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Today I want to talk about a sensitive topic. This topic is going to make some people uncomfortable. There's a lot of misinformation out there creating a smoke screen around the true facts surrounding alcohol consumption. We've been told for decades that moderate alcohol consumption is health promoting. Where did that idea come from? In the mid 1980s, we started seeing research appearing in the medical literature about the French paradox.
The French paradox is the idea that even though the French consume high amounts of saturated fat, they have a lower incidence of heart disease than most other nations. Now, if you're a regular listener of the show, that apparent paradox shouldn't take you by surprise. Just because you can associate a particular health outcome to a lifestyle habit doesn't mean that that lifestyle habit caused the outcome in question. Not only that,
Many of those studies were financed by the wine industry themselves. They've always got a question and say, well, who paid for this? And I think that's something worth considering here in a lot of those studies. To isolate a single ingredient like the resveratrol that's found in red wine and claim that that's the reason for the lower rates of heart disease among French people is a stretch to say the least. There is more going on here than meets the eye. Let's talk about
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the Christian Healthy Lifestyle Podcast where I help you navigate natural health so you can stay out of the doctor's office, age gracefully, and live abundantly. I'm your host, David Sandstrom. If you expected to see a new episode last week and it wasn't there, that's because I shifted to posting episodes every other week. I know that's a disappointment for some people, but at the moment my focus is on the Christian Healthy Lifestyle Community Membership Club.
Inside the community I post full versions of every podcast episode and you'll have access to a growing library of online courses as well as being a part of a community with like-minded believers. If you're finding value here, I think you'll really enjoy the community. Go to my website christianhealthylifestyle.com forward slash membership to learn more. As I said in the opener, today we're going to be talking about alcohol consumption.
One of the main reasons why this show exists is to help people discover and live the abundant life that Jesus promised us in John 10.10. Now, there's hardly an activity that I can think of that would serve to block or prevent us from living abundantly than excessive alcohol consumption. And you might be saying, but wait a minute, Dave, Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine.
And we know that we do see Jesus drinking wine on a number of instances in Bible. In fact, Jesus was accused of being a drunk. Yes, that's true, but we've got to remember a couple of things here. The alcohol content of wine in Jesus' day was very low compared to today's wine. And a couple of thousand years ago, the gene pool that made up the human race was stronger than it is today. Adam and Eve were created with genetic perfection.
but each generation after them experiences a slow degradation of that perfect genetic profile and the genetic expression that comes along with it. In other words, many of us today have genetic mutations that compromise our body's ability to process or detoxify from alcohol. Genetic mutations are called SNPs, which stands for Single Nucleotide Polymorphism.
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According to a 2015 study published in the journal Biomedical Research International, there's a SNP that causes a defect in the enzyme activity of ALDH2 that leads to alterations in acetaldehyde metabolism that markedly reduce alcohol tolerance. Now know that's kind of a very technical way of saying it, but in other words, this SNP
can make someone a lightweight when it comes to alcohol consumption. And that person is more susceptible to the adverse effects of alcohol. So we can't really compare alcohol consumption 2000 years ago with our population today. We're just not comparing apples to apples. Not only are our genes not as good as they used to be 2000 years ago, but our total body load is far greater than it was in Jesus' day.
Things like chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers that are used in agriculture, Wi-Fi radiation from cell phones and other wireless technology, car exhaust, along with many other lifestyle factors contribute to a total body load that we're carrying that the people in Jesus' day just weren't burdened with. So as a result, if we're going to protect our health, we've got to be more proactive. We've got to be more careful
than people had to be in Jesus' day. Now, alcohol is a poison. It's toxic to our bodies, and if we drink enough of it, we die. Now, I don't think you need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that any amount is harmful to our bodies. There's a growing body of research that suggests that consuming even small amounts of alcohol is harmful. When you ingest ethanol, that's the alcohol that's in drinks, your body converts it into acetylalda.
Acetylaldehyde is poison. It damages and kills cells indiscriminately. Alcohol devastates your gut microbiome, killing off good bacteria. This can lead to overproduction of endotoxins along with leaky gut that causes toxins to enter the bloodstream. Alcohol increases the conversion of testosterone to estrogen in both men and women, which can lead to various health issues.
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Alcohol consumption also alters DNA methylation and gene expression, which significantly increases cancer risk, particularly breast cancer. For every 10 grams of alcohol consumed daily, the equivalent of one beer or one glass of wine, there's a 13 % increased risk of breast cancer. That's comparable to smoking 10 cigarettes per day. I bet the wine industry hasn't told you that one. Now in abundant life,
requires a healthy functioning body. Systemic inflammation, increased cancer risk, hormonal imbalances, they all directly rob us of physical vitality and resilience. Alcohol consumption is particularly damaging to our brains. Even moderate drinking, up to seven drinks a week, increases the risk for vascular brain lesions by 60 % compared to non-drinkers.
These lesions reduce blood flow and oxygen to the brain, leading to tissue damage and resulting cognitive issues. Another study points to moderate amounts of alcohol, the equivalent of one to two drinks per day, show evidence of thinning of the neocortex or a loss of brain neurons. So it isn't just about heavy consumption, it's about chronic intake
even at low to moderate levels. How can we live abundantly if our very command center, our brain, is being steadily damaged, impairing memory, mental clarity, and our decision making? One of the problems with alcohol consumption is repeated exposure reduces alcohol's effects. In other words, you get less of the initial feel-good dopamine spike and a longer
more robust punishment signal. That process leads to more to chase that initial feeling, deepening the negative impact. Chronic drinking also changes brain circuits, those circuits that control habitual and impulsive behavior, making individuals more impulsive even when they're not drinking. Not only that, one study reports that heavy drinkers on average died 13 years earlier than non-drinkers.
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addiction and dependence are the antithesis of the abundant free life that Jesus offers. Lost years, impaired judgment, and a life revolving around substance abuse significantly diminish our God-given potential and joy. However, with that said, I think there is a side of alcohol consumption that's worth mentioning, and that is
Although harmful to the body, closer look at the research reveals a connection that's been clearly established. It's harmful to the body. Alcohol can be good for the soul, especially in the context of relationships. In a social situation, a celebration like a wedding or a New Year's celebration or maybe a romantic evening with your spouse, occasional light alcohol consumption can certainly contribute to joy and peace.
which are absolutely health promoting. So it's worth asking, could small amounts of alcohol consumption actually be beneficial to our health? Could there be a net benefit? I think the answer to that question is as unique as the individual. But I believe as health enthusiasts pursuing the abundant life in Christ, we should all do some serious reflection and ask ourselves,
How does alcohol fit into my healthy pursuits? The question is, where do we draw the line? How do we know when to say when? I think a good question to ask is, is my alcohol consumption helping or harming my pursuits of staying out of the doctor's office, aging gracefully, and living abundantly? The answer to that question is up to us as individuals. But I think we'd all be well served
do some serious reflection and even spend some time in prayer over this issue. You don't have to be an alcoholic to make the choice to severely cut back on alcohol consumption or even eliminate it altogether. If someone does have a problem with alcohol, I want to address the elephant in the room. I believe 12-step recovery programs, although well-intentioned, have a fatal flaw. And that flaw is they encourage participants
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to identify themselves as an alcoholic for life. At the start of many AA meetings, people are encouraged to introduce themselves as a lifelong addict. Hi, my name is Bob and I'm an alcoholic. This produces shame and can negatively impact self-esteem. The idea that I'm damaged goods can become a self-fulfilling prophecy where
Individuals struggle to see themselves as anything other than their past struggles. As followers of Jesus Christ, we know that transformation is possible. Being transformed is a foundational truth that we find in the Bible. We see it everywhere. There's a couple passages here. 2 Corinthians 5 17, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold.
the new has come. Or how about Ephesians 4 22 through 24? Put off concerning former conduct the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. So someone might be saying, well yeah Dave that's true but we still have that struggle with the flesh.
Maybe the 12-step program is just being consistent with the idea that we will always struggle with our sin. Well, yes, that's true. That might be accurate. But God doesn't want to see us struggling forever. He wants to give us a change of heart. He wants to take our desire for unhealthy practices away. Ezekiel 36 26 says, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.
I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And then in verse 29, and I will deliver you from all your uncleanness. And then we have a similar teaching in Philippians 4.13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I believe that the new life that Jesus offers us just flies in the face of traditional teaching in 12-step programs.
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that once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. I reject that idea. Now I've talked about this in previous episodes on mental toughness, and that is the idea of identity. The fastest way to lasting change is to change your identity. Stop identifying as an obese person. Stop identifying as a lazy person. Stop identifying with, well, the genetic profile just runs in my family.
Be the agent of change. Exercise your God-given free will and your agency to do things differently. Think of yourself not as the sum of your past poor choices, but as a totally new creation with a new identity, with agency and free will. Believing in the idea that once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic, will stunt your growth. The great Zig Ziglar was once asked, can the
How does positive thinking alone make you successful in life? His reply was, no, but it sure does help. I think the same thing applies here. Can someone overcome their alcoholism by being in a 12-step program and identifying themselves as an alcoholic for life? Yes, they can, but if they believe in transformation, if they believe that the past is behind them,
and they can embrace a new identity and therefore make better choices based on that new identity, I think the chances of avoiding a relapse and staying sober for life are greatly enhanced. So that's my thoughts on alcohol. Again, I think this is an individual thing. I encourage everyone to spend some time pondering this idea of cutting back on alcohol or maybe eliminating it altogether. Pray about it.
If you think you have a problem, get some help, but I encourage you to be careful with the traditional help found in 12-step programs. You may want to seek out a Christian counselor that thinks differently. Now I want to remind everyone that the full version of each episode is available inside my Christian Healthy Lifestyle Community. If you're finding value here, you may enjoy becoming a part of the online community. Go to my website
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ChristianHealthyLifestyle.com forward slash membership and you can learn more. That's it for now. Thank you for listening. I appreciate you. Go out there and live abundantly. I'll talk with you next time. Be blessed.
