Is alcohol healthy? Does a glass of wine help our cardiovascular system? Does beer help us rehydrate? I’m sorry to say no. For years we have been led to believe that this is so, but there is nothing true in all this.

Neither a glass of wine a day nor a beer after practicing sports is going to benefit your health, at all. Quite the opposite.

I have decided to write about alcohol as a result of a headline that I read in El País, which said: “Most Europeans multiply their risk of cancer by drinking alcohol . ” I leave the link because it is worth taking a look.

Why is alcohol unhealthy?

Plain and simple because it kills. Maybe when you read this you decide to close the page and look away, but if you want to know the truth, keep reading. We have been led to believe that alcohol is healthy, they have attributed many benefits to it, but they are all unfounded, there is no scientific evidence to support those claims.

The WHO summarized the alcohol-health relationship as follows: alcohol is teratogenic, neurotoxic, addictive, immunosuppressive, harmful to the cardiovascular system, carcinogenic, and increases the risk of death.

In a report published by the UEG (United European Gastroenterology) it  warns:

• The simple consumption of two alcoholic drinks a day increases by 21% the options of suffering from colorectal cancer, among other types .
• A simple alcoholic drink a day already increases the risk of esophageal cancer .
• Taking two to four is already linked to seven types of digestive cancer .

Aside from the more than 200 diseases and disorders and all types of cancers that are related to alcohol, many lives are also taken for other reasons. Innocent lives.

Lives of the road. Not only does alcohol harm oneself, it can harm, even kill, many innocent people.

Some more facts about alcohol

• Every year 3.3 million deaths occur in the world due to the harmful use of alcohol, which represents 5.9% of all deaths.
• Harmful use of alcohol is a causal factor in more than 200 diseases and disorders.
• Overall, 5.1% of the global burden of disease and injury is attributable to alcohol consumption, calculated in terms of disability-adjusted life expectancy (DAL).
• Alcohol use causes death and disability at a relatively young age. In the age group 20 to 39 years, 25% of deaths are attributable to alcohol consumption.
• There is a causal relationship between the harmful use of alcohol and a number of mental and behavioral disorders, in addition to non-communicable diseases and injuries.
• Recently, causal relationships have been determined between harmful use and the incidence of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV / AIDS.
• Beyond the health consequences, the harmful use of alcohol causes significant social and economic losses, both for individuals and for society as a whole.

Where does this belief come from?

It has been the big industry that has made us believe in the benefits of alcohol. They have used their tricks and strategies to make us believe that having a glass of wine a day or drinking a beer is healthy, that it is even better than water.

It is not necessary to see more than the advertising of them, where they use celebrities to promote these drinks . Heroes for the little ones encouraging them that if they drink alcohol they will succeed as they have done.

Then there is the “French paradox” , which I personally think is the one that did the most damage. Sure you know what I’m talking about. They attributed healthy properties to wine (protective effects against cardiovascular diseases) because the French, despite consuming high amounts of saturated fat, did not suffer from cardiovascular events.

But this attribution was quickly disproved with numerous studies, and it was not difficult, as there was no scientific backing behind it, only some observational study.

Another reason is those isolated studies and tests that measure the activity of a few compounds in wine . What good is it that the wine has powerful antioxidants or reveratrol if as a whole it is not a healthy one due to the alcohol it contains?

Finally, we have institutions (the SENC for example) that still recommend occasional, moderate and responsible consumption and even attribute benefits to them.

So I don’t blame you. I do not blame you for thinking it is healthy or for doubting it, but I do blame you for consuming it. It is only enough to inform you and contrast information. Alcohol is harmful, no matter where you look.

Beyond alcohol itself

In addition to alcohol, which is the most alarming thing about these drinks, we have the calories they provide . These calories are added to those that we consume with the diet so eliminating their consumption will help us not only to improve our long-term health, but also the risk of being overweight and / or obese . Needless to say when they are taken accompanied by sugary drinks such as cola or lemon soft drinks, tonics, etc.

According to a report by the Spanish Nutrition Foundation, 4.9% of the calories eaten daily in our country come from alcohol . It is a considerable figure, especially when compared to the energy we take from legumes (1.4%).

Here you have the approximate calories (may vary depending on the brand) of some alcoholic beverages, so you can see the extra calories you consume. Remember that not all of them consume them alone or in these quantities, calculate well:

• Cava or champagne (one glass, 100 ml): 71 Kcal.
• Lager beer (individual bottle of 320 ml, “medium”): 105 Kcal.
• Liquors (a “shot”, 40 ml): 90 Kcal.
• Sangria (one glass, 150 ml): 107 Kcal.
• Vermouth (one glass, 100 ml): 139 Kcal.
• White wine (one glass, 100 ml): 70 Kcal.
• Red wine (one glass, 100 ml): 63 Kcal.
• Vodka (one glass, 50 ml): 117 Kcal.
• Whiskey (one glass, 50 ml): 119 Kcal.
• Gin (one glass, 50 ml): 111 Kcal.
• Rum (one glass, 50 ml): 117 Kcal.