Saw this article this morning. It's challenging to some Churches that urge total abstinence. Mainly because the study says that moderate drinking could lower heart-attack risk, and heavy drinking would increase it—which seems very compatible with biblical teachings on drinking.
At a Church years ago, I mentioned in a class that perhaps moderate drinking shouldn't be frowned upon so much, and was really blasted for it. The speaker went into a tirade, and I backed down pretty quickly. Wonder, though, how that speaker would react to this article.
I'm pasting a good portion of the article, but click top link for full article.
Moderate drinking teaches heart cells how to toughen up...
How alcohol protects the heart: Scientists discover moderate drinking teaches heart cells how to toughen up
By SAM BLANCHARD FOR MAILONLINE
- The heart produces the same reaction to alcohol and to interrupted blood flow
- Drinking could effectively train the heart cells how to react to heart attack
- The effect is not the same for all and excessive drinking has opposite effect
PUBLISHED: 09:45 EDT, 19 June 2018 | UPDATED: 10:34 EDT, 19 June 2018
Alcohol can strengthen the heart because it teaches cells how to cope with stress, a study has found.
The organisms the body produces to clear toxic chemicals from alcohol are the same ones it needs to protect the heart from damage, researchers say.
The body produces organisms called enzymes which break down the toxic parts of alcohol when people drink it, and they are the same enzymes which are released to protect the heart when it suffers major damage, such as during a heart attack.
So exposing the heart to low levels of alcohol effectively trains the body how to create the enzymes needed to cope with a heart attack.
However, drinking excessively has the opposite effect and makes the heart more vulnerable than not drinking at all.
Researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil say the findings could lead to a drug which does the same thing but does not carry the risks of drinking alcohol.
Scientists say drinking alcohol causes a similar reaction in the body to a heart attack but on a smaller scale, meaning it could effectively train the heart how to cope with damage
In their research the scientists said it is already known that drinking alcohol in moderation can improve heart health, but the reasons are not well understood.
Now they say it could be because being exposed to the poisonous ethanol in alcohol builds up the same protective reaction that is needed to reduce damage during a heart attack.
The researchers do not explain how much alcohol is optimal and say it varies depending on the individual.
They used the equivalent of two cans of beer for an average man, but drinking that every day would be 28 units per week – double the NHS's recommended amount.
Drinking
Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by Calminian, Jun 19, 2018.
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Well that's the thing. This article also urges against heavy drinking saying heavy drinking will have an opposite affect and increase heart-attack risk.
My Grandmother drank scotch every night until the day she died at the age of 95. Never drunk or anything like that, but had that scotch every night.
My dad (her son) also drank moderately in the evenings, and has been in pretty good health. But now he has a baptist girlfriend (long story different thread) who's talked him out of moderate drinking and now some heath issues are popping up. Kind of making me rethink things.
BTW, I've totally abstained from all alcohol for the last 25 years since I was saved. -
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I can agree with you, Calminian. A drink on occasion hurts no one! For me it might be a can of beer once or twice a year. Wine..., can't stand the stuff. It gives me heartburn just smelling it. Three or four years ago I tried a 1 ounce shot of whiskey every day as my stomach was going nuts but it accomplished nothing for me so I quit. The next time you buy a bottle of cough syrup read the label for alcohol content. I've read that either in Scotland, or Ireland..., or elsewhere 'over there', that after church most of the congregation meet at the local pub as we do the local restaurants. ...and these are protestant folks! But as usual, most everything I post on here raises the hair on the back of too many folks so this is all I wish to contribute.
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22 The faith which thou hast, have thou to thyself before God. Happy is he that judgeth not himself in that which he approveth. Ro 14
Don't flaunt your faith. It's not necessary for everyone to know what you're OK with. -
The Bible teaches moderation in all things. The Bible also teaches the sin of gluttony! How many times have you heard a sermon on the dangers of eating?
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Earth Wind and Fire Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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OnlyaSinner Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
A drink on occasion hurts no one!
I'd revise "no one" to "few." A minority of people are evidently predisposed to alcoholism, for biological and/or mental reasons that I don't think are well understood. For those few, an occasional drink could (not necessarily would) prove harmful. A line from an old country song seems a good portrayal of alcoholism: "One drink is one too many, and a thousand not enough."
I personally abstain, for two reasons: For me, I don't see drinking as glorifying God in my life. Secondly, I've witnessed the results of alcoholism close at hand among people I love. It's a personal conviction, not a command. -
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Earth Wind and Fire Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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My thoughts on alcohol!
Just a few thoughts on why, as a Christian, I do not drink alcohol. First of all, why should I drink alcohol, when all around me lives are being destroyed by it? I have children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Do they need to see me drinking alcohol? Do I want them to say, "Well, dad drinks," or "Well, gramp drinks," or "well, great gramp drinks?" Or, someone I do not know very well saying, "Tom Sprague drinks, so I guess it is OK!" I want to avoid the very appearance of evil--period! What may be OK for some Christian’s, is not OK for me. I am well aware that I am the only Bible that some people will read, and for me, walking with Christ is serious!!! He laid down His life for me, and He shed His Blood for me!! He delivered me from alcoholism, so why would I want to enjoy something that is so deadly and destructive? Someone might say to me, "Tom, a little drink won't hurt anyone!" O--really? Well, it may not hurt you, but what about those that will imitate you? What starts out as a harmless drink, for them, could end up in a ruined marriage, or a lost job, or a destroyed family!! Why would I want to do something that would cause someone to stumble? Let me be perfectly clear--I have never heard anyone say that their life is better because they drink alcohol!! Go to an AA meeting, and you will hear story after story of ruined lives!! When Christ sets us free from an addiction, He does not intend for us to go "back," and just lightly indulge in it!! That is playing with fire, and your latter end will be greater (destruction) than the beginning. Take a look at Luke 11:24-26
I realize that when we want to do something, we will find a way to justify it!! For me, I can find no way to justify my taking a drink--period! For me, to drink alcohol would be the same as taking it, and pouring it out upon the ones I love the most!! And, pouring it upon the One that loves me the most--Christ--my Lord! -
[1Ti 5:23 NASB] 23 No longer drink water [exclusively,] but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
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John of Japan Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
May I suggest that science, which changes daily, is not the best source for such information? Questions to ask about the study you reference: is it peer reviewed? Are the necessary controls in place? Does the sponsor of the study have a vested interest in the outcome?
Biblically speaking, drinking (pro or con) has nothing to do with how long you live. You live long by following the Lord (Deut. 4:40) and honoring your parents (Deut. 5:16).
The Japanese are on average the longest lived people on earth. (We were missionaries there 33 years.) They are inveterate drinkers (95%), and drunkenness is very common, but they also show an extremely high level of respect for parents (which the Japanese millennials are losing, so look for the lifespan to go down.)
P. S. I already see scientific ignorance in the article just by glancing through it. Enzymes are not "organisms"!! -
Obviously, there are many many things in this World that have good things about them but along with the good comes the bad. The question is, At what price? It is the same as when so many people try to claim that smoking pot is good for you because of x, y and z. But they leave out the bad side effects that come with it. Prescription Medicines are the same way.
Not to mention many if not most Christians have no idea that when the Bible talks about the good type of wine it is referring to the unfermented type. There is nothing good about death or deterioration. -
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