The traditional US federal guidelines for food and nutrition are changing and that includes a slightly different attitude toward alcohol in the American diet.
The new guidance shifts recommendations from a maximum of two drinks per day for men and one per day for women to just a warning to drink in moderation.
The new recommendations specifically caution consumers to “limit alcoholic beverages,” but continue warnings that have been around a long time, advising pregnant women, people who have a family history of addiction and those on certain medications to abstain from alcohol.
Dr. Matt Chalmers, host of the 4 Pillars of Wellness podcast, says the new federal health guidelines released last week are a huge step forward, especially because of the new emphasis on proteins in meals.
“Changing the one thing from grains to proteins is a massive step forward not only for health but also in the fight against obesity.
“When food turns into sugars, which carbohydrates can do, your body releases insulin to try to move the sugars out of your bloodstream and over time we end up with diabetes and things like that,” he says.
And one of the problems with defying moderation in drinking alcohol is much of it will be released in the body, churning up insulin.
New guidelines recently released, though, indicate a more relaxed view of drinking alcohol.
“I think the reason they did that is because we’ve seen a 34% drop in alcohol consumption across the US, and that is making very big problems for restaurants and bars,” Dr. Chalmers says.
But there’s one very strong point he says he wants to make.
“Alcohol has very little functional benefits to health.”
