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How to Draw the Line on Brews and Wine

By Sandy Schroeder

The questions about alcohol are well known. We may have toasted the research that said red wines may improve health, but then paused as other researchers talked about daily limits and binge drinking in EasyHealthOptions.

It may pay to stay informed on new research like the findings from the University of Cambridge in the UK.

Drinking habits of more than 600,000 people in 19 countries were studied by the Cambridge researchers with these results.

Regular drinking links to higher health risks for:

  • Heart failure
  • Stroke
  • Fatal hypertensive disease
  • Fatal aortic aneurysms

Excessive drinking raises blood pressure and contributes to high cholesterol.

What the Limits Are

  • Weekly safe drinking is five drinks in 100 grams of pure alcohol, five pints of beer or five 175 milliliter glasses of wine
  • Drinking more than weekly safe limits quickly reduces life expectancy
  • Drinking 10 or more drinks weekly shortens life by one or two years
  • Drinking 18 drinks weekly reduces life by four to five years.

How to Pull a Switch

After reading these depressing numbers, many of us may be looking for healthy alternatives such as alcohol-free cocktails. Some of the camaraderie of the cocktail hour with margaritas or mango martinis may really revolve around  the spicy, sweet, tart, or salty ingredients that could capture  the fun without paying the price of too much alcohol.

My favorite is a Virgin Mary with all of its spicy tomato vigor served in a frosty glass bristling with celery and olives. It’s like a "salad in a glass.” Here are some recipes for more alcohol-free cocktails.

  • Ginger beer - A lot of zing for the buck
  • Pink flamingo - Cranberry juice, lime and soda water
  • Virgin Mary - Tomato juice, spicy tomato mix or low-sodium vegetable juice with juice from carrots, celery, cucumbers, and spinach. Serve with celery and olives
  • Cherry jubilee - Mix Pellegrino with concentrated cherry juice
  • Peach cocktail - Blend two ounces peach nectar, one ounce apple juice, four banana slices, one ounce sweetened coconut milk, one ounce whole milk and crushed ice. Top with a peach slice

Don't forget about non-alcoholic beer with healthy hops

It’s hard to beat a glass of a favorite red or white wine with dinner, but holding the line may reduce heart problems and the risk of a shortened life. Sparkling apple juice or waters and alcohol-free cocktails may be another great way to stay safe in health and on the road.

To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Coppell, Tex.

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