--- Marilyn Harris <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> there is real empirical
>> evidence that moderate alcohol consumption leads to
>> lower risk of heart
>> disease and increased life expectancy, and that
>> this effect is determined by genes.
>
> gts;
>
> But isn't the genetic expression protectionist?

I don't believe we can draw a black/white distinction
between "protectionist" and whatever its opposite may
be. If the genes that code for health benefits from
moderate alcohol were merely protectionist then one
would not expect to see any health benefits from their
expression.

On the other hand the genes likely evolved in part to
give us protection from exposure to alcohol, so I
don't think your idea is totally false.

Humans are adapted to many so-called "toxins" that
arise in our environment, and in some cases we are so
well adapted to them that they are no longer toxins at
all, except in high doses. Plant foods contain many
toxins evolved by them to ward off mammal predators,
and yet, having become fully adapted to them, some of
those same "toxins" are beneficial to us. For example
some of the same chemicals in cruciferous veggies that
evolved as "toxins" are actually helpful in preventing
cancer in humans. I believe alcohol is similar: it is
toxic at high dosages but seems to be beneficial at
low dosages.

-gts