What About Beverage Alcohol?

The Brent Kavanaugh hearings stirred up a whole plethora of issues.

Frankly, much of what surfaced, or not surfaced, is too fresh, and frankly, raw, to develop helpfully at this juncture; the story is still unfolding.   

But I will risk one issue:  the common practice of socializing through beverage alcohol.  Though far from a lone practitioner, Kavanaugh did confess his fondness of beer, which proved to contribute to the controversy, that swirled like a typhoon around his hearings.

“…He drank beer. Still drinks beer. Likes beer…Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh mentioned beer some 30 times in his Senate testimony…[In fact] much of last week’s Senate committee hearing focused on the judge’s drinking habits as a teenager and young man. An implication in the questioning — one rejected by Kavanaugh — was that he may have assaulted Ford but was too drunk to remember…[For] memory loss and blackouts are a dark side of drinking too much alcohol…”  https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/10/04/beer/LKAq2nav7qTOZfZ7EulhgN/story.html

Now, I'm not wagering a judgment on the amount of beer Kavanaugh consumed, or the results of the beer (e.g., whether a black-out occurred; whether a sexual assault occurred, etc.).  Please hear me.

I'm just noting that alcohol dominated, and frankly, complicated, Kavanaugh's story.  

And frankly, the story of many.

Call it coincidental, but just before the Kavanaugh hearings, a new study on alcohol consumption was released by The Lancet, one of the world's oldest and most prestigious, general medical journals.  Frankly, I was surprised by the conclusiveness of its findings:   

"...Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for global disease burden and causes substantial health loss. We found that the risk of all-cause mortality, and of cancers specifically, rises with increasing levels of consumption, and the level of consumption that minimises health loss is zero. These results suggest that alcohol control policies might need to be revised worldwide, refocusing on efforts to lower overall population-level consumption...  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31310-2/fulltext    

Translated, as The Lancet reported: "...Our results show that the safest level of drinking [beverage alcohol] is none..."  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31310-2/fulltext    

As you might guess, The Lancet's research has sparked shock, push-back and frankly, skepticism. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/upshot/alcohol-health-risks-study-worry.htmlr.  But, overall, persons have been sobered (no pun intended!).  Quoting Dr. Robyn Burton (of Kings College, London), CBS News notes:

"...The conclusions of the study are clear and unambiguous: alcohol is a colossal global health issue and small reductions in health-related harms at low levels of alcohol intake are outweighed by the increased risk of other health-related harms..." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alcohol-and-health-no-safe-level-of-drinking-major-new-study-concludes/

But alcohol consumption is not the only detrimental food/drink intake. The American diet -- overall -- is a colossal health issue. As the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion has reported:

"...The typical eating patterns [of] many in the United States do not align with the Dietary Guidelines [for healthy eating]...About three-fourths of the population has an eating pattern that is low in vegetables, fruits, dairy, and oils...Most Americans exceed the recommendations for added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium. In addition, the eating patterns of many are too high in calories...[resulting in] more than two-thirds of all adults and nearly one-third of all children and youth in the United States are either overweight or obese..." https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/message/..."

The result, as Renata Micha notes in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is an increase in heart disease, strokes, and diabetes. 

“...[As] 'Good' foods [are] under-eaten...nuts and seeds, seafood rich in omega-3 fats including salmon and sardines; fruits and vegetables; and whole grains. [And] 'bad' foods or nutrients...[are] over-eaten [including] salt and salty foods; processed meats including bacon, bologna and hot dogs; red meat including steaks and hamburgers; and sugary drinks..." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bad-eating-habits-killing-americans-bacon-fat-sugar/

Bottom line:  overall, we need to 'dial-back' our intake of 'bad' food/drink, becoming newly "...temperate in all things..."  (1 Corinthians 9:25)

But the controversial lean of this blog-post is that I'm also convinced, that there is some food/drink that we need to totally abstain from. 

Now, let me quickly add:  what you abstain from should be determined in consultation with a trusted medical professional.  Frankly, everyone's physiology, genetic presumption, and metabolic chemistry vary; translated:  what's 'bad' for one, is not always 'bad' for all.  Please let this register.

But on the basis of the latest research on beverage alcohol (see above), and the reoccurring headlines documenting its ease of abuse, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/10/542409957/drinking-on-the-rise-in-u-s-especially-for-women-minorities-older-adults https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/10/542409957/drinking-on-the-rise-in-u-s-especially-for-women-minorities-older-adults -- I would advocate abstinence from alcoholic drink.

For unlike other beverages -- milk, coffee, soda, cider, Gatorade, juice, etc., beverage alcohol is potentially addictive, not just to the point of disease, but life impairment/immobilization, and even death.

The research that documents this reality is hard to accept, but it's hard to refute. Returning to the most recent findings revealed in The Lancet, poor health, attributable to alcohol, is connected to no less than 23 adverse health outcomes, including:

"...Cardiovascular diseases: atrial fibrillation and flutter, hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic stroke, hypertensive heart disease, ischemic heart disease, and alcoholic cardiomyopathy;Cancers: breast, colorectal, liver, esophageal, larynx, lip and oral cavity, and nasal; Other non-communicable diseases: cirrhosis of the liver due to alcohol use, diabetes, epilepsy, pancreatitis, and alcohol use disorders; Communicable diseases: lower respiratory infections and tuberculosis; Intentional injuries: interpersonal violence and self-harm; Unintentional injuries: exposure to mechanical forces; poisonings; fire, heat, and hot substances; drowning; and other unintentional injuries; and Transportation-related injuries..."  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180824103018.htm"

Whew!  Bottom line:  we now know, in the words of The Lancet editor, Richard Horton, "...that alcohol is one of the major causes of death in the world today." 

Now beverage alcohol is hardly the only cause of death; as referenced earlier; intaking other food/drink can also prove fatal.  In addition, some researchers flatly refute the findings of The Lancet and similar dire studies on beverage alcohol. https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/8/29/17790118/alcohol-lancet-health-study           

But if we err, I would advise erring on the side of intaking, only, what has been identified as good, healthy and wholesome.

In addition, I advise erring on the side of intaking only that will not cause anyone to stumble, avoiding food/drink known to be addictive (to the point of injury/disease/death), especially around those with a genetic presumption toward addiction (Romans 14:13-23).

Overall, we're to steward our bodies, for as we steward our bodies, we honor God. And so, Paul advises, wake up and realize:

"...That your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property [in isolation from] the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body..." I  Corthinians 6:1-20. The Message.

I've offered my conviction related to alcohol, for your prayerful consideration, and discernment.

But whatever your conviction/s, be mindful, in Christ -- that our food/drink intake is not isolated from our spiritual life and witness.

Thus, adopt some new lifestyle choice/s that demonstrates both temperance and abstinence, in your consumption -- as we all seek to honor God with our entire self -- including our bodies.