Tag: alcohol

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Be Safe, Do Not Drink and Drive

Alcoholic drink and car keys. (iStockphoto)
Alcoholic drink and car keys. (iStockphoto)

Drivers, here is a recipe for disaster: drugs, alcohol, not wearing a seat belt and speeding.

The highest rate of impaired driving is amongst young drivers aged 19 to 24. This accounts for 56 per cent of all reported criminal incidents.

The rate of impaired driving is at its worse at age 21 and relatively constant for 25 to 44 year olds. Seniors aged 65 years and older have the lowest rates. Statistics show impaired driving was a factor in almost 50 per cent of all incidents causing death.

Here are some other statistics:

-Every 22 minutes someone dies in an alcohol-related motor vehicle accident.

-There is a 200 per cent chance that you or someone in your family will either cause, or be an innocent victim to, a drunk driving accident.

-A lot of young people (15 to 24 ages) are dying before they get old. These are tragic, meaningless deaths.

-In a single year, 522 children under the age of 14 were arrested for driving while intoxicated, (113 of them were under 10 years old).

Driving under the influence of alcohol is the single risk factor for motor-vehicle-related incidents and injury. It is about time we crack down on irresponsible teenagers and adults who drink and drive. Alberta is now in tune with B.C., Ontario and six other provinces in passing laws which will lower the legal limit for blood-alcohol concentration from 0.08 to 0.05 per cent.

If you are caught drunk driving then you may pay a steep fine, lose your license and have your car impounded – all before you set foot in court. So, be warned.

The new legislation in Alberta soon after four teens were killed by an alleged drunk driver just south of Grande Prairie. A 21-year-old Grande Prairie, Alta., man was to face a slew of alcohol-related charges in a devastating crash that left four teens dead and one in serious condition. Matthew Deller, 16, Vincent Stover, 16, Walter Borden-Wilkens, 15, and Tanner Hildebrand, 15, all of Grande Prairie, were killed.
Speeding and not wearing a seat belt are other causes of fatalities on our roads. Again the majority of culprits are kids in their 20s or younger. Six months ago, citing a lack of evidence, cops in Calgary released a 21-year-old driver involved in a high-speed rollover that killed his younger brother and girlfriend.

The original charge included impaired driving. The crash happened shortly before midnight on a Sunday on Stoney Trail at McKnight Blvd. N.E. Two of the five people on board, the driver’s 16-year-old girlfriend and his 20-year-old brother, were not wearing seatbelts and were thrown from the car. They were taken to hospital where both later died.

Few months ago, the town of Magrath, Alta. was in mourning after four teens were killed in a horrific crash on a Sunday. The four – Clay Card, 16, Renzo Dainard, 16, Danae Gough, 14, and Jorden Miller 14 – were in a vehicle that left the road east of Magrath, about 240 km southwest of Calgary, landing upside down and partially submerged in a creek. According to the local Mounties, speed and driver inexperience probably caused the crash.

The holiday season is here. Drinking and partying is part of the Christmas and New Year celebrations. If you drink then don’t drive. If the party is in a hotel then book a room and stay there. Otherwise, take a cab or have somebody (who is not drinking) to drive you home. Wear a seat belt and do not speed.

Have a wonderful, safe Christmas and holiday season and Happy New Year. This column will return in January, 2012.

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Inflammation of the Pancreas Should Not be Ignored

In the last column we discussed about pancreatic cancer. Today, we will briefly discuss inflammation of the pancreas which can be serious too.

The pancreas lies in the upper abdomen behind the stomach. Its function is to produce digestive enzymes and hormones such as insulin.

Pancreatitis is a chemical inflammation of the pancreas caused by its own digestive enzymes. Pancreatitis has two forms: acute and chronic.

Most common causes of pancreatitis are gallstones and alcohol abuse. Sometimes no cause can be found. That leaves the patient and the doctor frustrated.

Patients with acute pancreatitis present with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and a rapid pulse. The diagnosis is made by a blood test to measure blood level of enzyme lipase. All pancreatitis patients require intravenous fluids, oxygen and pain killers to stabilize their condition. If the condition is due to gallstones then the patient will need surgical removal of the gallbladder.

An abdominal ultrasound is taken to look for gallstones and a CAT (computerized axial tomography) scan to look for inflammation or destruction of the pancreas. CAT scans are also useful in detecting cyst formation in the pancreas.

In about 20 percent of cases, acute pancreatitis can be severe, with many complications. Severe cases may cause dehydration and low blood pressure and the condition may become life threatening. The vital organs such as heart, lungs, or kidneys may fail. If bleeding occurs in the pancreas, shock and sometimes even death follow.

Chronic pancreatitis can present as episodes of acute inflammation in a previously damaged pancreas. There is intermittent or persistent abdominal pain. The chronic destruction of pancreatic tissue causes malabsorption of fat and diabetes.

Chronic pancreatitis is most often caused by alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Sometimes the cause of chronic pancreatitis cannot be determined. But any condition that causes repeated episodes of acute pancreatitis may result in chronic pancreatitis.

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What are the health benefits of drinking red wine?

“Wine, madam, is God’s next best gift to man,” said Ambrose Bierce, an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer and satirist.

A Bishop of Seville is said to have said, “I have enjoyed great health at a great age because every day since I can remember I have consumed a bottle of wine except when I have not felt well. Then I have consumed two bottles.”

Red wine has been part of human culture, serving dietary and socio-religious functions for more than 6,000 years. In the last few years, more research has been done to study the effect of alcohol on health. Especially, the cardio-vascular protective effect of red wine has been studied extensively. This is nicely summarised in an article I read in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS March 2005).

In the last 30 years, scientists have found inverse relationship between red wine consumption and death rate from coronary artery disease (CAD) in 18 different European and American countries. This led to the term French Paradox, because in France people eat food containing high amount of saturated fats (causes thickening of arteries) but their death rate from CAD is low.

Research has shown that consumption of red wine at a level comparable to that of France (0.7 to 1.1 ounces of alcohol per day) can indeed reduce the risk of CAD  by preventing arteriosclerosis (thickening of the arteries). It is now widely accepted that regular, moderate intake of any alcoholic beverages (1.1 to 1.8 ounces/day of alcohol) can also decrease the risk of CAD by at least 40 per cent.

You do not have to drink every day. Investigators have found the consumption of alcohol at least three to four days per week reduced the occurrence of heart attack. This was observed even in people with a limited consumption of 0.35 to 0.42 ounces/day of alcohol, which is the equivalent of one drink. But this comes with a warning – high consumption of alcohol can lead to increased sickness and death.

The question the researchers are asking – what is it in red wine which prevents or delays thickening of the arteries?

There are a number of components of red wine that could have beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system. Alcohol, which is present in up to 15 per cent of the volume of red wine, is one of them, says JACS article.

Red wine also contains a wide variety of polyphenols, most of which derive from grape solids (skin and seeds). A number of advantageous properties that help counteract arteriosclerosis have been attributed to polyphenols. Red wine’s “polyphenolic aid” inhibits oxidation of human LDL (bad cholesterol)

The article says red wine has shown to increase HDLs (good cholesterol), reduce clotting of blood and enhance relaxation of blood vessels. Is red wine better than other alcoholic beverages in preventing or delaying thickening of the blood vessels?

The authors say that the exact mechanism of red wine’s cardio-protection is not fully elucidated. The effect of alcohol on the cardiovascular system is varied and complex. Nonetheless, multiple studies have shown that in comparison to other alcoholic beverages such as spirits, beer, and white wine, red wines the most beneficial in reducing the risks of CAD and mortality in general.

It appears that the higher the presence of phenolic compounds in the alcoholic beverage better the effect on preventing or delaying CAD. A typical commercial bottle of red wine contains approximately 1.8 g/L of total polyphenols; a typical bottle of white wine contains only about 0.2 to 0.3 g/L of total polyphenols. So the total amount of polyphenols found in a glass of red wine is about 200 mg in comparison to only 30 mg in a glass of white wine.

Enjoy your red wine, but in moderation. The aim is to have good health and happiness.

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A Weakness for Alcohol can be Dangerous

Alcohol has been used and abused for generations. Previous attempts to make alcohol drinking illegal have failed miserably. There is a constant desire to use alcohol by humans who drink it for various reasons.

Most of us are well aware that alcohol can cause momentary lapse of judgment which can result in acts of irresponsibility. Sometimes this results in loss of limb or life.

Small amount of alcohol (one to two drinks) intake per day is known to reduce sickness and death from coronary artery disease. It makes the blood thinner and reduces the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Excessive abuse of alcohol causes cirrhosis of liver, liver failure and pancreatitis. These are very serious conditions. It can cause gastritis and bleeding which can be life threatening if not brought under control immediately. On a long term basis it causes cancer of the esophagus, breast and other cancers.

Alcohol is very heavy in useless calories. Alcohol abuse during pregnancy causes fetal alcohol syndrome in the new born.

Alcoholism is considered a disease. It is a compulsive addictive behavior. About 10 per cent of the population is addicted to it. Alcohol is a drug with complex behavioral effects. It causes traffic or work related accidents. It is a major cause of death and disability. It destroys a person’s personal life, family life and capacity to earn a decent living.

Unfortunately, the good side of alcohol is sometimes abused by individuals who get addicted to it. Therefore physicians are reluctant to encourage or promote alcohol as a panacea for major health problems.

Critics of alcohol use say that much of the protective effect gained from alcohol use in coronary artery disease can be achieved by other means – exercise, diet, avoiding smoking and control of cholesterol level.

We can maintain a happy and healthy life style without the use of alcohol. And finally, there are many economic advantages in not using alcohol. So save money, avoid useless calories and remain sane by not drinking alcohol.

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