A Review on Alcohol Temperance in Health and Disease

Abstract

There is hardly a disagreement about the dangers of alcoholism ranging from addiction through cardiovascular disorders and cancers to death. But there seem to be conflicting science and sense on the effect of low to moderate intake of alcohol and abstinence in health and disease. Some earlier scientific reports maintain that moderate intake of alcoholic beverages is beneficial to health; seemingly more beneficial than total abstinence from imbibing in the habit. A number of researchers went further to classify the different forms of alcoholic beverages and their effect on health at moderate intake. There exists a near general agreement on the health benefit of taking red wine in moderation; which was attributed to bioflavonoids and antioxidants used in the preparation of red wine and not the alcoholic medium of delivery. This logically suggests that these antioxidants can elicit the same benefit as supplements without alcohol. Individual variations are seen to exist in alcohol intake and handling; and genes can also act differently in people of different races and genders, further influencing whether someone is predisposed to addiction. This review appraises some scientific reports on the intake of alcoholic beverages, with emphasis on low to moderate levels, from limitless resource in all accessible internet databases.