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A fascinating two sided coin in health care.
In an article on New Year's Eve, The New York Times broke surprising new ground in media coverage of alcohol and health. Abagail Zuger wrote that "Alcohol has become the sharpest double-edged sword in medicine," she wrote, adding that some experts consider a "drink or two a day of wine, beer or liquor ... often the single best nonprescription way to prevent heart attacks - better than a low-fat diet or weight loss, better even than vigorous exercise. Moderate drinking can help prevent strokes, amputated limbs and dementia."
I don’t believe that it is a ‘double edged sword’ but rather a coin with health on one side and pathology on the other. Clinical research as yet to figure out what pathophysiology causes craving and addiction. Some set of genetic switches and environmental stressors flip that coin in some individuals resulting in the pathology side of the coin.
I have always wanted to know the why of things. We are still working on the addictive aspects of alcohol but as described in the Times article, there is some new research into the health components.
A couple of years ago, I attended a lecture by Freddie Frank, grandson of Konstantin Frank, a Ukranian oenologist who came to America and was a pioneer grower of European wine grape varieties in the eastern United States - particularly in the Finger Lakes in New York. He was discussing the healthful aspects of wine and introduced a term - ‘resveratrol’ which I had never heard before.
Resveratrol
Resveratrol (trans-3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene), a compound found largely in the skins of red grapes, is a component of Ko-jo-kon, an oriental medicine used to treat diseases of the blood vessels, heart and liver. It came to scientific attention a few years ago, as a possible explanation for the "French Paradox" -- the low incidence of heart disease among the French people, who eat a relatively high-fat diet. More of the details can be found in an interesting review of some recent research on resveratrol's physiologic activity is called Grape Expectations from Quackwatch.
Some other articles worthy of attention include a discussion of resveratrol as an antiaging compound from the New Scientist and from International Anti-aging Systems. There is also a report by a fascinating group called the Society of the Medical Friends of Wine.
So how do we deal with this news?
In an interesting editorial by David Hackett, the managing editor of the Hoosier Times points out “for my New Year's resolution, I've decided to take up drinking. That may sound like a natural recourse following a year marked by corporate thievery, religious scandal and the threat of global war. But my resolve to imbibe has nothing to do with drowning out the world's problems. Indeed, I was content to reside in a state of near-abstinence until I came across an article last week in the New York Times. Suddenly, drinking - moderate drinking - seems like a life-or-death matter.”
According to the Times, however, the benefits of moderate drinking have crossed the threshold from theory to medical gospel. "The science supporting the protective role of alcohol is indisputable; no one questions it anymore," said Dr. Curtis Ellison, professor of medicine and public health at the Boston University School of Medicine. "There have been hundreds of studies, all consistent. All criticisms have been shot down."
So here is the proviso. Should the wine or beer label read:
“For those who do not have a problem with moderate drinking”?
or
”With apologies to those who cannot imbibe?
Our world, throughout history, has made alcoholic beverages part of life, part of a celebration of life. Just as with food, part of staying healthy is understanding and subscribing to the concept of moderation. And, there will unfortunately always be a group of people who have illnesses. It may be diabetes or GERD, yet we are not putting warning labels on candy or spicy food. It could also be alcoholism.
Until we have genetic testing that can understand what triggers disorders, we need to intelligently educate people that there are those who cannot do certain things. Drinking is one of them. Part of the educational process is understand what constitutes the symptoms of a disorder and catching these problems early.
Meanwhile, for the general population. We need to re-consider what European and other cultures have have been prescribing and practicing for centuries. We also need to continue researching this double sided coin.
10:55:25 PM 
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