Balanced Immune Health

When I was in college taking some training in “alcohol awareness” (even though I was already very aware of alcohol), one of the myths that our training material addressed was the old bromide that a little nip of hooch when you’re outside in the fall or winter (as in football games) will “warm you up.”  The trainer pointed out that alcohol is an astringent; it extracts and absorbs  heat and therefore has a cooling effect. That hooch may feel warm going down, but throughout the game, boozing it up will zap heat from your body.

That got me to thinking about alcohol and immune health. We’ve all read about the anti-aging properties of alcohol, especially red wine with its polyphenol and resveritrol content.  We’ve heard how daily alcohol intake can aid in long-term circulatory health and cognitive function. But what does alcohol, in general, do to immune cells? Certainly there exists valid research on immune system damage from alcohol abuse and alcoholism.  But what about moderate alcohol intake? In women, moderate amounts of alcohol has been found to reduce bone loss leading to osteoporosis, possibly through modulating activity of regulatory T-cells.  More research shows innate immune response affected by alcohol, depending on dosage. Moderate alcohol intake was linked with “attenuated” (weakened) inflammatory response, while heavy consumption was connected to augmented inflammation. Other findings showed moderate wine or alcohol intake in healthy males “may strengthen the immune response toward different types of viruses,” and “in nonsmokers intentionally exposed to rhinoviruses, alcohol consumption was associated with a decreased risk of common cold.” And atherosclerosis risk  may be beneficially impacted by moderate alcohol intake as well. “..acute alcohol consumption has dual anti-inflammatory effects that involve augmentation of IL-10 and attenuation of monocyte inflammatory responses involving inhibition of NF-κB. These mechanisms may contribute to the beneficial effects of moderate alcohol use on atherosclerosis.”

Yet, some studies have scanned meta-analysis data and concluded moderate or even low alcohol intake among women can increae risk of breast cancer, and possibly other cancers.

So when you’re invited for a little nip by the tree or under the mistletoe, keep that nip little or moderate, and keep your immune health in check.

Filed under Balanced Immune Health, Immune Balance, Immune System, Inflammation, cold, immune, virus