On the other hand, women are supposed not to drink as much as men. The fact points out that men’s bodies have more water than women’s, which causes them to get drunk more easily (“Alcohol: The Whole Truth” 61). Women will have higher risk to develop breast cancers if they drink beyond the limit (60). Hence, how to drink in moderation for women is important. For women, they can drink one time a day if they are post-menopausal ; young women should avoid drinking more than three time a week. Most important of all, women in pregnancy or who suckle their babies should avoid drinking (“Alcohol: Spirit of Health” 40). For men, although they can enjoy more alcohol than women, they still have to consult doctors regularly in order to keep in good health while drinking. It is a safe and good way of protecting their bodies (“Alcohol: Spirit of Health” 40).
Most importantly, some people must avoid drinking if they have physical ailments. For example, it is dangerous for chronic patients to take medicine with alcohol, which may cause a negative reaction in their bodies (“Alcohol: Spirit of Health” 40). “ If you have liver disease, abnormal heart rhythms, a previous hemorrhagic stroke, peptic ulcers, gout, pancreatities, or high triglyceride levels [you should stay clear of alcohol]” (40).
In addition, people may wonder about which kinds of alcohol are better for their health. According to the article, “Wine, beer, liquor benefit the heart,” people can get benefits from alcohol no matter what kinds of alcohol they choose. “ Drinking one-half drink or two drinks－regardless of the type of alcohol－per day reduces the risk of a heart attack by 45 percent”(380). Most medical researchers emphasize the goodness of red wine; however, other information states that beer also helps people’s health. In the article, “New study ties moderate beer drinking to lower heart attack risk,” notes “A beer a day may help keep heart attacks away”(3). In other words, researchers think that people will improve the level of HDL in their blood and lower the chance of blood clots when they are drinking beer moderately. However, people may be curious how scientists experimented to prove that beer is good for the heart. According to researchers form the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, they experimented with two different groups. One group was given beer, and the other water. The people in the groups ate the same kinds of food in the time allotted. The men were among middle or old age and had a common physical problem－heart disease. After a long period of observation, researchers found that people in the group drinking beer raised the level of HDL and antioxidants which both prevent the risk of heart attacks. On the contrary, researchers found there were no positive changes in the non-beer-drinking group (3). Thus, people should understand the positive benefits of beer.
By the same token, red wine also plays an important role in people’s health. The information notes that there is a specific chemical component, which is called flavonoid, that serves as an antioxidant to prevent heart attacks and blood clots (“Alcohol: Spirit of Health” 39). In other words, red wine decreases the risk of heart disease. Another testimony notes a new finding on flavonoid in the red wine. Some researchers actually have proven aspirin can lower platelet activity, which is good for people’s hearts. Similarly, flavonoids also have the same curative effects. However, Adrenaline, which is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands, can make aspirin eliminate its good influence for heart, but flavonoids won’t be affected by adrenaline (“Wine, beer, liquor benefit the heart” 380). In addition, red wine includes more antioxidants than other sorts of alcohol (“Wine, beer, liquor benefit the heart” 61)
Similarly, people still can get another good advantage when they are drinking alcohol even though they neither drink red wine nor beer (“Alcohol: Spirit of Health” 37). When people drink alcohol, alcohol helps peoples’ bodies raise the level of HDL, which is a kind of good cholesterol. HDL is high-density lipoprotein that can prevent coronary diseases (“Alcohol: Spirit of Health” 37). There is a saying proving the point, “The more years you’ve been drinking moderately, the greater the coronary benefit from HDL boost” (“Alcohol: The Whole Truth” 60). In addition, comparing moderate drinkers with nondrinkers, the study shows that moderate drinkers have a higher percent of HDL than abstainers (“Alcohol: Spirit of Health” 37). On the other hand, peoples’ bodies will lower the level of insulin, which is good for their heart when they drink. In other words, the less insulin people have, the more HDL they will have. Moreover, insulin also possibly raises the risk of developing hypertension and heart disease (37). Because alcohol has improved the level of insulin in people’s bodies, it can also reduce the level of blood sugar. Therefore, people will possibly be able to lower the risk of diabetes if they reduce high blood sugar levels (37).
Nevertheless, people usually hear some incorrect information about alcohol’s dangers for women, because women may possibly have a higher chance of developing breast cancer while drinking. On the contrary, some researchers’ experiments have challenged this point. According to the article, “ Moderate drinking may benefit post-menopausal women,” women can prevent coronary disease if they drink properly (8). From a researchers’ observation, women who drink alcohol moderately have increased the level of paraoxonase and HDL; the study shows that women can also reduce the risk of developing heart diseases as often as men do (8). In addition, in an article, “ Alcohol linked to decreased hypertension risk in young women,” women who are moderate drinkers have lower blood pressure than nondrinkers. The study concludes, “Women who drink about two or three drinks a week had a risk of developing hypertension about 15% lower than that of nondrinkers” (18). On the other hand, women will be associated with hypertension and stroke if they are heavy drinkers. To sum up, as long as women can follow doctors’ suggestions carefully, they also can enjoy alcohol happily and healthily.
In conclusion, people can live longer and happier lives with alcohol, because there are so many benefits from it. However, people who were previous nondrinkers, and want to keep in good health by drinking, must ask and follow the experts’ advice. Most important of all, besides drinking alcohol, people are also supposed to eat nutritious food and exercise regularly to maintaintheir health. Therefore, they can relax themselves and receive the many benefits from drinking alcohol moderately.
Bibliography
“Alcohol Linked to Decreased Hypertension Risk in Young Women.”
Heart Disease Weekly 7 Apr. 2002: 18-19.
“ Alcohol: Spirit of Health?” Consumer Reports on Health 8.4
(Apr. 1996): 38-40.
“ Alcohol: The Whole Truth.” Consumer Reports 64.12
(Dec. 1999): 60-61.
“ Moderate Drinking may Benefit Post-menopausal Women.”
Alcohol& Drug Abuse Weekly 14.40 (Oct. 2002): 8.
“New Study Ties Moderate Beer Drinking to Lower Heart Attack Risk.”
Heart Disease Weekly 26 Jan. 2003: 3.
“Wine, beer, liquor benefit the heart.” Science News 148
(Dec. 1995): 380.
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After making sure what my topic was, I went to the library and studied readers’ guides, looking for related information about alcohol. I wrote down the information of sources in detail and then went to the backstacks in the basement in the library. However, I couldn’t find some sources there, and I didn’t have enough information to write my paper. Then, I also read the index of The Times to look for more related sources. I had to use a micro screener reading the sources from newspaper, and I printed the related ones. In addition, I took advantage of the Library Web Page looking for articles, which are related to the benefits of alcohol. After collecting all of my sources, I read all of them carefully and made highlights for my notes.
I used these information to PowerPoint in laptop for my presentation and then practiced presenting without looking notes. On the other hand, I start to think how to organize my library paper well and wrote them down. Then, I went to the Writing Center to check my grammar mistakes and the structure of sentences. In addition, since I didn’t write my bibliography well, I read more books and learned how to write a bibliography correctly.
