Category Archives: Alcohol Consumption and Behavior

Medical Advice Reduces Alcohol Consumption Levels in Risky & Binge Drinkers

Sometimes doing what the doctor recommends is not always the easiest thing. Many of us have certainly been there: “lose a little

Photo by Flickr user Vic (https://www.flickr.com/photos/59632563@N04/6104068209)
Photo by Flickr user Vic (https://www.flickr.com/photos/59632563@N04/6104068209)

weight”, “stop smoking”, “cut down on your drinking”, etc. Easier said than done! Just how effective are these requests from doctors in actually improving our health and well-being?

A new study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of medical advice to risky drinkers or binge drinkers in reducing alcohol consumption.

5735 American adults (aged 18-99) considered to be risky or binge drinkers were found and analyzed using the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Annual Survey Data. For each participant, it was determined if they were given advice from a medical professional to cut back (or stop) drinking and compared to actual consumption levels after being given this advice.

Important Findings:

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Moderate Alcohol Consumption Increases High Fat and Savory Food Intake

One of the understood reasons why wine and alcohol in general are good complements to a meal is that it has been shown to stimulate short-term food intake. While is it is not known what exactly causes

Photo by Flickr user  Monica Kelly (https://www.flickr.com/photos/melancholypear/4528608020)
Photo by Flickr user Monica Kelly (https://www.flickr.com/photos/melancholypear/4528608020)

this increase in food intake after alcohol consumption, there are several theories. First, it is possible the consumption of alcohol reduces the signals that tell the stomach that it is full. Second, alcohol consumption could trigger an increase in reward signaling of food (in other words, telling the brain that “ooo that food is really good for you!”, when in fact it may not be).

A new study published in the journal Appetite aimed to study the effect of alcohol consumption on food intake and to gain a better understanding of the mechanism behind this phenomenon.

24 healthy men were recruited for this study and were randomly assigned to consume either a vodka/orange juice mixture (20g alcohol; considered “moderate” levels) or orange juice without the alcohol. After consuming the beverage, participants were asked to either eat 40 gram piece cake or “pretend” to eat cake. Known as “modified sham feeding”, those participants asked to “pretend” to eat the cake had to put the cake in their mouths, process/chew it per the study instructions, and then spit it back out into a cup without actually swallowing any of it. Those asked to eat the cake did the same processing/chewing procedure, but actually swallowed the cake instead of spitting it out.

The food reward was determined by the amount of food ingested during a lunch 45 minutes after the alcohol/cake intervention. Foods were categorized as being high fat, low fat, savory, and sweet. Participant “liking” and “wanting” of these food categories was also recorded.

Important Findings:

Continue reading Moderate Alcohol Consumption Increases High Fat and Savory Food Intake

Low-Level Alcohol Consumption Affects Brain Function in Young Adults: MRI Study Results

Heavy alcohol consumption in young adolescents whose brains are

Photo by Flickr user Mike Burns (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike-burns/7459858)
Photo by Flickr user Mike Burns (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike-burns/7459858)

still developing has been shown to have negative effects on cognitive function, showing damage to be permanent, particularly in the areas of the brain responsible for “executive functioning” or working memory, reasoning, task management, and other cognitive functions.

While most studies tend to focus on heavy or binge drinking, few have focused primarily on low to moderate amounts of alcohol and effects on the younger adult brain.

A new study published in the journal Alcohol aimed to determine the effect of low-level alcohol consumption in young adults on cognitive counting-stroop-test-french-paradoxprocessing, using novel fMRI methods.

This study used data from 29 young adults enrolled in a 20 year from birth through young adulthood cohort. Participants did not do drugs and they did not suffer from any cognitive development issues. The number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week was determined for each participant using questionnaires.

To be sure participants were not under the influence of drugs or alcohol before

Photo courtesy nature.com
Counting Stroop Test:   Photo courtesy nature.com

the MRI procedure, urine tests were performed.

During the MRI procedure, the Counting Stroop cognitive test was performed.

Important Findings:

Continue reading Low-Level Alcohol Consumption Affects Brain Function in Young Adults: MRI Study Results

Greatest Risk of Stroke Seen in Those Downing Two or More Drinks Per Day

I read a headline this morning reading: “one glass of wine increases stroke risk by 1/3”.

With all the positive benefits of wine we see in the research, could it really be that one glass of wine just so happens to also cause us harm by increasing our stroke risk by 1/3?

I wanted to take a moment to clear up the ACTUAL results, and to

Photo By Blausen Medical Communications, Inc. (Donated via OTRS, see ticket for details) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Photo By Blausen Medical Communications, Inc. (Donated via OTRS, see ticket for details) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
provide you with the results of this new study in the journal Stroke, instead of scare-mongering you in the headline with something that is misleading or inaccurate.

It is important to note that the population involved in this study was middle aged individuals who were followed over a period of 43 years until either their death or old age.

One Media Headline I Read: “One glass of wine increases stroke risk by 1/3”. A similar alternative headline read; “One large glass of wine increases stroke risk by 1/3”.

ACTUAL Results:

Continue reading Greatest Risk of Stroke Seen in Those Downing Two or More Drinks Per Day

Negative Drinking Consequences Do Not Alter Readiness to Change Behaviors in Young Adults: Is Peer Pressure King?

Consequences of drinking in general promote very mixed messages. First off, moderate consumption of alcohol (specifically, wine) is often touted as being beneficial to one’s health and is frequently encouraged. Drinking too much, on the other hand, is discouraged

Photo by Flickr user Ben Lesser (http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlesser/2154632525)
Photo by Flickr user Ben Lesser (http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlesser/2154632525)

across the board due to potential harm to oneself or others.

How do these behaviors affect one’s “readiness to change” consumption habits? I can certainly relate to when I was in college and how after a night or two of debauchery I swore up and down I would never drink that much again.

A new study, published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, focused on drinking behavior of young adults, and how these behaviors affect their “readiness to change” alcohol consumption habits.

Continue reading Negative Drinking Consequences Do Not Alter Readiness to Change Behaviors in Young Adults: Is Peer Pressure King?