New Orleans has a world-renowned reputation for being a drinking city. While the bar and cocktail scene is part of the fabric of the city, Nick Gilpin, Professor of Physiology and Director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, joined WWL’s Tommy Tucker to discuss the hidden dangers lurking in alcohol consumption. He emphasized that even casual drinking has its inherent dangers and there isn’t really a “safe” alcohol option.
“There have been real problems with the studies that came out decades ago saying that having one glass of wine per day is beneficial to your health,” Gilpin noted. “I don’t know if one glass of wine per day is going to necessarily send you down a dark path, but there were issues with those studies. They were being very selective with the populations that they were studying and weren’t really following people over time. They also weren’t performing proper randomization with people who did and did not drink,” he went on to point out.
The National Institute of Health defines “heavy drinking” as more than 4-5 drinks on any given day, more than 15 drinks in a week for a man/more than 8 drinks per week for a woman (bite). For many New Orleanians, that may not seem like a tremendous amount of alcohol, and therein may lie one major issue.
Long-term alcohol abuse takes a toll on the body over time. “Chronically over time, if you’re drinking consistently high amounts of alcohol, it’s going to take a tremendous toll on organ systems of your body. Your brain, your liver, your heart, your muscles will all be impacted,” added Gilpin.