The hidden health risks of that extra drink
“It’s quarter to 3 and there’s no one in the place, but you and me … One for my baby and one more for the road.” That’s the chorus of the hit song “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road),” originally performed by Fred Astaire in the 1943 movie “The Sky’s the Limit,” and popularized by Frank Sinatra in the 1950s.
The supposed coolness of that attitude toward drinking and driving is hard to accept these days — and getting harder all the time. According to a new study published in Lancet, the current U.S. guidelines for moderate drinking (one a day for women, two for men) threaten your health by upping your risk for stroke, heart failure, fatal aortic aneurysms, fatal hypertensive disease, heart failure and a shortened life expectancy.
Researchers looked at the health and drinking habits of 600,000 people in 19 countries and found that the upper limit for drinking without shortening your lifespan is five drinks weekly. If you’re having 10 or more drinks a week, that is associated with living for one to two fewer years, while downing 18 or more alcoholic beverages weekly is linked to living four or five fewer years. Now, this data conflicts with much data accumulated in prior years, so we really don’t know the optimal amount to drink for your lowest risk of disability and death.
Bottom line? An extra drink or two before you hit the road (always in a cab!) may make you cooler in a way you don’t want to be!
You can overcome a genetic predisposition to heart disease
The 2007 “Nova” episode “The Ghost in Your Genes,” delivered big news: Your DNA contains chemical markers that allow genes to be turned on and off, meaning that, at least for some inherited characteristics, you’re not condemned to their preprogrammed influence. That was dubbed “epigenetics,” and it’s now widely acknowledged that a person’s lifestyle choices can turn off some harmful predispositions for health problems. (The opposite is true, too. You can cause genetic switches to get thrown that create health problems — obesity does that — and then pass those problems on to future generations.)
In one recent study on the power of smart lifestyle choices to dismiss genetically predisposed health problems, researchers looked at data from almost half a million men and women who didn’t have current heart problems, but who had a family or genetic history of heart disease. The researchers found that regular exercise (we say that’s 10,000 steps a day, plus two days a week of strength training and a minimum of 150 minutes a week of aerobics) lowered participants’ risk for heart problems.
A strong (instead of weak) grip lowered participants’ risk of coronary heart disease by 36 percent and of atrial fibrillation by 46 percent. Furthermore, high fitness levels were linked to a 49 percent lower risk for coronary heart disease and a 60 percent lower risk for atrial fibrillation.
So if your relatives had heart woes, start an exercise regimen (get your doc’s OK) and upgrade your diet, too, so it’s plant-lovin’ and eliminates highly processed foods, red meats and added sugars.
Question: What is radon? We’re looking to buy a house, and I hear that I should know about it. — Jeremy K., Minneapolis
A: You heard right, Jeremy. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is emitted from rocks and dirt. It’s produced from the decay of uranium found in nearly all soils. Undetectable by taste, sight or smell, radon exposure is most dangerous when it concentrates indoors. When inhaled, it can damage your lungs.
It’s estimated that for about 20 percent of all lung cancer patients
(those who have never smoked), overexposure to radon is the cause. In the U.S., it’s estimated that around 20,000 cases of lung cancer deaths annually are caused by radon.
One out of every 15 houses in suburban America is thought to have unacceptably high radon levels. It can be in your home whether it’s old or new, well sealed or drafty, with or without a basement. The good news is that it can be removed by installing a vent, but you first need to test for it.
Everyone should have levels in their home tested once, then again after remediation, if it is needed — and certainly before moving into a new residence. Minnesotans are at a slightly higher risk of radon exposure than people in other states in the U.S., so Jeremy, you should contact the Minnesota Department of Health at www.health. state.mn.us and have your home tested. Anyone can go to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website (www.epa.gov) to find a test kit or to hire a professional to come to their home and do the test.
The test consists of placing a sensor in the home, usually in your basement, for three to 90 days, then either sending it to a lab or having your professional tester come back and read the results. The test can run around $250, and a remedial venting system can run from $800 to $1,500, — a small price to pay (or have the seller pay) for your family’s long-term health.
Q: I’m thinking about going on a paleo diet. I know it’s high in protein, but is there a downside to it? — Carmen G., Indianapolis
A: There are many downsides to that diet; the most glaring is that you end up eating a lot of saturated fat and inflammatory peptides like carnitine, lecithin and choline found in red meats (grass-fed or otherwise), egg yolks and cheese. These change the bacteria in your gut, making them produce inflammatory stuff in your intestines. You then absorb that into your bloodstream, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and dementia, not to mention wrinkles and impotence. Plus, you’re eliminating fiber- and polynutrient-filled whole grains, essential for the health of your gut biome. So unless your plan is to only live to about 35 years, may we suggest another route?
Homo sapiens started living longer when they switched to a plant-based diet that provides healthful poly- and monounsaturated fats.
Plant fats are mostly long-chain fatty acids found in foods like avocados and walnuts that are also rich in polyphenols. If you want to eat animal proteins, we suggest salmon and sea trout: They get their omega-3 fatty acid content from the algae they eat!
The paleo diet does tell you to avoid trans fats, highly processed foods, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and excess sugar, and we agree. But if you’ve been reading our columns or books, or watching “The Dr. Oz Show,” you’d know we’re fans of the Mediterranean diet, which is plant-based with lots of olive oil and lean meat and fish used as small side dishes. A recent study found that people who had impaired glucose metabolism and ate fatty fish (with long-chain omega-3 fatty acids), saw improvement in their glucose metabolism and a boost in healthy HDL cholesterol levels.
So stick with fish, skinless poultry and a plantbased diet, Carmen, and you’ll emerge from your cave a healthier, happier sapien.