Beer : Health and Nutrition

126 Chapter Six
the European Paradox because it re ects dietary characteristics beyond France alone
(Bellizzi et al. 1994).
Various laboratories have reported U-shaped curves (e.g. Doll et al. 1994) or J-shaped
curves (e.g. Tsugane et al. 1999) (Fig. 6.1) to illustrate the impact of various intakes of
alcohol on coronary heart disease and on all causes of mortality. For the most part it seems
that the J shape relates to the relationship between alcohol intake and total mortality,
with the U shape better describing that between alcohol consumption and coronary heart
disease. The clear evidence is that the intake of some alcohol has a bene cial impact.
In many instances consumption of between 1 and 3 units daily perhaps offers the best
advantage, with higher intake progressively shifting the risk upwards again.
The low point (nadir) in these curves has been reported at various levels, for example,
69 g alcohol per week for men in the US (26 g per week for women), but 116 g per
week for men in the UK (White 1999). It seems that bene ts for women are especially
notable after the menopause (Fuchs et al. 1995; Nanchahal et al. 2000).
Even the American Cancer Society reported this type of effect (Boffetta & Gar nkel
1990). The study began in 1959 with 276,802 men between the ages of 40 and 59.
Assigning 1.0 as a standard value for risk of death in non-drinkers, it was shown that
the risk of death dropped to 0.84 (i.e. by 16%) for those taking one alcoholic drink per
day. The risk of death for those claiming to consume six drinks per day was still lower
than for abstainers, at 0.92.
risk
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.1
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
drinks per day
All causes
Coronary heart disease
Fig. 6.1 The relationship between alcohol consumption and all risks of mortality. (Derived from Renaud
et al. 1993.)