On giving up drinking

      I really would just like to regularly have a glass of wine with dinner.

      But the news—the unfortunate news—keeps on coming.

      No amount of alcohol is safe, at least for dementia risk, a study finds

      Even a drink or two a day isn’t risk-free, a new study suggests.

      “Risk [from alcohol] begins at low levels of average use” rather than only heavy drinking, concludes still another study.

      The World Health Organization now says alcohol plays a causal role in more than 200 diseases/injuries, including cancers, liver disease, cardiovascular disease and mental health conditions.

      Alcohol is, as well, now known to be an established carcinogen and contributes to at least seven types of cancer.

      A large global study found even an increment of around 10 grams of alcohol per day (which is to say, around two thirds of a standard drink) is associated with a 3-percent increase in pancreatic cancer risk.

      Some older studies—the ones I really liked—suggested that low amounts of alcohol, particularly red wine, might actually reduce certain cardiovascular risks. And so for decades, red wine was often said to be good for you—especially for your heart. Lab findings seemed to indicate that compounds like resveratrol and polyphenols in red wine might protect blood vessels, reduce inflammation or improve cholesterol.

      Not so fast.

      The American Heart Association now suggests those studies were mistaken, and that risks of drinking wine, red or white, even at low levels, may outweigh any possible benefits.

      Taken all together, it means there is no completely safe level of alcohol consumption. And to be honest, I am a little bereft.

      I used to have a glass or two of wine with most dinners. When I lived abroad, I would have a glass or two of wine with almost all dinners, and occasionally with some lunches, too. But I was a lot younger then, could tolerate it all more. Or thought I could. But I am older now, and like many of us, I have for the most part given up drinking.

      And, more honesty: I miss it.

      Part of stopping drinking was, of course, the awareness of all those recent studies and the explicit and implicit warnings. Dementia and cancer, we know, are no longer theoretical risks as we get older.

      And a large part of it, for me, was being told, after a heart attack, simply not to drink anymore. The nutritionist at cardiac rehab was quite clear and emphatic on that one: No more alcohol.

      Suitably scared by my brush with death, I have generally obeyed. I drink a lot of water with dinner. I drink seltzer. I pop a few ginger ales.

      I’ve tried non-alcoholic wines. They taste, not surprisingly, like they need alcohol. For the most part, they are awful, a blemish on the whole wine industry. (Non-alcoholic beers are a bit better, though still not great, but I’ve never been a beer guy.)

      I was also told at rehab to follow a low-sodium, low-fat diet. And so I have dutifully stopped salting my food and almost totally given up cheeses, although I love cheese. The cost-benefit analysis was clear, and although I miss the salt and the cheese, I have learned to live without them, like many of us have learned how to live without that juicy hamburger or those salty French fries or those gooey chocolate desserts, all because of our health.

      But giving up wine has been harder.

      Do I need to tell you all this? It enhances the meal, completes a good dinner. It really does make the food taste better. I like the aroma as you swirl it in the glass. It feels good going down. It relaxes me. It makes me comfortable, maybe less shy. And yes, it does give me just a bit of a buzz, a little something that takes the edge off.

      If I still was permitted, I would have had a glass with the pasta dish we had tonight. But I did not. I didn’t have it with the omelet we made the other night. I could reasonably easily convince myself wine wasn’t essential to those meals. But when Frank and Judy come over, when we have the boeuf bourguignon together, I will definitely have a glass. Just one, but still.

      My cardiologist, bless his soul, has given me a kind of absolution, at least in part. And taught me an important lesson.  

      He has pointed out to me that the very occasional glass of wine, or maybe half glass, won’t kill me. And it’s a quality of life issue, he said. There has to be a balance between taking care of your health and taking care of—not his exact words, but mine—your soul. Whatever your age, whatever your health, you want to live your life as fully as possible. If that means sometimes drinking a little wine, so be it.

      I’m really waiting for that boeuf bourguignon.