But there's a panda, therefore your argument is invalid.
French Food? Do you like it?
- Thread starter Cujet
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But there's a panda, therefore your argument is invalid.
Everything I have read says that the claim, that moderate alcohol consumption has health benefits, is totally debunked. In fact, study after study, including those of the WHO, show that there is no level of alcohol consumption that does not have the risks associated with alcohol consumption, such as increased risk of cancer, liver disease, and, totally contrary to the claims to the opposite, cardiovascular disease.It may be no mystery. Americans are taught alcohol is the devil. And either avoid it or consume to excess.
Yet drinking a glass of wine is amazingly cardio-protective, and in fact is 'all-cause' protective.
There may be nothing else one can do that matches the protective power of the 7-14 grams of ethanol contained in one small glass of wine.
Studies that claimed that the health of the French show that moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial were flawed, and the low rate of heart disease in the French is due to other factors.
At least one study I saw found that the studies which claimed health benefits of wine were sponsored by the wine industry. Sound familiar to the studies sponsored by RJ Reynolds, back in the late 20th century?
My take as well
Yes, what I have seen also. There is no positive benefit of alcohol in any amount. Not against it - just saying.
The Europeans drink wine and are healthy. They also walk everywhere, seem to have low stress, keep their body weight in check, eat a lot of fresh not factory prepared food, and hence on average live longer.
They tend to eat less. I've know quite a few Europeans, and they described entrees in American restaurants as "American portions". In the US, it's often "finish your plate" while in Europe it's not considered rude to say you're full and stop eating.
There is quite a bit of heavily processed foods in Europe. But eating less overall is the key.
The energy share from UPFDs varied markedly across the 22 European countries included, ranging from 14 to 44%, being the lowest in Italy and Romania, while the highest in the UK and Sweden. An overall modest decrease (2–15%) in UPFDs consumption is observed over time, except for Finland, Spain and the UK reporting increases (3–9%). Fine bakery wares and soft drinks were most frequently ranked as the main contributor. Countries with a higher sugar intake reported also a higher energy share from UPFDs, as most clearly observed for UPF (r = 0.57, p value = 0.032 for men; and r = 0.53, p value = 0.061 for women). No associations with fibre intake or high BMI were observed.
And yet for middle aged people the cardiovascular benefits remain around 20%. Being as heart disease is the #1 killer for middle aged men and older, there is something to the French wine and long life observations.
Read the modern studies carefully. Alcohol is unhelpful to younger folks, those at risk for certain cancers and so on. But for certain men, in very small quantities, alcohol can be cardioprotective.
French Toast....thats about it for me....