beer can be equivalent to a slice of pizza. (see examiner.com article on alcohol calories) The extra calories increase your chance of becoming overweight, another diabetes risk factor.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 26 million children and adults in the U.S. have diabetes and another 79 million Americans have prediabetes. Many people with alcohol use disorders already may be prediabetic and not know it, according to the ADA, “because the symptoms develop so gradually, people often don't recognize them. Some people have no symptoms at all.”
Signs of prediabetes include:
unusual thirst
frequent urination
blurred vision
extreme fatigue
frequent infections
cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
tingling/numbness in the hands/feet
recurring skin, gum or bladder infections

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, non-traumatic lower-limb amputations and new cases of blindness among adults, and a major cause of heart disease and stroke. It's the seventh-leading cause of death.
--from examiner.com (see full article)
www.alcohologist.com

The new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK. 

Cinco tequila facts for Cinco de Mayo, cinco hangover myths for the morning after

A staple of the Cinco de Mayo celebration of Mexican heritage and pride is tequila. The humorists note the agave beverage's side effects as a desire to fight in order to show off your new-found super-human strength, unexplained urges to pole dance, increased risk of your clothes falling off and discovery of a new apartment (because you don't wake up in yours). The jokes aside, here are five not-so-funny tequila facts I posted online this morning.


1. Darker alcoholic beverages (e.g. red wine, brandy, whiskey and tequila) may contain chemicals called congeners -- kind of like impurities. Congeners give a liquor most of its taste or odor, and contribute to or worsen hangovers. These substances include small amounts of chemical by-products of fermentation, such as acetone. Look on a bottle of nail polish remover for another use for acetone. (Here are cinco myths I've posted about hangovers.)

2. Urban legend spins a research study into health benefits of drinking tequila. Science does not back up any health benefit.  In 2007, Mexican researchers found the agave plant – the key ingredient in tequila – has a high level of inulin, which is credited with helping digestion, reducing cholesterol and retaining more calcium in the body. (Inulin is not to be confused with insulin.) Guillermo Toriz, a researcher at the University of Guadalajara, notes, "Inulin is very good to the digestive system because it helps you to grow good bacteria." That is the good news for the agave plant. Toriz says all of the health benefits found in the plant that produces it are lost when it's fermented to make alcohol.  It's one of those "wishful thinking" attributes drinkers try to pin on alcohol use I mentioned April 12.

3. An open clinical trial was carried out in 2004 on eight healthy non-obese, young male volunteers who were given tequila, one shot daily. The tequila-specific study found a significant increase in their glucose concentration. This can lead to prediabetes: When a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be type 2 diabetes.  It is a potentially dangerous health condition leading to type 2 diabetes.

4. A single margarita can carry half of the daily calorie requirement (see related examiner article). Tequila consists of more calories than vodka, rum and whiskey. That's before the margarita mix. One mix claiming “all natural flavors” listed it's main ingredients as high-fructose corn syrup, citric acid, sugar, corn starch, etc., totaling 30 grams of sugars and 33 grams of carbs per 4 ounces. . . and who has seen a small margarita on Cinco de Mayo?
5. Cinco de Mayo has become one of the biggest drinking holidays in the United States, and one of the deadliest. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2011 — the latest year for which statistics were available — 35 percent of crash fatalities that occurred on May 5 were alcohol-related.


These health and safety risk are above and beyond the troubles of alcohol abuse and the disease of alcoholism.  With the holiday, any holiday, drinkers can and do find a way to drink.  Many are able to drink responsibly, which doesn't necessary mean "risk free."
www.alcohologist.com