Posts for 'Alcohol Hazards' Category

Mouthwashes containing alcohol may cause oral cancer and dentists should advise patients against using them, claim experts.

The alcohol is also said to cause burning, dryness and mouth pain.  Some mouthwashes are up to 26 per cent proof but the alcohol offers no benefits to consumers, according to research published in this month's British Dental Journal.

As a result dentists should recommend alcohol-free alternatives say Professor Robin Seymour and clinical lecturer Dr Carlos Werner, of Newcastle University.

Professor Seymour, a professor of restorative dentistry, said they had examined conflicting evidence from studies into the link between regular use of mouthwashes containing alcohol and oral cancer.

He said: 'The evidence shows an association that we should take seriously because oral cancer is a significant disease that has been rising over the last ten years, especially among younger people.

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Men can also see their hopes of fathering a child dashed by just a daily beer, a study from Harvard Medical School has revealed.

If both partners drink, the study claims their chances of a live birth fall by up to 26%.

The Boston-based experts asked over 2,500 couples how much they drank and what type of alcohol they liked before they embarked on IVF.

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Binge drinking is usually seen as a problem of college campuses but many older adults may be overindulging in alcohol as well, according to a U.S. study published on Monday. Using data from a government survey of nearly 11,000 Americans aged 50 and up, researchers found that 23 percent of men and nine percent of women aged between 50 and 64 admitted to binge drinking in the past month.

Among adults age 65 and older, more than 14 percent of men and three percent of women reported bingeing on alcohol which was defined as having five or more drinks on one occasion, on at least one day in the past month. Alcohol binges are often considered a problem of youth.

One recent government study found that among U.S. college students between the ages of 18 and 24, 45 percent reported a recent drinking binge. But the new findings, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, show that older adults can be susceptible too, according to Reuters Health.

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I’ve heard that drinking beer can improve your bone health. Is this true? It is possible. Research from Tufts University in Boston looked at the bone density and diet histories of more than 2,000 men and women over the age of 60 and found that men who drank one to two 365ml bottles of beer a day had higher bone density than non-drinkers.

This was after having taken into account factors such as the amount of calcium they were eating and drinking and their history of smoking, both of which can make a real difference to the strength of our bones. The exact reason why a small daily tipple of beer protects bones is not known, but it may be down to the silicon that it contains, a trace mineral that is particularly easy for our bodies to absorb in the form in which it comes in liquids.

Bone is a living tissue made of a protein-based scaffold on to which hard minerals such as calcium and silicon are deposited, like bricks being cemented on to a framework of steel. Having a regular daily supply of easily absorbed silicon could be crucial in maintaining the strength of this “brickwork”. Silicon is also in good supply in Fiji mineral water, and to a lesser extent San Pellegrino, and is also found in foods such as green beans, oats, muesli and melon.

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Children who were exposed to large amounts of alcohol in the womb may have difficulty processing and reading emotions, leading to problems with their social skills and behavior, a new study shows.

The study, published in journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, looked at emotional and social behavior among 33 school-age children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

FASD is an umbrella term for the lasting developmental effects seen in some children with prenatal alcohol exposure. Its most severe manifestation is fetal alcohol syndrome, which is marked by stunted growth, facial deformity and serious nervous system and behavioral problems.

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Reducing toxin exposure decreases the body's overall burden of toxins both directly, by avoiding the addition of new toxins, and indirectly, by improving the body's ability to defend itself. Lifestyle, environment, and dietary factors are essential in creating the body's total toxic load. The use of alcohol, caffeine, and prescription drugs is a lifestyle factor that increases the toxic burden. Environmental factors include exposure to volatile organic compounds such as solvents and formaldehyde, which are found in products ranging from automotive fuel to household cleaners and building materials. Foods represent the most common source of exposure to toxins; approximately 3,000 chemicals are used by the food industry for various types of food processing.

Another 12,000 chemicals are used in food packaging materials. Numerous studies have found pesticide residues in a significant percentage of food samples. Organically grown and unprocessed or minimally processed foods may be an option to reduce toxin exposure. Avoiding exposure may necessitate significant changes in lifestyle and the Enhancing gastrointestinal function improves digestion and, consequently, increases absorption of nutrients.

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Over the past three decades research has highlighted gender differences in substance use disorders and substance abuse treatment participation. Programs devoted to addressing women's treatment needs, broadly encompassed in the term "women-focused treatment," have multiplied. This column examines the rationale for women-focused treatment and describes some of its components. The authors cite the need to evaluate women-focused treatment by developing validated measures of the processes embodied in such treatment and by conducting empirically sound research on clinical outcomes, treatment effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and the optimal means of providing services to women with substance use disorders.

Alcohol use - as a well-established part of human culture - is something that has become almost as acceptable as eating and breathing. As a social facilitator and feel good drug of choice for many, alcohol is very popular indeed, with consumption at mass levels.

However, alcohols well-documented deleterious effects - diminished performance, mental impairment, possible addiction, diabetes and liver disease to varying degrees in certain individuals - could be seen as a good reason to steer clear of it.

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Alcohol consumption has previously been strongly linked with certain types of cancer, for example those of the mouth and throat, but its contribution to other types of malignancies have not been as firmly established. A large study conducted in Britain and recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute has found that even light to moderate alcohol drinking could raise a woman's risk of several common types of cancer.

Details and Findings of Study

The study team had examined the questionnaire data of almost 1.3 million middle-aged women who were involved in the Million Women Study. The women had gone for breast cancer screening between 1996 and 2001. The average follow-up period of the study was 7.2 years, during which over 68,000 ladies developed invasive cancers.

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New research in primates suggests that infants and children who carry a certain gene variant may be more vulnerable to the ill effects of fetal alcohol exposure.

Reported online today (Sept. Typically 21) in biological psychiatry, the findings represent the first evidence of a genetic risk for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder - a condition that is characterized by profound mental retardation in its most severe form, but which is also linked to deficits in learning, attention, memory and impulse control.

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