Sue...you might be interested in this research file of mine...I did it in a hurry and did not document/link. You can do it to verify, if you want. It may explain a lot.Alcohol "alters lipids in neuron membranes".
"Alcohol is an excellent solvent (meaning that it dissolves things), and it is particularly good at dissolving fatty materials. Since nerve cell membranes are made of fatty substances called lipids, scientists thought for almost a century that alcohol acted in the brain by dissolving these membranes very slightly, like a weak version of some household cleaner."
But the lipid theory does not explain how alcohol might affect receptors in the brain cells, since receptors are made of proteins, not lipids. Some scientists believe that as alcohol "loosens up" the cell membrane, it affects receptor proteins indirectly.
But the NIAAA team, headed by Forrest Weight, has found areas in several receptors that, though consisting of proteins, have lipid-like, or hydrophobic, characteristics. The researchers believe that these are the sites where alcohol latches onto nerve cells and exerts its effects.
"We have focused on finding where in the receptors these 'grease spots' are--and whether alcohol acts on them in ways that relate to behavior," says Weight. "The answers may ultimately lead to behavior-oriented treatments for alcoholism."
Alcohol interferes with the metabolism of most vitamins, and with the absorption of many nutrients. Alcohol stimulates both urinary calcium and magnesium excretion.
{Dept. of Health and Human Services, Report to Congress, 1990}
Alcohol reduces the absorption of food through the lining of the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of amino acids, glucose, zinc and vitamins.
{``Alcohol and tobacco, america's drugs of choice.'' Information Plus, 1999}
Alcohol hampers the efficient metabolizing of fatty acids.
{"Get Health Now," by Gary Null, one of America's leading health and fitness advocates, 1999}
If alcohol is your soother, stress will hike your nutritional needs and alcohol will reduce nutrient availability.
{"6 steps for handling stress," Lauri Aesoph, ND, Health World Online, June 2001}
Alcohol inhibits fat absorption and thereby impairs absorption of the vitamins A, E, and D that are normally absorbed along with dietary fats. {ibid}
Nutrients normally found in the liver, such as carotenoids, which are major sources of vitamin A, and vitamin E compounds, are negatively affected by alcohol use.
{Hepatology, 1992 and 1993}
{Alcohol and Nutrition, Alcohol Alert from NIAAA, alcoholism.about.com, Apr. 2003}
More vitamin A is needed by those who drink alcohol because faulty liver enzymes are dissipated more quickly. Rats tested could not deal with vitamins because of the toxic by-products when combined with alcohol.
{New York Times, Oct. 20, 1985}
Alcohol can promote extra insulin release from the pancreas in response to glucose, causing hypoglycemia and at the same time, alcohol depletes the liver's glycogen stores and impairs its capacity for formation of new glucose.
{The Nutritional Effects of Alcohol, Mount Sinai School of Medicine Complete Book of Nutrition}
Alcohol interferes with zinc and vitamin A metabolism in the liver and can negatively affect night blindness.
{"Eye signs can reveal your nutritional health," alternativemedicine.com, June 2001}
Continued alcohol use can create changes in the digestive system which make nutrient absorption difficult. Alcohol may interfere with the body's ability to use vitamins. Breakdown of vitamin A also accelerates and may lead to vitamin A depletion in the liver.
Sometimes acetaldehyde, a byproduct of alcohol oxidation, will bind with an amino acid, leading to reduced glutathione, an important substance in the liver. Glutathione helps scavenge toxic free-radicals.
{"Alcohol's effect on the liver," Charles Leiber, MD, Director of Alcohol Research and Treatment Center, Professor of Medicine and Pathology, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York, www.health20-20.org, Sep. 2002}
{``Alcohol, vitamin A, and beta-carotene: adverse interactions, including hepatotoxity and carcinogenicity,'' Am J Clin Nutr June 1999, on ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2003}
Alcohol destroys B vitamins. This is a list of minerals and vitamins that you will need to supplement if you drink alcohol: calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, copper, vitamin C, thiamine and riboflavin.
{``The Complete Guide to Your Emotions and Your Health,'' Editors of Prevention magazine. 1986}
Folic acid, a B vitamin, is important. The brains of the nuns in the study who had high levels of folic acid in their blood deteriorated more slowly. Alzheimer's is a brain-wasting disease, and the last thing you want to do is to nutritionally deprive the brain tissue.
The body is rusting and you have unstable oxygen that tears down the tissues and joints, causing oxidation. Depression may make the symptoms appear earlier.
{The nun's study," June 23, 2001, People's Pharmacy, Public Radio. Guest: Dr. David Snowden, author of "Aging with Grace."}
Even a small amount of alcohol can drain magnesium reserves.
{from the book, "Preventing Arthritis," by Donald Lawrence, MD, PhD, specialist in the study of pain, 2000}
You may be at increased risk for magnesium deficiency if you regularly consume alcohol or take diuretics, because both can increase urinary excretion of the mineral.
{Health Sciences Institute, hsibaltimore.com, Oct. 2003}
In January 2004, a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine showed that there is a clear association between low serum magnesium levels and an elevated risk of type 2 diabetes. Also in May of the same year, Diabetes Care (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) reported another study that magnesium may reduce the risk of diabetes.
The combined data showed a significant association between elevated levels of magnesium and a reduced risk of diabetes.
{Health Sciences Institute, May 2004} Editor's comment: Avoiding alcohol can reduce the risk of diabetes.
Alcohol is now known to be the most notorious cause of magnesium wasting, and the deficiency of magnesium is common, especially in the elderly.
{Alcohol Clin Exp Res (USA), 1994}
Alcohol causes a very quick loss of magnesium, and low magnesium causes arrhythmia in the heart.
{``Magnesium,'' grassroutes.com, May 2004}
Alcohol affects all brain functions and there are GABA receptors in many parts of the brain. When ethanol links to the GABA receptor it further inhibits GABA's effect on brain leading to sedation.
In the journal Nature, a 2004 study demonstrated that alcohol opens a specific type of ionic channel, called GIRK. When open, this channel allows the brain cells to eliminate potassium, thus reducing their activity.
The result is a slow-down in brain function, perceived as a relaxing sensation by the drinker.
{``Action of alcohol in the brain,'' why does alcohol relax?, Brain & Mind, Brain Diseases, www.epub.org.}
A Yale study showed that low GABA levels are linked to panic disorders. GABA is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter, a brain chemical.
{About.com - July 2001} Editor's comment:
Alcohol lowers GABA which makes it more likely that those who drink will have panic disorders.
Lowered inhibitions accompany low-dose use of alcohol. The neurotransmitter GABA, which serves as an inhibitor, is most affected by alcohol. For some drinkers, lowered inhibition results in being heavily involved in aggression, violence and sexual assault. When GABA receptors are activated by alcohol, they change over time to become less sensitive not only to ethanol but to GABA, benzodiazepines, and other GABA agonists as well.
{Valenzuela & Harris, 1997}; {alcoholmd.com, Oct. 2001}
Alcohol hastens the breakdown of the antioxidants in the blood, speeding its elimination from the body.
{CNN.com, July 2000}
In patients who had oxidant stress from alcoholic-induced liver disease, antioxidant therapy (2,500 mg a day of vitamin C for 10 days) accounted for over a 50% decrease in stress.
This would be a wise supplement for anyone drinking significant amounts of alcohol, but even wiser to avoid the alcohol.
{www.mercola.com. May 10, 2001}
The by-products of alcohol metabolism generate oxidants that can contribute to cell damage.
An imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants (substances that neutralize oxidation) can create oxidative stress, a state marked by continued production of oxidizing agents and escalation of cell damage.
{Alcohol Research & Health, Vol. 25, No. 4, 2001}
Alcohol can change the colon's pH, destroying beneficial bacteria.
{"Probiotics balance digestion and improve overall health," healthwell.com, July 2001}
Saliva's chemicals neutralize tooth-decaying acid
{Health magazine, Oct. 2000} Editor's note: When alcohol dehydrates the body it lessens the amount of this helpful saliva.
Without the high concentration of oxygen from the saliva, the anaerobic bacteria go wild and there is an instant increase in sulfur production. The same thing happens when you drink alcohol.
{"Gum infections, gum disease, periodontal diseases and bleeding gums can kill you," Therabreath.com, Dr. Harold Katz, LLC, June 2003}
"The thing that piqued our interest was that this organism has this weird growth habit of making vinegar from ethanol (alcohol), which means it's highly resistant to ethanol, which very few things grow in, and resistant to acetic acid (vinegar), which even fewer things grow in," Kappock said.
"Important enzymes in this bug resist acid in a way almost all organisms cannot, and we're trying to answer the question: 'How is this enzyme different?'"
That answer, Kappock said, could reveal many new important insights.
Kappock discussed his research at the American Chemical Society's Annual Meeting, held Aug. 23-25, 2004, in Philadelphia.
Specifically, Kappock and his research group study the enzyme citrate synthase, one of the oldest enzymes in a cell. Citrate synthase is important because it initiates the citric acid cycle, or Kreb's cycle, a biochemical pathway vitally important for energy production in the cells of organisms simple as bacteria and complex as humans.
The method separates bacteria into two types. Gram-positive cells retain the crystal violet-iodine complex and thus appear purple (shown for Bacillus cereus in the left-hand image below). Gram-negative cells are decolourised by the alcohol or acetone treatment, but are then stained with safranin so they appear pink (shown for Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the right-hand image below).
Thus, the essential difference between Gram-positive and Gram-negative cells is their ability to retain the crystal violet-iodine complex when treated with a solvent.
Gram-negative bacteria have only a thin layer of peptidoglycan, surrounded by a thin outer membrane composed of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The region between the peptidoglycan and LPS layers is termed the periplasmic space (coloured grey in the figure); it is a fluid or gel-like zone containing many enzymes and nutrient-carrier proteins.
The crystal violet-iodine complex is easily lost through the LPS and thin peptidoglycan layer when the cells are treated with a solvent.
Dr. Martin Weisse of West Virginia University has conducted research suggesting one to two glasses of wine with your meals may help prevent food poisoning, dysentery, and so-called traveler's diarrhea. (153K AIFF sound or 153K WAV sound)
Weisse's research, published last year in the British Medical Journal, showed both red and white wine to be more effective at wiping out bacteria than other types of alcohol, or even Pepto Bismol.
Weisse thinks there is a compound in wine released during fermentation that kills bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella, and shigella.
In anecdotal support of his research, Weisse notes people in ancient times frequently drank wine as a digestive aid.
But a consumer group says Weisse's research is flawed. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says that Weisse merely mixed ingredients with bacteria in test tubes, a process that does not approximate conditions within a human's digestive system. The group says all the West Virginia doctor has proven is that wine in a glass kills bacteria, not that wine in a human being kills bacteria.
NEW YORK, Apr 12 (Reuters Health) -- Moderate consumption of alcohol -- especially wine -- may lower risks for infection with Helicobacter pylori, bacteria associated with stomach ulcers, according to researchers.
"Moderate alcohol consumption may facilitate spontaneous elimination of H. pylori infection among adults," conclude Dr. Hermann Brenner and colleagues at the German Institute for Human Nutrition in Postdam-Rehbrucke, Germany. Their findings are published in the May issue of the journal Epidemiology.
About half of all adults are thought to carry the H. pylori bacterium in their stomachs. In most cases, infection remains harmless and asymptomatic.
(In fact to test for H.Pylori - gram neg., docs in ER give a shot of alcohol. If the pain goes away, they dx: ulcer)
AlkA catalyzes the removal of 3-methyladenine and 7-methylguanine, as well as several other minor lesions from DNA..."
Note: citrates also INactivate PFK. Insulin ACTIVATES this enzyme.
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