The Mediterranean Lie-t
Big Alcohol lied. Moderate drinking never had any benefits. Only drawbacks.
Good Morning!
I think a lot about how health and fitness trends come and go.
Low-carb, Keto, Paleo, Dopamine Fasting…the list goes on.
All of these methods of living attempt to promise something to whoever tries them.
Social media has allowed people to form cults around diets and supplements that allegedly help with weight loss, a flat stomach, improved mood, better sex and many much wilder claims.
These claims have spread like wildfire and poisoned the conversation about fitness. On Tuesday, I cautioned against relying on social media for nutrition advice, but platforms like TikTok, Instagram or Facebook aren’t the only ones culpable.
Television is arguably just as much to blame as any media for fitness misinformation. Fat-shaming shows like “Fat Families”* or race-to-the-finish line contests like “The Biggest Loser” implanted a terrible outlook on wellness and didn’t do anything to help the people who participated, leaving viewers wondering how anything can improve our health if drill sergeants screaming at us won’t.**
But one aspect of diet culture has always been somewhat prevalent in it’s inclusion in our palette: alcohol, and the downright staggering frequency with which we consume it for leisure.
*The host of Fat Families was a so-called “weight loss expert,” but advertises “hypnosis” on his coaching website. Pretty sure that’s not how it works.
**The Biggest Loser’s longest-standing trainer and eventual host represents the typical “shut up and get it done” health coach — a crossfitter. I have thoughts on CrossFit that I’ll save for another newsletter, but it took a literal heart attack during a CrossFit workout for him to realize that wasn’t the best way to train. That should tell you all you need to know about CrossFit.
The Mediterranean Lie-t: Alcoholic Drinks
In the 1950’s, a scientist by the name of Ancel Keys was interested in the dietary habits of people living in Mediterranean countries and conducted a study known as the Seven Countries Study, which aimed to investigate the relationship between diet, lifestyle, and heart disease.
He observed that those living in Mediterranean countries had lower rates of heart disease compared to those in the United States and other Western countries. He attributed this to the native diet, which was characterized by frequent consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish, and olive oil, and moderate consumption of dairy products and wine.
Thus, the “Mediterranean Diet” was born.
In the diet’s rise to fame over the decades, it’s hard to find what exactly made the Mediterranean style of eating so popular. One might surmise that the aspiring for the lifespan of those cultures (Italy is full of octagenarians and centenarians) is an attractive enough reason.
It may have also enjoyed some increased attention for its lack of emphasis on red meat, since veganism — and it’s meteoric jump into the mainstream — quickly attacked any and every consumer of meat.
But my theory — keep in mind, it’s my theory, and only a theory — is that people flocked to a diet that recommended and almost outright encouraged moderate alcohol consumption.
Imagine someone telling you that you’d live to be 100 consuming a glass of red wine a day. Then imagine celebrities telling you, nutritionists piggybacking, and Netflix specials following suit. Eventually, you’d start to believe it.
If you did, or still do, and haven’t read the Journal of the American Medical Association’s recent report, then boy, are you in for a rude awakening.
JAMA found in a series of meta-analyses of the drinking habits of nearly 5 million people that moderate alcohol consumption isn’t good for your health. In fact, it’s not even a net-neutral; it leads to an increased risk of heart disease.
When we say “moderate,” we mean a drink a day. If that sounds like a lot, it’s the hill that the Mediterranean Diet and “The French Paradox” theory have been willing to die on for decades, and they may have just had the coffin nailed.
“The belief that daily alcohol consumption is good for you dates to the 1980s, when researchers identified the “French paradox” — the suggestion that low rates of cardiovascular disease among men in France was associated with daily wine consumption. Although later analyses found flaws in the research, the belief that moderate drinking improved health became widely accepted.”
Marlene Cimons, WaPo
It Gets Worse
Returning to the “who to blame for putting us in health hell” conversation, one finger can most certainly be pointed at the alcohol industry for downplaying drinking’s negative affects.
The industry, while decreasing their own amounts of research they conduct on alcohol’s health effects, has funded 13,500 studies on alcohol. That was noted in 2020, and the number has likely increased since then. This kind of conflict-of-interest funding happens a lot in the food businesses, as the sugar industry showed us in the 1960’s.
The alcohol monopolies essentially paid their way to “prove” that drinking doesn’t hurt us, when it most certainly does. The farce that certain populations enjoyed daily drinks and longer lives fails to take into account things like industrialization and pollutants, cleaner drinks and other environmental factors.
Also, as someone who’s been to Italy and enjoyed sulfite-free wine, I can say for certain that America’s wine is not safe to drink every day.
The ways in which this thinking around drinking has influenced American culture are hard to quantify. It wouldn’t be a hot take to make a correlation between American drinking culture and America’s addictive tendencies with alcohol.
So, What is “Moderation?”
For those who read Tuesday’s newsletter, you may remember me speaking of an 80/20 rule for dieting. Being conscious and calculated with your diet 80% of the time and allowing yourself some freedom 20% of the time might be a good place to start for moderating things, but this will all depend on the individual.
Those who have certain preconditions for adverse health effects may need to consult a physician before even trying something as simple as 80/20.
Besides, many people take the 80/20 rule and use it to slack off incredibly on the weekends, consuming more calories and even beverages than they might have consumed had they just ate intuitively.
Moderation for alcohol shouldn’t rely on arbitrary schedules, but rather on occasions.
As we learn more about the negative effects alcohol has on our health (paid subscribers will receive a short list at the end based on the most recent research), it’s important to know when to resist the temptation of a cocktail and when to enjoy it.
Some Do’s and Dont’s
DO: Enjoy a drink for a holiday or birthday, New Years, catching up with an old friend, and only occasionally on work outings. Work outings are notoriously toxic for being alcohol-based events, but it’s still possible to close that deal without four Jack and Cokes, I promise.
DON’T: Drink during the week if it’s within your power, drink when you’re bored, or drink because everyone else is having one. Also, avoid drinking for consecutive days if you can.
I hope you give serious thought to how you’ll spend your weekends (or any happy hours, for that matter) from here on out! Your body is depending on you.
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