fects in men, however, there were a number of studies that looked at the health effects of women. Evidence suggests that one of the negative effects unique to women is the increased incidence of breast cancer. In 1992, the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that there was an increased risk in breast cancer among postmenopausal women who consumed alcohol. The study suggested that the link might be to the use of noncontraceptive estrogen as opposed to just alcohol and age. In 1995, the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a prospective study similar to that reported in 1992 for men. The study concluded that light to moderate alcohol consumption in women was associated with lower death rate from cardiovascular disease and heavy drinking resulted in a higher death rate from other factors such as breast cancer and cirrhosis. The study indicated that benefit was most apparent among women who were 50 years of age or older. A study on women from age 25-42 indicated that there is unlikely to be a significant effect between alcohol and breast cancer among premenopausal women, but that a modest effect cannot be discounted.
In 1999, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism published some interesting information in their Alcohol Alert. What makes this information so noteworthy is that this organization has included the positive health benefits of moderate consumption in this volume of the alert. They reported that a review of epidemiological data from twenty countries indicated that there was a twenty to forty percent reduction in coronary heart disease in moderate drinkers compared to non-drinkers. The report goes on to explore whether this is merely a connection or if alcohol causes this reduction. There is little data on whether the alcohol consumption of the moderate drinker is in fact an effect of alcohol or if the effect is due to a combination of healthy lifestyle choices. The report also provides an explanation as to how alcohol consumption may work in the body to lower the risk of coronary heart disease. Heart disease, in the simplest form, is caused by the build up cholesterol and fatty substances on the wall of the coronary arteries. There is some animal laboratory evidence that indicates that alcohol may prevent arterial narrowing and reduce the possibility of clots forming that block the arteries and cause heart attacks. This evidence is inconclusive at best and further research is needed to determine the impact that alcohol will have on humans. This study is attempting to explain the result of the previous studies that simply indicated a correlation between alcohol consumption and reduced incidence of coronary heart disease without providing a more in depth analysis.
The latest indications on the benefits of alcohol point to the specific benefits of wine consumption. In December of 2001, Reuters reported that British researchers have presented findings that suggest that moderate consumption of red wine may lower the risk of heart disease. The research suggests that polyphenols, which are found in the skins of grapes, decrease the production of proteins that contribute to the clogging of coronary arteries. Red wine is made from the grapes with the skins on while white wine does not include the grape skin, and therefore not the high levels of polyphenols found in red wine. This research was done using cow artery’s cells and therefore the human application is yet unknown.
To counteract the numerous reports on the benefits of alcohol consumption the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information published an article entitled “What You Don’t Know Can Harm You.” This article specifically addresses the negative effects of moderate consumption. None of the current research disputes that heavy drinking has negative health effects; instead it focuses on the benefits of moderate drinking. It is against this barrage of information that the National Clearinghouse felt it was necessary to point out the negative effects of moderate drinking. The article focuses on the low levels of dri