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Alcohol and Health - Alcohol and allergies |
Alcohol and the heart |
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Alcohol and cancer |
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Women and Alcohol |
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Alcohol and diabetes |
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Drinking as you get older? |
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Alcohol and it's effects |
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Alcohol and the liver |
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Alcohol and allergies |
 What the Doctor says |
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Basically, a food allergy is where a normally harmless substance is perceived as a threat by the body’s immunological defences. In susceptible individuals, even light alcohol consumption can cause an allergic reaction. Allergic reactions usually manifest themselves as migraine headaches, itchiness, rashes, bowel colic, diarrhoea, asthma, swollen facial features and watery swollen eyes.
Many consumers think that the main cause of an adverse reaction to wine is due to sulphur dioxide, which is an antioxidant and preservative. Unless an individual has a similar reaction when eating dried fruits, such as dried apricots, this is unlikely as the concentration of sulphur dioxide will be much higher in the dried fruits than in the wine.
Histamine is commonly believed to be a main cause of an adverse reaction to wine, possibly due to its relatively high concentration in certain wines, although many foods such as egg plants, tomatoes and fish contain a significantly higher concentration than does wine. Conversely, certain substances in wine may induce the release of histamine from mast cells or certain individuals may have a reduced activity and/or amount of one of the enzymes that break down histamine in the intestine. Histamine-related symptoms are similar to those observed with immunologically-mediated food allergy.
A recent study has assessed adverse reactions to histamine in wine in 16 individuals, which were intolerant to wine. No correlation was observed between the concentration of histamine in wine and an adverse reaction. However, the consumption of wines, which had a low concentration of histamine increased the blood concentration of histamine in these individuals by 10 minutes post-consumption, which suggests that there may be histamine-releasing chemicals in wine.
Ethnic differences
Some East Asian populations have a large proportion of individuals with an ‘inactive’ gene for breaking down alcohol. Acetaldehyde, which is toxic, therefore, accumulates in the blood stream and liver. The blood concentration of acetaldehyde in individuals with the inactive gene can be 10-times higher than normal. The physical effects of having the inactive gene include the following:
. facial flushing - a rapid increase in the blood flow to the skin of the face, neck and chest;
. a rapid heart beat;
. a headache;
. nausea and vomiting;
. extreme drowsiness or tiredness; and
. low blood pressure.
These physical effects can occur after only one standard drink and are so unpleasant that individuals with the inactive gene generally consume only little if any alcohol.
Yeast allergy
Generally most drinks can be drunk without an allergic reaction occurring, because although yeast is used for fermentation of beer, cider and wine, hardly any remains in the finished product. Some yeast breakdown products will be in the final beverage if it is fermented. If an intolerance to yeast is experienced, consumers should avoid wines that are aged ‘sur lie’, this means aged on the yeast cells for extra complexity as well as cask conditioned ales for example.
Hangover ?
An adverse reaction or allergy is not to be confused with excessive alcohol consumption. If an individual drinks sensibly, ideally with food and follows government guidelines, they will not suffer the side effects of ‘over’ consumption.
A hangover is where one develops headache, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, and a dry mouth due to excessive alcohol consumption. It is due to dehydration especially of the brain cells, which temporarily shrink. The reason one becomes dehydrated is because of the osmotic pressure and diuretic effects of alcohol.
The way to prevent a hangover is to drink less alcohol and drink plenty of water or soft drinks whilst consuming alcohol. It is advisable to start a meal or a party with a soft drink then have one after each alcoholic drink.
Binge drinking is the most harmful way of drinking. Binge drinking is characterised by drinking lightly, or perhaps not at all during the week, but 'saving up' consumption for heavy bouts of alcohol drinking at the weekend, often on an empty stomach.
Recent surveys show that people who binge (that is over 5-6 alcoholic drinks or 40-48g alcohol at any one time) completely negate the protective effect of alcohol against coronary heart disease, even if moderation is practiced at other times.
LINKS
http://www.foodreactions.org/intolerance/alcohol/index.html
For in-depth information, please visit the AIM-Gateway site at www.aim-digest.com/gateway/
