Alcohol consumption and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease; sesame oil and metabolic bio markers, and play positive sum games.

You’re probably hearing more and more about how bad “seed oils” are for you lately. 

And by and large, that’s pretty accurate. 

For the most part, when someone is referring to “seed oils’, what they are really referring to are the highly processed, and quite frankly, should not be meant for human consumption seed oils, that are cut and processed with chemicals and solvents that are considered neurotoxins and carcinogens. 

Furthermore, these “seed oils” may be a bigger culprit of metabolic syndrome, something I’ve been writing about extensively lately, than processed sugar even, or at minimum, are right up there. 

And these seed oils are probably the most pro-inflammatory “food” we put in our bodies. 

So yes, “seed oils” as mentioned, by and large are terrible for you. 

The biggest, most common offenders are: grapeseed oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, soybean oil, and the worst of them all, canola oil (aka vegetable oil), which was actually originally used as an industrial lubricant before synthetic chemistry, and then when cheaper synthetic lubricants became the norm, they literally repurposed it as “vegetable oil” so as not to kill the industry, even if it’s slowly and surely killing us more quickly. 

Avoiding the above seed oils entirely is very difficult as they make their way into many, many foods, so it’s difficult to avoid them entirely, however, what you should be avoiding are foods where these oils are the primary added fat, and then foods fried in them, which is probably going to be all foods. 

Seed Oil Scout is a great resource for this. 

---

When it comes to seed oils, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. 

All that said, not all seed oils are bad for you, even though most will be. 

Most notably, is sesame seed oil. 

A meta-analysis published in February 2022 titled, The effects of sesame oil on metabolic biomarkers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials was designed to examine the effects of sesame oil consumption on metabolic biomarkers in adults, and here’s what they found.

Sesame oil consumption lowered the following metabolic biomarkers in adults:

✔️ Fasting blood glucose.

✔️ Hemoglobin A1c, which is an indicator of long term blood sugar metabolism

✔️ Malondialdehyde, which is a toxic byproduct that is an indicator of oxidative stress

✔️ Systolic and diastolic blood pressure

✔️ Overall body mass index

If you ran a study on these same metabolic biomarkers in relation to the toxic seed oils mentioned above, you’d probably find the exact opposite results, and all of these biomarkers would probably increase with increased consumption. 

In short, sesame oil appears to be pretty darn good for you, and I would say a seed oil that is worthy of consideration as a therapeutic food you consume from time to time. 

---

A real quick distinction between a nutritious or nourishing food, and a food I would consider a “therapeutic” food. 

Let’s use olive oil as an example. 

From a nourishment perspective, olive oil is simply a “healthy fat”, and you can get an equivalent amount of healthy fat from far cheaper sources, like grass fed butter or beef tallow. 

But, there is probably no food on the planet that is more researched and proven to help you live longer than olive oil due to its high concentration of anti-aging oleic acid and polyphenol antioxidants. 

From a pure, bang for your buck nutritious perspective, if trying to get more healthy fat in your diet, you can’t go wrong with grass fed butter or beef tallow, however, as a therapeutic food that you would consume to help you live longer and healthier, you can’t go wrong with olive oil. 

I actually plan to put out a segment ranking my top bang for your buck nutritious foods and then also my top therapeutic foods to more clearly make the distinction.

---

Anyhow, after seeing this research, I would put sesame oil into the camp of foods to consume regularly, or semi-regularly as a “therapeutic”. 

My daily, non-negotiable therapeutic food is olive oil, as I usually just take a big swig of it after dinner, however, I do now plan to work sesame oil into my diet as a therapeutic more. 

I eat long grain organic jasmine rice usually once to twice per week as part of my dinner. Sesame oil, being used primarily in Asian cuisine, pairs very well with rice, so I plan to add a healthy amount of sesame oil as a dressing on my rice whenever I eat it as an easy way to work it into my diet. 

I will probably still consume my olive oil on those days as well, just maybe slightly less.

I’m concluding my deep dive on the truth behind alcohol consumption this week with some solid research showing that moderate alcohol consumption (which I will more clearly define) can actually have a positive impact on life expectancy. 

I want to stress one more time, that I am not trying to convince anyone to take up drinking alcohol, or drink more, rather, I’m merely trying to shed some light on a topic of our health that I feel is being misportrayed on the internet and social media, oftentimes, by those who have something to gain from it. 

The truth is, and there is hard science to back it up, it is possible to have a therapeutic effect from low to moderate alcohol consumption (remember that word “therapeutic”), which is something that simply cannot be said for ultra high processed food. 

There is nothing therapeutic about a Twinkie™️.

But a glass of high quality red wine a day, or most days, will most likely help you live longer. 

As with all things, it comes down to clearly defining and adhering to “moderate” amounts and not over consuming, just like exercise, sauna, cold exposure, sunlight, et cetera. Moderate amounts all yield positive effects, and over exposure has negative effects on your health. 

It does appear the same goes for alcohol, and especially if you are drinking the right kind of alcohol (which I will also outline), you can have a drink or two without guilt, so don’t let the internet demonize and guilt you for it. 😊

---

1️⃣ First point of reference is a paper from PubMed Central titled, Alcohol’s effects on the cardiovascular system.

This article from PMC reviews the complex effects of alcohol use on cardiovascular (CV) health, including conditions like hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and cardiomyopathy. The associations between drinking and CV diseases are strongly modulated by the dose and pattern of alcohol consumption, so again, it’s all about understanding what “moderate” means. 

Low-to-moderate daily alcohol consumption (1 to 2 standard drinks) is associated with a reduced risk of CV disease and mortality.

This may be due to the mitigation of certain mechanisms such as risk and hemostatic factors affecting atherosclerosis and inflammation. However, greater amounts of alcohol consumption and binge drinking have been linked to an increased risk of CV conditions. 

While some suggest red wine offers more protection due to polyphenols, studies have found no differences in CV disease outcomes based on beverage type. 

This is key, as this study shows objectively that moderate alcohol consumption in and of itself, is what correlates to reduced risk of heart disease, not the alcohol type. Now, I would throw in that red wine, as mentioned, due to its high concentration of polyphenols, could probably further reduce risk of disease, but I think it’s important that this study does make the distinction that it appears the correlation between reduced risk of CV disease is actually from the moderate alcohol consumption itself. 

---

2️⃣ Next up is an article in Nature titled, The effects of modest drinking on life expectancy and mortality risks: a population based cohort study. 

This study aimed to distinguish between the effects of modest drinking compared to heavy drinking, and its overall impact on life expectancy. 

It defined “modest drinking” as 1 drink per day for women, and 2 drinks per day for men, and defined “heavy drinking” as 3 or more drinks per day for women, and 4 or more drinks per day for men. 

I think they were generalizing a bit when they broke the parameters for “modest” and “heavy” drinking down by gender, as my guess is this were distinguishing by weight, and yes, typically a woman is going to weigh less than a man. 

Alcohol is measured by volume, so more accurately, the larger or smaller the individual by weight (meaning more or less total blood volume), I would say, regardless of gender, is a better barometer for what is considered “modest” alcohol consumption, but nonetheless, for the sake of the study, this is how they broke it down. 

The most notable findings of the study was that of men who drank “modest” amounts of alcohol, which again, is up to 2 drinks per day. 

They found that men who drank modestly reduced their rate of all-cause mortality by 8% and increased their overall life expectancy by 0.94 years. 

They found that men who drank heavily increased their risk of all-cause mortality by 43% and decreased life expectancy by 6 years. 

Meaning, there is an inverse relationship between modest and heavy drinking amongst men, and the relationship of modest drinking in men had positive effects on both their risk of all cause mortality (lowered by 8%) and life expectancy (increased by 0.94 years). 

Furthermore, the control that they compared these findings to were those who didn’t drink at all. 

Which means, men who drank up to 2 drinks per day, actually had an improvement in their life expectancy and a decrease in their risk of all cause mortality compared to those who don’t drink. 

---

Okay, so the point has been made that there does appear to be a therapeutic benefit to moderate alcohol consumption, or at minimum, the case sure could be made for it. 

One way to negate those therapeutic effects could be in what you drink, and what you drink with your drink. 

Your Best Bets to Drink to Your Health 

✔️ Red wine. Hands down, no questions asked, drinking old world style or organic, biodynamic red wine is going to be the best way to “drink to your health”. This is due to the very high concentration of polyphenol antioxidants in red wine grapes, so you get the therapeutic benefits of the alcohol, and the therapeutic benefits of those anti-aging photo chemicals known as “polyphenols”. 

I will drink 1-2 glasses of old world style red wine usually 5 days per week, and you’ll probably see red wine on my list of therapeutic foods just behind olive oil. 

Curious about how to choose an “old world style” red wine? I wrote an entire blog about it. CLICK HERE to check it out. 

✔️ Gin & Tequila. If you’re drinking spirits, gin and tequila are definitely your best bets. 

First, gin is distilled with many different herbs, which give gin its unique taste profile, and many of these herbs are considered “digestifs”, which means they reduce inflammation in the gut and aid in digestion. 

When I’m out to dinner, I’ll order a clean gin cocktail before dinner. 

Tequila is distilled from agave, which is a nutrient dense plant loaded with beneficial prebiotics to help support a healthy gut microbiome. Mezcal is a tequila made from smoked agave, and that will typically have more prebiotics than standard tequila. 

Tequila with a bit of fresh squeezed lime and mineral or sparkling water is a healthy, clean way to drink your tequila. Same with gin. 

✔️ IPAs. India Pale Ales, those hoppy beers that you either love or hate, are your best bet for beer. 

Hops are a very therapeutic food, as they reduce systemic inflammation, aid in digestion, and are one of the most proven foods that fight cancer.

So, the hoppier the better if you’re looking for a therapeutic effect. 

What to Avoid if the Goal is to “Drink to Your Health”

🚫 Whiskey & Bourbon. I hate to burst your bubble if you’re a whiskey/bourbon drinker, but just like we should avoid processed grains in our diet, we should in our alcohol as well, as alcohol is technically a food product, and whiskey/bourbon are traditionally distilled from corn and wheat. 

🚫 Most American Wines. This may also burst some bubbles, but if you refer to my blog on “choosing an old world style wine”, we don’t make wine in the United States in the “old world style”, so if you’re drinking an American wine, you then want to make sure it’s at least organic, and ideally, organic & biodynamic, which you can usually assume an old world wine naturally is. 

Wines especially from the popular winemaking regions like Napa, are typically going to be laden with pesticides and preservatives, which will negate some of the therapeutic benefits of the red wine. 

🚫 Sugar. If the aim is to “drink to your health”, adding sugar or any sugary mix to your drink is not the way to go, for obvious reasons. 

🚫 Cheap American beer. Think of the standard American Lager brands, they are all brewed with what are considered “adjuncts”, which are cheaper, low quality, more heavily processed grains.

Don’t play zero sum games in life.