Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Alcohol

Here I am again, with yet another controvertial subject...................... Alcohol!!

http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/about...lower_risk.aspx

http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/about_us/arthritis_news/press_releases/2010/alcohol_and_ra.aspx

I am a teetotal and according to Arthritis UK and several sites on the Internet this is a probable factor in my susceptability to arthritis. I know that in my family this line that appears to have numerous cases of arthritis, has a high umber of alcoholics too, and the alcoholics invariably do extemely well in avoiding the dreaded arthritic conditions so from this I can only assume that what I am reading there is at least some eliment of truth

Now I am lucky because I have never experienced any craving for alcohol and since wine is generally very low in carbohydrate I could if I chose to drink it. I have been informed that because it is femented it can aid digestion, taking stress off the gut and it is also antibacterial, so in these issues it could be beneficial for me

My question is does anybody here drink alcohol for health reasons and if you do how do you do it? Is it one small glass each day, or one day a week on an empty stomach? Is it wine or are other alcoholic drinks favourable?

And, if I make my own and then remove the alcohol, do you think this will be as effective?

In other words, is it the alcohol or is it something in the wine that can help folk with Arthritis ?

Or is this all hype ?

Love Joanne

I enjoy wine on the weekends. My wife and I share a bottle...so it amounts to several glasses. I do a lot of work outside on the weekends that makes my upper back ache. The wine does help the ache to go away. I think the benefits that I feel are definitely from the alcohol. So, removing it doesn't make sense to me.

ps. I work for a winery.

i used to drink about 100ml of red wine a day for health benefits. (cab sav) i was feeling pretty good at the time so my guess its beneficial.

interesting.

i never drank much, a glass of wine with dinner when we'd go out.

but then stopped completely when my gastritis hit on the directions of my GI doc.

then 5 years later the musculoskeletal stuff hit. even though my stomach was getting better so i could maybe try out the alcohol again, i ended up over the years on so many different drugs (many processed by the liver) that the doctors and i thought it probably a good thing that i didn't drink alcohol.

now it looks like this abstinence from alcohol may have been a bad thing. i didn't develop the arthritis until 5 years after giving up drinking completely. coincidence?

anyway, thanks for the information and something to think about.

I find beer makes me tired, perhaps causes inflamation but I've never been able to make a 100% link.

Red wine seems neurtal to my AS and so I drink a bottle weekly with friends as I believe it is one of life's great pleasures.

The only negative side effect from too much red wine is that my brain gets dehydrated and starts to hurts after sleeping...although my eyesight and intelligence (from my point of view) seems to temporarily improve.

Most American cities are a big problem for regular wine drinking because we drive everywhere given the design of the city. When I lived in Manhattan, not driving was a huge benefit to quality of life and to my AS in general.

Sue

I am considering this but it is a bit pricy. And I am not certain the extent it would be useful for arthritis.

http://products.mercola.com/purple-defense/

If any body here has used this or a similar product, please share your story

Love Joanne

I like to have a glass of wine or a cocktail with dinner. It helps me to relax. When I started taking 6-MP to control my UC, I just about gave up all alcohol for 12 years. Now that I have quit taking 6-MP, I can enjoy my drink in the evening. I have always limited my drinking to one drink only,I never take a second. I believe that almost everything is ok, in moderation--providing it is legal and moral.
Donna

I drink a few beers a couple nights a week. It helps pain levels while I'm drinking it and I enjoy a couple nights of relaxation and no worry. I have found over the 40 years of this disease that for me what I eat or drink makes no difference in my disease activity and I won't deprive myself of my little pleasures anymore. It's more important for me to enjoy myself when I can.
Cindy

This is interesting. If you do a search on "Chardonnay" in the NSD forum, you'll find some interesting experiences that seem to support the alcohol/arthritis to some degree.

Thanks for sharing!

Freddie

Thanks Freddie

I have recently been reading up on Chardonnay and the idea that it can kill Klebsiella

This is true but also meant to be funny so please do not take it seriously LOL

But an alcoholic I new many years ago told me he drank brandy every day to kill any bugs that were thiking of attacking him

Anyway, at the time he said that I did not take much notice, but since I read up on the Chardonnay I have been wondering how much truth there was i what this guy was saying

anyway, it is all worth considering I guess

I am thinking about making my own wine. I do not normally drink alcohol, but all fermented foods are supposed to be helpful for the gut so it might be worth considering

Love Joanne