Myth: Moderate Amounts of Alcohol are Healthy

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Health

MODERATE AMOUNTS of ALCOHOL IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH
That is a MYTH

Over the years, I’ve known many people who told me that drinking alcohol at a moderate level is actually good for you. I knew that wasn’t true, as I read lots of scientific research which showed the kind of damage, even moderate amounts of alcohol does to your body. Nonetheless, many people believe that myth, much of it perpetrated by a flawed study many years ago.

If you’ve been following my previous blog articles, you know that I never touched alcohol in my life. I go dancing and have tons of fun at parties without drinking. Why do people believe they need alcohol to have fun?

Having said that, everyone I know drinks. Unfortunately, it is embedded in our culture as socializing and celebrating are all associated with drinking.  I do not expect anyone to stop drinking, nor do I expect cultural habits to change. My goal in this article is to ensure you know the belief that moderate drinking is good for your health is in fact a myth. Drinking negatively impacts a number of health-related issues such as:

  • Cancer
  • Blood pressure
  • Atrial Fibrillation / Irregular Heartbeats
  • Weakened Heart Muscles
  • Heart Attacks
  • Strokes

I don’t expect people who enjoy a glass of wine with their dinner to stop. But I want them to know that even moderate levels of alcohol can be unhealthy and/or dangerous. Once you are aware of the impact and danger occasional drinking can have, you can make an informed decision.

For over 30 years, I’ve been following Dr. Mirkin, who used to have a radio show in the DC-MD area, which I frequently listened to. Dr. Mirkin carefully follows medical research from around the world and reports it to his followers on his website. Therefore, when you’re reading one of his articles, you are not reading one person’s opinion, you are reading about the latest scientific research.

At the end of the article, Dr. Mirkin then inserts his personal opinion and recommendations. Earlier this week, he uploaded an article reference the latest research on alcohol and its impact on your body. Here’s the article and the link.

Link to Dr. Mirkin’s Article:
https://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/no-amount-of-alcohol-is-healthful.html

No Amount of Alcohol is Healthful

April 7, 2023

Low-volume alcohol drinking is not associated with protection against death from all causes (JAMA Netw Open, Mar 2023;6(3):e236185). An analysis of 107 studies involving more than 4.8 million participants found no significant reductions in death rates for those who drank fewer than 25 grams of alcohol per day (two standard drinks) compared with lifetime nondrinkers. The death risk was increased in women who drank 25 or more grams per day and among male drinkers who drank 45 or more grams per day. The study found no increased risk for occasional drinkers.

The World Heart Federation reported that taking one drink a day does not help to prevent heart attacks (Clinical Nutrition, Feb 1, 2022;41(2):348-355). A study of 371,463 individuals found that no amount of alcohol helps prevent heart disease, and the more you drink, the greater your chance of suffering a heart attack (JAMA Netw Open, March 2022;5(3):e223849).

Flaws in Studies Showing that Light Drinking Reduces Heart Attacks
For many years, the alcoholic beverage industry has promoted studies showing that moderate drinkers live slightly longer than non-drinkers, but the non-drinking groups in these studies have included people who gave up alcohol on their doctors’ instructions: those with high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, some types of cancer, diseases of the heart, kidney, liver or lungs or other health problems, as well as recovering alcoholics. A study with a 20-year-follow-up of 4,028 18-to-64-year-old adults found that when the people who had stopped drinking for medical reasons were removed from the control group, moderate drinkers did not live longer than non-drinkers (PLoS Medicine, Nov 2, 2021;18(11):e1003819). An analysis of 45 earlier studies showed that those associating moderate drinking of alcohol with reduced heart attacks rates needed better control groups (J Stud Alcohol and Drugs, May 17;78(3):394-403).

Alcohol and Heart Damage
Alcohol intake has been linked to increased heart rate, high blood pressure, weakened heart muscle and irregular heartbeats, all of which can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes (Alcohol Clin Exp Res, Dec 2015;39(12):2334–2344). Drinking any amount of alcohol is associated with increased risk for irregular heartbeats or atrial fibrillation (European Heart J, March 21, 2021;42(12):1170-1177). A study of 79,000 Swedish adults, aged 45-83, followed for up to 12 years, showed that those who drank any amount of wine or liquor daily were at increased risk for atrial fibrillation, an abnormally fast heartbeat that can cause clots, strokes and heart failure (J American College of Cardiology, July 14, 2014).

People who take just one drink a day are at increased risk for heart disease (J American College of Cardiology, December 5, 2016) and enlarged upper heart and irregular heartbeats that cause clots and strokes (J Am Heart Assoc, Sep 14, 2016;5:e004060; J Am Coll Cardiol, 2016;68(23):2567-2576). Binge drinking, defined as having five or more drinks in a single bout, increased risks even more. Data from six studies including more than 12,500 cases of atrial fibrillation showed that each additional drink per day of any type of alcohol boosted risk of irregular heartbeat by eight percent (J Am Coll Card, July 14, 2014). Many other studies have associated drinking alcohol with atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, heart failure and strokes. Association is not cause, but I believe that these studies give reason for caution.

My Recommendations
Many people have the mistaken belief that it is safe for women to take up to one drink per day and for men to take up to two drinks per day. Almost 30 percent of North Americans drink more than that. Most studies of alcohol consumption show that no amount of alcohol is “safe” or beneficial. Whatever you decide about your own consumption of alcohol, do not base your decision on bad information from the alcoholic beverage industry. Occasional drinking probably will not harm you, but repeated drinking increases your risk for many different cancers, heart attacks and strokes. See:
Alcohol Increases Risk for Heart Attacks and Cancers
Alcohol Does Not Appear to Prevent Heart Disease
Alcohol At Any Dose Can Increase Cancer Risk

Trump: NYC Indictment

by | Apr 2, 2023 | Politics

The NY Trump Indictment

I’m writing this article on April 2nd so I have to start with a caveat, we don’t yet have all the facts. At this point in time, the indictment is sealed, so some of what I’m going to write below is speculation. My conclusions are based upon common sense, press reports, comments from former federal prosecutor and NYC D.A. Mark Pomerantz, and the fact that we know Trump is a thug and a criminal, who has no respect for the rule of law.

As we know, the press tends to focus on issues which they believe their audience is interested. How many Americans are interested in the nuances of corporate fraud law in New York? Therefore, we should not be surprised to learn that every press report focuses primarily on the Stormy Daniels hush money payments made by Trump’s attorney. They believe that will get the attention of their readers.

Right-Wing propaganda experts are trying to spin this indictment as the Stormy Daniels hush money incident, as in a case solely about a campaign financing violation. They are arguing that is not worth indicting a former president.

Hello! The Grand Jury in this case deliberated for at least 6 months! If this was primarily about hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, the Grand Jury could have made a decision about her case in 6 hours.

What does the time span tell us? It tells us this is a very complex, complicated case about felony corporate fraud law violations. That’s why this grand jury has been listening to evidence for more than 6 months. For me, that validates the press reports which indicate Trump has been charged with 30 or more counts of Corporate Fraud in NYC. It would probably take months to explain the nuances of corporate fraud laws to members of a Grand Jury.

That brings us to former D.A. Mark Pomerantz, who played a major role as a federal prosecutor in the conviction of Mafia kingpin John Gotti.

Pomerantz worked with former NYC District Attorney Vance, who retired and was replaced by Bragg. Pomerantz believed the team had overwhelming  evidence of corporate fraud, which merited filing numerous felony charges against Trump. But the newly elected district attorney, Alvin Bragg, wasn’t ready to proceed with an indictment, so Pomerantz and another senior attorney resigned. Their departures were headline news across America. Pomerantz wrote in his resignation letter that failing to bring a case of criminal fraud charges against Trump, was a grave failure of justice.

Listen to what he said about Trump and the investigation.

  • Pomerantz compares Trump to John Gotti, a mob boss who used every trick to avoid culpability and maintain one degree of deniability, while building a massive criminal enterprise.
  • Here is one example, illustrating how the Trump business operates. The Trump organization valued a Manhattan property at $527 million in one document for a bank loan. They then reported the value of that same property to the tax authorities as $16 million.
  • The above example of fraud is for only one property. Can you imagine the level of crime when all the Trump properties are accounted for?
  • Pomerantz argued there was so much evidence of financial fraud reference numerous felonies committed by Trump and his organization, that he should have been indicted 2 or 3 years ago.

Critical Point of this Article

If one believes Pomerantz, and I do, the right-wing propaganda experts have it backwards. Trump isn’t being prosecuted, as they claim, for political reasons. In reality, he actually received the benefit of a double standard in his favor, because he was Donald Trump, former President. In other words, Pomerantz argues that if it was anyone other than Trump, there is so much evidence of fraud, he would have been indicted a long time ago.

Republican Party Reaction

I thought the Republican Party took pride in being referred to as the party of Law & Order. Why does a political party, which allegedly respects Law & Order, attack the District Attorney, who enforces the law, and defends the criminal who committed numerous felonies? Members of Congress said they plan to investigate and go after the NYC District Attorney. Wow! If this was a plot in a Hollywood movie, you would probably think about walking out of the theater, because it is such a stupid movie.

Trump’s Other Major Legal Problems

I’m sure you know Trump may be indicted in Georgia for interfering with the 2020 Presidential election in that state. We don’t know for sure, but it appears as if another indictment is inevitable.

Federal Case against Trump

In my opinion, this is the big one. Trump stole hundreds of Top Secret / Classified documents and stored them in his private residence for 19 months. Who knows what he did with those documents? Did he sell them to China or Vladimir?

Please be aware of yet another double standard in favor of Trump. If a CIA employee stole hundreds of Top Secret Classified documents, they would have been arrested before the week was over. So far, nothing has happened to Trump. You get the idea, politics is protecting Trump, it is not the reason for pending indictments against him.

Unfortunately, in Trump World, many believe the FBI planted those documents in his Mara a Lago home. They also ignore the fact that Trump was given multiple opportunities to return the stolen documents, but refused to do such. If Trump would have complied with those requests, there would have been no need for an FBI raid on his private home.

So far, we’ve heard very little about the DOJ investigation, but I would be very surprised if serious charges aren’t filed. Of course, the horrible mishandling of Top Secret / Classified documents by President Biden, is seriously impacting the federal case against Trump.

RED vs. BLUE States

by | Mar 6, 2023 | Politics

RED STATES versus BLUE STATES

Right-wing propaganda experts repeatedly try to portray the Blue states as failed ones, and the red states as the best ones. Of course, that Is not supported by the facts. For the most part, Blue states generally have the best jobs, the best schools, the best amenities, the best hospitals and medical care, the highest levels of income, and pay the most taxes. In other words, they are financially independent.

In sharp contrast with Blue states, many RED states have the lowest levels of education and many of them depend on the federal government for welfare.

I downloaded a list of the 20 states with the highest levels of education and the 20 states with the lowest levels of education. It’s very obvious that uneducated people, who do not engage in independent research and who watch Fox 24/7, are helpless victims of propaganda. But the people who live in the Blue states, read far more often, engage in independent research, and I’m guessing, do a lot more thinking.

The Fox Propaganda Network is incredibly popular in the RED states. In fact, it’s an addiction in those states. I’m guessing Fox isn’t as popular in the BLUE states, which generally have a much higher level of education.  It’s a lot more than just education. Fox and their viewers are always talking about the high level of crime in Blue states, but once again, they are not supported by the facts. Remember, facts and research are not part of their world. I also listed the 15 most dangerous states, per FBI statistics, most of them are RED states.

If you are interested, the safest state in America is New Jersey.

Before you check out the research I downloaded, I want you to know what Fox viewers and Trump supporters will say when they are presented with the facts and research below. They will call it “FAKE NEWS”.

Top 20 states with highest levels of education.

  1. Massachusetts            
  2. Maryland
  3. Connecticut                
  4. Vermont
  5. Colorado            
  6. New Jersey
  7. Virginia                        
  8. New Hampshire
  9. Minnesota            
  10. Utah
  11. Washington            
  12. Rhode Island
  13. Delaware            
  14. New York
  15. Oregon            
  16. Illinois
  17. Hawaii
  18. Maine
  19. Montana            
  20. Wisconsin

Top 20 states with lowest levels of education

  1. Iowa
  2. Georgia

    33 Missouri                             

  1. Ohio
  2. South Dakota
  3. Iowa
  4. Arizona
  5. Indiana
  6. South Carolina
  7. Tennessee
  8. Texas
  9. New Mexico
  10. Nevada
  11. Kentucky
  12. Oklahoma
  13. Alabama
  14. Arkansas
  15. Louisiana
  16. Mississippi
  17. West Virginia

       The top 10 states which depend on the Federal Government for Welfare.

  1. Alaska
  2. Mississippi
  3. Kentucky
  4. West Virginia
  5. Montana
  6. New Mexico
  7. Arizona
  8. Louisiana
  9. Indiana
  10. Alabama

The 15 most Dangerous States in America, per FBI statistics

  1. Louisiana
  2. Arkansas
  3. Alabama
  4. Tennessee
  5. Alaska
  6. Missouri
  7. Michigan
  8. Colorado
  9. South Carolina
  10. Oklahoma
  11. Texas
  12. Montana
  13. Nevada
  14. South Dakota
  15. Kansas

Issues, Behavior, Beliefs, Which Irritate Me

by | Feb 14, 2023 | Life, Religion and God

Issues, Behavior, and Cultural Myths, Which Irritate Me

I’m guessing there are many aspects of life, and they are different for everyone, which irritates all of us, some more than others. I’m definitely in the “more than others” category. Here’s a partial list of issues, beliefs, or behavior, which irritates me. I’m guessing you will identify with some of them, and I’m confident some of you will not like several of my thoughts in this article. If you’re interested in my partial list, please continue reading. After you finish reading this article, if you want to send me to a deserted island, let me know. But I’m sorry, I do not believe in many of our absurd, cultural myths.

LOG OUT BUTTON: Many web developers think it’s cool to hide the log out button. Why? Logging out, especially on a bank site, is critical for your financial safety. Why do these idiots hide the log out button? It should be prominently displayed, so that everyone will see it.

PARENTHESIS AROUND THE AREA CODE:

Maybe it made sense back in 1983, but in the year 2023, there is absolutely no need to place parentheses around the area code, as is often required on website forms. Why do people continue to insist on doing this? I don’t get it.

GAS STATION PRICES: You will never see the price of gas listed simply as $3.98 per gallon. No, it will be $3.98 9/10. Why do we need that useless tenths category?

ALCOHOL: Why do most Americans associate having a good time with alcohol? Why can’t you go out and enjoy yourself without indulging in something I find unhealthy and unnecessary? Yes, I realize, that’s my issue, not your issue.

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? Wherever I go, I’m a person who analyzes many aspects of an organization. I’m sorry, but I can’t help myself, that’s what I do instinctively. When I transition to a new company, a new job, or a new organization, I always see them doing things which make no sense to anyone, not even themselves. When I ask the question, this doesn’t make any sense, why are you continuing to do this, you know what the answer is. We’ve always done it this way. I hate that response.
I worked in the federal government for 25 years, and on several occasions, I wrote letters to upper management, showing them how we could accomplish our tasks more efficiently. If that wasn’t enough, I would also point out that it would actually save money. Even though many of the senior managers liked or agreed with my suggestions, guess what the usual response was.

TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST WITH YOU: Very often, I’m in an extended conversation with someone who suddenly prefaces their next statement by saying, “To Be Perfectly Honest With You”. When I hear that expression, my initial thought is, have you been lying to me all this time?

KNOCK on WOOD: Yes, in the 21st Century, people still preface their wishful comments by knocking on a table or something similar. Really? Why?

ADULTS DO THIS ALL THE TIME: When people are giving you a verbal list of several items, you will see them counting with their fingers. You’re no longer 7 years old, please stop doing that!

THE FOX PROPAGANDA NETWORK:  Millions of American incredibly believe the non-stop lies and propaganda coming from Fox is news. The Alternate Reality which Fox creates for their addicted viewers, is extremely dangerous for our democracy and our country.

THE CONCEPT of GOD, HEAVEN, HELL, and a DEVIL with a tail: When we were growing up, most of us believed in Santa Claus, Batman, and Superman. When we reached a certain age, we eventually figured out that Santa Claus, Batman, and Superman do not exist, they are CULTURAL MYTHS! For the rest of our lives, we may have a little chuckle when any of them are brought up in conversation, possibly wondering why or how you possibly believed in them as a little kid.

But for many reasons, which I will not get into in this article, millions of adult Americans, still believe the absurd cultural myths related to the concept of a God and associated issues. When I ask people where is your god, they look up in the sky. When I ask them where is hell and where does the devil live, they look down and say underground. I then ask, does the devil live under Bermuda, Hawaii, the North Pole, China, or somewhere else. I’m always met with a blank stare.

I then ask the big one, if your God is all-powerful, why doesn’t your god eliminate the devil? Once again, I rarely get an answer.

If they’re still talking to me, I usually ask them where is heaven? Once again, they look up in the sky and point in that direction. That’s very impressive reasoning!

I then ask them questions such as, how are people transported to heaven? Do they have bathrooms, supermarkets, food, McDonalds, Burger King, and roads in heaven? Do people live in single family homes, townhomes, or apartment buildings. Do women have wings? Is there a heaven for fish, lions, tigers, elephants, insects, horses, etc.? I never get an answer. By that time, they are no longer talking to me. How can people possibly believe this mumbo jumbo? In terms of heaven, I almost get it. I realize people never want to face the reality that after you die, it’s over. But please, the concept is absurd! After you die, it is in fact all over.  

JEWISH PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE in GOD: This one is mind boggling to me. I ask them where was your all-powerful God while the Nazis were killing over 6 MILLION JEWS over a period of several years. I never once heard an acceptable answer.

BLACK PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE in GOD: What was your all-powerful God doing while white Christians, many of them holding a bible in their hands, enslaved huge numbers of black people for a very long period of time.

CATHOLICS STILL BELIEVE in GOD: How many hundreds of Priests sexually abused or raped thousands of little boys or girls over the years? And you still believe in that religion?

FAMILY MEMBERS of CRIME VICTIMS: Family members of people who were kidnapped, raped, assaulted, or murdered, still pray to their God. Why? I ask them, where was your all-powerful God while your son, daughter, mother, or father was being kidnapped, raped, robbed, or murdered. Once again, I never heard an acceptable answer.

ATHLETES THANK GOD for their ACHIVEMENTS: I almost want to throw up when I see football players point up to the sky and say thank you after they score a touchdown. It’s the same with baseball players who hit a home run. Do you really believe there’s a god watching your game and rooting for you against your opponent? And that God has the power to intervene in the game on your behalf?

PRAYING: Do you believe there’s a god who understands numerous languages and simultaneously monitors almost 8 billion people?

I also ask them other questions such as, why do you have to get on your knees before you can pray? Why do you have to bow your head while talking to God? Why do you have to clasp your hands together? I have other questions I ask, but you get the idea. I never once received what I consider an intelligent reply. But very often, they walk away from me before I can ask those other questions. It’s literally mind boggling to me that people actually believe there’s a god listening to their prayers, even though several million other people might be praying at the same exact time. Where is that God? How does that God hear you? How does God hear millions of people praying simultaneously?

We currently live in the scientifically advanced 21st century, where we’ve been exploring outer space for over 60 years. Despite our numerous scientific advances, incredibly, people still believe these absurd, totally illogical, cultural myths. Yes, that’s the same mumbo jumbo which was pounded into them since they were three years old.

Hopefully, after reading this article, some of you will still talk to me.