On Thu, 2 Apr 1998, Mahesh Shah wrote:

> Isn't alcohol an empty carbohydrate ala sugar? It depletes the reserves of
> B vitamins in the body just as sugar does with a host of attendant problems
> ( neural, mental etc.).

Alcohol is not a carbohydrate.  It does not belong to any
macronutrient category, in fact; it's in a class by itself.
However, it behaves in some respects like a carbohydrate.  For
example, it stimulates insulin release.  Thus, if you drink much
of it you will have many of the problems that go with high carb
ingestion.

> Recent studies have shown that one or more drinks of alcohol a day
> significantly increase the risks of breast cancer in women.

True, although in absolute terms the risk is not very great, as I
recall.  To my knowledge most of the known health problems
associated with alcohol result from regular consumption of fairly
large quantities of it.  For about 10% of the population,
consuming small amounts of alcohol is simply not an option.

Todd Moody
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