Is wine endangering my health?

[fleurie]

Just wondering if anyone has concrete facts about adverse effects of wine on one's liver, etc. I am a woman and I know that the definition of "moderate" consumption for women is more moderate, let's say, than what I actually consume.

Maybe it's because of my French background, but for me, wine is always part of the evening meal (even if I'm eating alone). I generally have 1/2 bottle of wine a day, in the evening with dinner. This works out to a little over 3 drinks a day, I think. I.e.: too much, according to the guidelines...

I am in my early 30s and have been consuming wine at this general level for six or seven years. It has only started to seem worrisome, actually, because now I am recently divorced, so I sometimes have dinner alone now, but I still feel like a nice half-bottle of wine should be part of this (since I'm still making real food for myself, not eating out of a can or fast food restaurant, why shouldn't I continue accompanying it with wine?)

Should I try to cut down how much wine I have? Am I going to wake up one day with cirrhosis or discover I'm alcoholic?

[Innkeeper]

Hi Fleurie, and welcome to the Wine Board. Excessive amount of any alcoholic beverage can damage the liver. Moderate amounts usually don't unless there are outside factors. These can include any other free radicals rattling around in your body. These are tamed by antioxidants. We have a supplement available in this country that my wife's doctor has recommended to help this and protect her liver. It is called CoQ-10. She takes it in 60 mg tablets daily. Don't know if you have it in France, but would not recommend taking it without consulting a doctor.

[wondersofwine]

As far as developing into an alcoholic, if your consumption rate has been about the same for six or seven years, I would think your alcohol drinking is under control. An alcoholic, when they have one glass, find it hard to stop drinking, and would probably finish the bottle or pass out in the process.

[hotwine]

Half a bottle each evening with dinner hardly constitutes abuse in this crowd, where that rate is probably more or less the norm. Living in Paris, you probably get plenty of exercise, walking, climbing stairs, maybe running.... that all helps the body to tolerate moderate wine consumption. Unless you're four foot nothing and weigh only 75 lb, I don't think you have anything to worry about. But.... watch the waistline. Wine does have a calory count.

[Bucko]

A simple LFT (liver function test) will allay any fears ... or cause some.

There are a host of factors that can cause liver disease and alcohol can exacerbate many. This simple blood test takes away any guess work.

[fleurie]

Thank you for your helpful responses! Like I said, other changes in my life made me start questioning this aspect, which effectively has not changed over time... (And to answer your questions, yes, I am very active, always walking, and jogging most days, too.) I should hope I'm not alcoholic, but I wasn't sure about purely physical consequences of this constant amount... In any case, I've never heard of the liver drug, but perhaps I will see with my doctor. (The idea of a getting tests done frightens me a little, though, I must admit.)

[Zinner]

Doesn't sound troublesome to me, especially if you're active and experiencing no symptoms.

I'd just add to be sure to drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated.

[bridgehorse]

hi Fleurie! welcome to the group! this is a question i had asked this group on several occasions since i have been a member here since 2002 and i have received many good responses. i have done extensive research on my own via the internet and i must say that half a bottle of red wine is ok for a woman although they say a woman should not drink more than a glass a day and 2 for men. i drink a bottle in one sitting, sometimes a bottle/half since i was 16 years old and i am now 40 and i had my liver counts tested yearly and there is no damage. i still would like to keep it down to just one bottle and not go over that, but as the night prgresses it is hard to do that. i know i am not an alcoholic because i can stop at 2 drinks and sometimes do not feel the need to drink for weeks. also, i would like to mention another herb called 'MILK THISTLE' which is fabulous for the liver and alot better than co-enzyme q-10 which is mainly for heart not that much for the liver. i worked for years for a nutritionist and health care expert and i know alot about herbs..also try BEETS and asparagus for liver detox....also, you can also GOOGLE 'liver detox' and see what the results bring...the internet brings along a whole load of research on wine and liver...also, i would not worry about your half bottle with dinner, just drink it with food and water and everything should be fine...it has been fine now for you for 6-7 years, so i would not worry...

take care and good luck..keep drinking the red stuff and stay healthy...

dan white

[This message has been edited by bridgehorse (edited 05-07-2005).]