Could Alcohol Protect You From Colds?
It’s generally believed that alcohol may help to temporarily relieve cold and flu symptoms – how many times have you heard brandy, whiskey, or wine recommended as “just the thing” to treat a cold. And recent reports suggest that alcohol could make you less likely to become ill in the first place!
In 1993, a study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon found that moderate drinkers had increased resistance to colds. A second study conducted in 2002, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, also found protective effects of alcohol: in the study of 4,300 adults, those who drank eight to fourteen glasses of wine per week (red wine in particular) had up to a 60 percent reduced risk of developing a cold. The researchers suggested that the wine’s antioxidant content might have been responsible for the beneficial effect.
The media has been splattered with red wine in recent years, reporting high levels of antioxidants and positive effects on cholesterol levels.
We all know the downsides of drinking alcohol. As most of us are painfully aware, drinking too much alcohol in the short term produces side effects – the hangover. This is caused by acetaldehyde (a chemical that alcohol breaks down into), which has toxic effects on many tissues and organs in the body and can also cause mental and emotional disturbances. Alcohol is also a neurotoxin – it can poison your brain; it can cause serious disruptions to your hormone balance; it contains a lot of sugar; and it has been linked with several types of cancer. So, of course, we should drink in moderation.
The real question – and the bone of contention – is: do some alcoholic beverages really contain unique medicinal properties? Or is it wishful thinking?
Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant that is found in berries of many varieties (including the skins of grapes). Aside from being an antioxidant, resveratrol lowers your “bad” LDL cholesterol while raising “good” HDL cholesterol; and it decreases the production of a protein that plays a major role in the development of heart disease. Resveratrol was also found to extend the life span of yeast cells by up to 80 percent, and researchers are hoping to prove that the molecules will have similar effects on worms, fruit flies and even humans.
The presence of grape skins (and so resveratrol) puts red wine into a family of compounds known as polyphenols, which combat damaging free radicals in your body. But this is only applicable for red wine, as the amount of resveratrol in white wine and other liquors is minimal or non-existent. The reason that alcohol in general has been linked with health benefits is that it positively impacts your absorption of resveratrol. But clearly that has little benefit unless you happen to be eating berries while you drink.
While there are clearly negative consequences to consuming alcohol of any kind, red wine does get high levels of resveratrol into your blood where it performs its magic. So if you drink red wine, rest assured that there is some good; but of course the media headlines do not always reflect a balanced analysis of the facts.
The real key to improving your immune system – and limiting the damaging effects of alcohol consumption – is to make small but consistent changes to the dietary and lifestyle habits that really matter.