Alcohol Risks and Benefits: What Does Beer and Wine Do to the Body?

Scientists discovered that drinking red wine is associated with having lower levels of visceral fat. These, Brittany Larsen, a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience said, are some of the key takeaways of a study her colleagues and she published in a journal.

A ScienceAlert specified that drinking spirits and beers are associated with elevated levels of visceral fat, the harmful fat type that's linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, metaboilc syndrome, as well as other health complications, while drinking wine shows no link to levels of this hazardous fat and may even be protective against it, relying on the type of wine drunk.

Even though white wine consumption did not affect levels of visceral fat, the research indeed shows that consuming white wine in moderation might provide its own unique health benefit for older adults and that's having denser bones.

The researchers also found higher bone mineral density among older adults who consumed white wine in moderation in their research. More so, they did not find the same connection between red wine or beer consumption and bone mineral density.

Link Type of Alcoholic Drink and Body Composition

The study depended on a large-scale longitudinal database known as the UK Biobank. In the study published in the journal, Obesity Science & Practice, the researchers analyzed more than 1,800 white adults aged between 14 and 49 years old who reported alcohol, demographic, lifestyle, and dietary factors through a touchscreen questionnaire.

Then, they collected weight, height, and blood specimens from every participant and attained body composition information with the use of a direct measure of body composition known as dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.

The study investigators then used a statistical program to investigate the relationships between the types of alcoholic beverages and the composition of the body.

Heightened Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Decreased Bone Density

Frequently, aging is accompanied by a rise in the problematic fat that can result in heightened cardiovascular disease risk and a decline in bone mineral density.

This has essential health significance given that almost 75 percent of adults in the United States are considered obese or overweight.

Having higher body fat levels has been consistently associated with an increased risk for obtaining many different diseases which include cardiovascular disease, some types of cancer, and a higher death risk.

Considering such trends, it is essential for researchers to evaluate all potential contributors to weight gain in order for them to find out how to fight the problem.

Probable Dangers and Benefits of Alcohol

Essentially, alcohol has long been regarded as one probable driving factor for the obesity epidemic. Yet the public is frequently hearing conflicting information about the potential dangers and benefits of alcohol.

The study investigators, therefore, said they hoped to help in the untangling of some of the said factors through the research.

What is still unknown is that there are lots of biological and environmental factors contributing to being obese or overweight.

Consuming alcohol may be one factor although there are other research studies that have not shown a clear association between alcohol consumption and weight gain.

Alcohol Drinking and Cognitive Impairment

According to The Conversation, where this report originally first came out, "one reason for the inconsistencies in the literature" could stem from the fact that a big portion of the past research has customarily treated alcohol as a single entity instead of separately measuring the effects of Champagne red wine, cider, beer, and spirits.

Yet, even when broken down in this manner, the study has gained mixed messages. For instance, waist-to-hip ratio, while another research concluded that, after a month of drinking beer moderately, healthy adults did not experience any substantial weight gain.

Consequently, the study investigators aimed to tease out further the unique risks and benefits that are linked to each type of alcohol.

The next steps will be to investigate how diet, which includes consuming alcohol, could influence diseases of the brain and cognition in the elderly who have mild cognitive impairment.

Related information about the effects of alcohol drinking on the brain and body is shown on Tech Insider's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Alcohol in Science Times.