On Alcohol and Aging
“So can I get you a glass of blood-brain barrier penetrating carcinogen?
“Huh?”
“Whiskey, wine, beer? What’s your pleasure?”
There are few liquids that can age you faster than alcohol. If it weren’t so darn tasty and so profitable to produce, it would probably be labeled a poison. Did you know that alcohol is classified as a Group 1 (the highest) carcinogen, right along with its pals, asbestos, tobacco and certain forms of radiation?
Not to get too wonky on you, but a little science lesson is in order. The blood-brain barrier is the tissue which surrounds the brain. It is kind of like the brain’s bouncer, he tries to keep the poorly dressed losers like toxins and pathogens out. But alcohol must look well dressed and cool to him, because it is always welcome. It is welcome because it is fat and water soluble and can easily pass through the fatty membranes that comprise the blood-brain barrier. That is why when you drink a beer or take a shot of whiskey, you feel its effects right away. The brain’s bouncer is saying “C’mon in for a good time!”
Alcohol is also known as ethanol, the stuff that is an ingredient in most of the gasoline that is sold in the US. So when you have a drink, you are consuming the same stuff that helps power the internal combustion engine of your car. Common sense tells you that that cannot be good for you.
There are myriad studies about the negative effects of alcohol. Cancer, heart disease, neuro-degenerative disease, you name it, there is a study which shows how alcohol can cause or significantly exacerbate the symptoms of almost all diseases.
Here we have just been addressing the negative health effects of alcohol, not to mention all the car wrecks, broken marriages, crimes and other things that alcohol has contributed to.
When it comes to alcohol, teetotaling is best. Studies are showing that even a drink or two a day isn’t good for you. So what are those who enjoy alcohol to do? I think the most prudent thing to do is to have a personal rule. Have rules about when you drink, where you drink and how much you drink.
Eliminate or limit your consumption of blood-brain barrier penetrating carcinogens. Keep the Old Man out.