How to Invest in Longevity: Rethinking Our Relationship with Alcohol

We're moving past the marketing and into the facts. Beyond the glamour, there's a truth about the impact of alcohol on our bodies. This week, we explore why drinking less is the newest trend in wellness and how the $830 billion shift in the market is actually a win for public health. Be empowered so you can join the millions investing in their longevity. https://bit.ly/49YP0Mx

In this Episode:

• 01:17 - How to See the New York City Subway's Old City Hall Station
• 06:36 - Alcohol and Dementia Risk
• 11:08 - Alcohol Consumption - Understanding the Standard Drink
• 12:23 - The Reality of Modern Drinking Habits
• 15:22 - The Internal Impact of Alcohol: From Heart Health to Cancer
• 21:21 - Alcohol Policy, Politics, and the Shifting Market
• 24:20 - Charlie - Jokes Aside Moderation is Key, Often Using Alternatives 
• 29:23 - How Alcohol Guidelines Have Changed Over Time
• 32:04 - Outro

Related Episodes:

• S6E42: Sober Curious? Learn What a Break from Alcohol Can Do for You, and Tips for How to Do It
• S5E27: Preventable Death – Learn the Factors to Better Your Odds
• S5E4: Inflammation: What it is, How It Causes Disease, and How You Can Decrease It
• S5E45: Why Does Cancer Exist? Empower Yourself With Understanding
• S5E32: USA’s Falling Life Expectancy, and Deaths of Despair
• S5E16: Colorectal Cancer is Increasing in the Young: What You Need to Know

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:17 How to See the New York City Subway's Old City Hall Station
• 6:36 Alcohol and Dementia Risk
• 11:08 Alcohol Consumption – Understanding the Standard Drink
• 12:23 The Reality of Modern Drinking Habits
• 15:22 The Internal Impact of Alcohol: From Heart Health to Cancer
• 21:21 Alcohol Policy, Politics, and the Shifting Market
• 24:20 Charlie – Jokes Aside Moderation is Key, Often Using Alternatives
• 29:23 How Alcohol Guidelines Have Changed Over Time
• 32:04 Outro

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Everyone Dies. Alcohol use is common, but what many people don't realize is how dramatically the science about alcohol-related disease has evolved. In this episode of Everyone Dies, we look at alcohol consumption and its potential effect on your health.

So relax and settle in for our podcast about serious illness, dying, death, and bereavement. Because even though everyone dies, no one has to face it unprepared. I'm Marianne Matzo, a nurse practitioner, and I use my experience from working as a nurse for 47 years to help answer your questions about what happens at the end of life.

And I'm Charlie Navarette, an actor in New York City, and here to offer an every-person viewpoint to our podcast. We're both here because we believe that the more you know, the better prepared you will be to make difficult life-altering decisions. And please remember, this podcast does not provide medical nor legal advice.

Please listen to the complete disclosure at the end of the recording. In the first half, Charlie reports on alcohol use and the risk of dementia, and has our recipe of the week. In the second half, we're exploring the effects of alcohol on health.

In the third half, Charlie has new dietary guidelines about alcohol consumption. So, hi, what's new? What's going on? Hey, have you been to that underground subway station where Mamdani was sworn in? You know, I cannot, okay, that is off-limits, Marianne. People cannot just go there.

And please remember, folks, if you're in New York and you're there, okay, so it's the number six subway, and you go down the very last stop, which is by the Brooklyn Bridge, you're down there. I do not want to hear about any of you folks not getting off the subway. The subway will then continue and make a loop, and in that loop, what Marianne was talking about, that great, spectacular subway station from 100-something years ago.

It was like the original one, right? Yes. Yeah, yeah. So you could stay on the train and see it? I'm not saying that, but yes, you can.

Now, usually, the conductor will not go up and down the track to make sure everyone is off the subway. So you might not be able to make that trip, but if no one goes to check all the cars, yeah, stay on there. Wow, that station is just spectacular.

That, yeah, yeah. I saw pictures, and I thought, why do they just keep that off-limits? Is it dangerous? Like, is it not maintained? Oh, I see. Why is it off-limits? Originally, okay, so subway cars now, there are 10 cars, and this is what I don't understand.

It's off-limits because there's something about the curvature when this thing was built over 100 years ago that the new cars can't handle. But then my question always is, what do you mean it can't handle it? It goes down there, it goes around that spectacular station, and then to the other side, which then goes back uptown. So I don't understand but that subway station, that spectacular station, it's just closed.

It's not part of the trip. I don't know why. I don't know why.

But yeah, it has been closed for years, but it is spectacular. Was it you who sent me a picture of it, Marianne? Well, yeah. I saw the article about his squaring in, and I said, jeez Louise, that's beautiful.

Oh, yeah. Listen, that chandelier, that is a crystal chandelier. Really? Oh, yeah.

I don't know. Maybe if you can, if you could throw it up, maybe we can send it out to folks. But it is, yeah, it's just spectacular.

There's no other way for it, that station. Yeah. And do they do tours in there? No.

No, wait, that's not true. There is something called, oh, hell, I just signed up to become a member, Open House New York, where once a year in October, all these buildings, and sometimes private homes that are off limits, for a weekend, you can go into all these places that normally you cannot see. But as a member, yes, you can go to more places throughout the year.

So I'm sure I will at some point actually be able to go down there. I mean, it'll be a group thing, but yeah, it's called Open House New York. Well, when you know what that is, let me know.

Maybe I'll come. Oh, all right. Okay.

You know, I love things like that. Yes. Old decrepit things.

Yeah, and I know that- Charlie. I noticed there was like a dot, dot, dot, Charlie there. What the hell is that about? I can't imagine.

No, no, no. Yeah, it's nuts. Even in the time, you know, I wasn't born and raised here, but I've been here now most of my life.

It has changed so much. Just a lot of the great old spectacular buildings are gone now, but there's still enough underground stuff, just different things that still exist. So once in a while, I'm privy to go into some place that it really shouldn't be, but you know, it's all about who you know.

So there we are. Isn't that the truth? It's the truth. Yeah.

And with that, for our first half, in September of 2025, the British Medical Journal published a study about alcohol use and the risk for dementia. The participants were 560,000 people from the USA and UK, with the researchers documenting dementia diagnosis by looking at health records and genetic studies. The findings indicate that scientific studies about alcohol and health were lacking.

But first, a note about research study design. Scientific studies begin with what is known in published literature, called literature reviews, progress to talking to people, interviews, observational studies, researchers observe subjects without assigning them to a control, no intervention, and then large experimental studies. Countless observational studies have suggested that alcohol protects the heart, the brain, and even leads to a longer lifespan.

Then we were told that earlier studies may have produced false results because drinkers were compared to, one, non-drinkers who had often stopped drinking because of health problems. Doctors' advice were being started on medications that interfere with alcohol consumption. And two, moderate drinkers, who often tended to be of higher socioeconomic status and had healthier lifestyle practices.

When analysis were redone or new studies conducted, alcohol was linked to higher risks for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and many other forms of cardiovascular disease, as well as accidents, trauma, cirrhosis, several forms of cancer, for example, gastrointestinal and breast cancer, and shortened lifespans. So, back to the journal study. In addition to seeing a higher risk for dementia with higher alcohol intake, they used an analytic technique that evaluated gene variations strongly related to alcohol consumption, which showed an increase in dementia risk with the genetic traits linked to alcohol intake.

There was no evidence that moderate drinking protected against dementia. The findings suggested that drinking any amount of alcohol seemed to increase dementia risk on a population level. The researchers also found that people who develop dementia typically drink less in the years leading to their diagnosis, suggesting reverse causation, meaning cognitive decline may lead to less alcohol intake and that lower intake is what previous researchers interpreted as a protective association seen with alcohol.

These findings are important for us to know. The World Health Organization issued a statement in 2023 that no amount of alcohol is safe. Neuroscience research suggests that alcohol is directly toxic to the neurons in the brain.

Mounting scientific evidence challenges the view that moderate alcohol consumption is protective of either the heart or brain. As we start this new year, consider reducing alcohol intake and stop thinking that drinking alcohol is a habit that improves our health. Our funeral lunch recipe is an updated version of funeral sandwiches with flavorful Gouda cheese and a sprinkling of everything bagel seasoning for a flavorful twist on the classic.

Bon Appetit! Please go to our webpage for this week's recipe and additional resources for this program. This is the part where we ask for your financial support. Your tax-deductible gift will go directly to supporting our non-profit journalism so that we can remain accessible to everyone.

You can donate at www.everyonedies.org that's every the number one dies dot org or at our site on Patreon under everyone dies. Marianne? Thanks Charlie. Alcohol consumption has increased and remains a common practice worldwide with 70 percent of adults consuming alcoholic beverages.

The definition of a standard drink contains 14 grams of alcohol about what's in a five ounce glass of wine or 12 ounce beer or a one and a half ounce shot of liquor. How the standard drink affects a person will vary depending on their age, their genetics, body size, and existing health conditions. Now before we start there are two terms that we need to know.

The Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan defines binge drinking as drinking at least four drinks in a row for women or five drinks in a row for men. If you drink that amount over the course of several hours you may not show intoxication depending on whether you're eating, drinking water, as well as your tolerance and body composition. The second type of risky drinking behavior is high intensity drinking defined as 10 or more drinks in a row for men or eight or more drinks in a row for women.

Overall binge drinking rates are now equivalent among young adults and those in midlife because young people especially young men are binging less and middle-aged adults are drinking more alcohol in a single session than what they previously did. Consuming eight or ten drinks in a short period of time can produce a blood alcohol concentration it's called the BAC of over 0.2 percent which significantly increases the risk of injuries, overdose, and death. It can lead to physical assaults, drug driving accidents, property damage, and relationship problems.

High intensity drinkers are also more likely to experience a full blackout with zero recall of what transpired or to end up in the ER grossly intoxicated and in danger to themselves and others. So a little story from my own family when my niece was young she hung out with a group of girls who one of the girls would always talk about that when she turned 16 that she was going to get blindly drunk and so on her 16th birthday her parents had a birthday party at their house and a sleepover and uh the girls drank and the 16 year old who said she was going to get blindly drunk got blindly drunk and went to bed and in the morning when mom comes to get the girls up for breakfast the the birthday girl is dead in her bed and what it was was alcohol intoxication you know her body couldn't handle the amount of alcohol that she drank and she died and this can happen to anyone and it's you know to serve as a warning to think about if you're binge drinking or doing this high intensity drinking you're really putting yourself at risk. Heavy alcohol use especially binge drinking and chronic use raises the risk of damage to the pancreas which is called acute pancreatitis.

Symptoms of acute pancreatitis to look for include a sort of dull pain in the abdomen in the stomach area that gets worse over time, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Research has shown that adults over the age of 50 can show signs of impairment at lower blood alcohol concentrations than younger people. They are also more likely to be living with chronic diseases and to be taking prescription medications that may interact poorly with alcohol because women metabolize alcohol differently than men and tend to have smaller bodies.

The same amount of alcohol can have a stronger effect on them. Excessive alcohol use is known to harmfully impact heart health by increasing blood pressure, damaging the heart muscle, causing arrhythmias, and increasing cholesterol and visceral fat which can lead to heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. In the short term when you drink alcohol may reduce blood pressure because it calms the nervous system and opens the arteries but for those with chronic drinking habits it does the opposite increasing blood pressure and in those who already have high blood pressure it can worsen it.

Alcohol has a direct toxic effect on the heart leading to significant damage to the heart muscle causing it to become weak and non-functional. Newer studies are also uncovering how alcohol may interfere with the immune system and accelerate molecular signs of aging. Links between alcohol and mental health have also become clearer in recent years.

Even in people who are not struggling with alcohol use disorder, drinking alcohol can affect other psychiatric conditions. As of December 2025 the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended that men consume no more than two drinks per day and women no more than one and that people who don't currently drink shouldn't start. Canada has moved to a more cautious recommendation advising no more than two drinks per week for all adults.

The 2025 Surgeon General's Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk included several recommendations designed to reduce the impact of alcohol on cancer incidence and mortality. One called for re-evaluation of guidelines that limits alcohol consumptions to account for cancer risk as well as expanded education efforts to increase public awareness about the link. The U.S. Surgeon General Murthy said that alcohol is a well-established preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cancer diagnoses and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States which is greater than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities per year in the U.S. and yet most Americans are unaware of this risk.

Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer death in the United States behind only tobacco and obesity. There is a well-established link between alcohol consumption and the risk for at least seven types of cancers which are breast, colorectum, esophageal, liver, oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx. About 25 percent of those cancer diagnoses occurred among people who drank two or less alcohol drinks per day.

Drinking four or more drinks a day is linked to cancers of the liver, stomach, gallbladder, and pancreas. Researchers documented that the risk a woman would develop any alcohol-related cancer during her lifetime increases from about 16.5 percent for those who consume less than one drink per day to 19 percent for those who consume one drink per day on average and 21.8 percent for those who consume two drinks per day on average. For men, cancer increases from about 10 percent for those who drink less than one drink per week on average to approximately 11.4 percent who drink one per day to about 13.1 percent for those who drink two drinks per day on average.

Alcohol is a leading preventable cause of cancer, but only 40 percent of American adults recognize alcohol as a cancer risk. But even what we think of as light or moderate drinking, which is usually up to one drink per day, increases the risk of some cancers like those of the mouth, the pharynx, which is the back of your throat, and the breast. Surgeon General Murthy called for updating labels on alcohol to include warnings about heightened risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, and at least five other malignancies now linked by scientific studies to alcohol consumption.

You might be wondering why drinking alcohol has such an impact on cancer risk. Alcohol is a toxic substance which has been classified as a class one carcinogen by the International Agency on Research on Cancer. Based on evidence from biological studies, ethanol, which is in all alcoholic beverages, causes cancer specifically in four ways.

One, in the body, alcohol breaks down into acetaldehyde, which is a metabolite that binds to DNA and damages it. This can cause a cell to grow uncontrollably, leading to cancer. Two, alcohol generates reactive oxygen species that can lead to inflammation and damage DNA, fats, or proteins in the body.

Drinking alcohol when you have a poor diet and exercise habits can further raise the risk of becoming overweight or developing obesity, another disease associated with cancer. Three, it alters levels of estrogen and other hormones, potentially contributing to breast cancer development. And lastly, carcinogens from tobacco smoke and other substances can dissolve in the alcohol, making them more likely to be absorbed in the body.

Drinking and smoking cigarettes is known to compound the risk of head and neck cancers. The alcohol industry has spent decades on a growth strategy of convincing people that drinking was glamorous and healthy. But the world's biggest alcohol producers are facing climbing financial and structural challenges, exposing deep cracks in those long-published marketing strategies.

There's a growing cultural shift toward mindful drinking or not drinking. Younger generations are drinking less and non-alcoholic beverages are becoming more popular. As a result, the alcohol industry is experiencing a slump in sales.

According to a recent Bloomberg index tracking, the world's largest beer, wine, and liquor producers, more than $830 billion in market value has disappeared since 2021, which is an incredible 46% decline in just four years. This market value change may help to account for why the final version of the alcohol intake and health study led by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will not be published by the current federal government administration despite several years of taxpayer-funded work. If you want to read the study though, there's a link for the draft of this publication in the show notes.

Or why, despite the growing evidence connecting drinking with disease, the recently released Dietary Guidelines for Alcohol Consumption simply instructs consumers to limit alcoholic beverages. The Washington Post reported that during a news conference rolling out the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines, Mehmet Oz said people should drink judiciously. Then he added, it's a social lubricant that brings people together and quote, there's probably nothing healthier than having a good time with friends in a safe way, end quote.

After all, what can be better than sharing a toxic and addictive carcinogen among friends? While some components of alcoholic beverages such as the antioxidants and grapes have positive health effects, the alcohol itself does not appear to provide any benefit to the body. Health organizations like the American Public Health Association have stated alcohol has no health benefits. The World Health Organization has said that no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.

The science behind alcohol is clear. Alcohol consumption puts our lives at risk starting with the first drink. While the magnitude of risk varies by individual and drinking pattern, no level of alcohol is completely safe.

Perhaps decreasing our alcohol intake or quitting altogether would be one of the best health investments for making America healthy again. Charles, any thoughts or questions? Well, I'm smiling to myself because I can't disagree with a single thing you said. That may be the first time.

Yeah, I know. You don't want to make a note of that. Yeah, and I know I make jokes all the time on the air about this.

I make jokes about this with my friends that I wake up in the morning and brush my teeth with whiskey and stuff like that. I do not. I didn't know you brushed your teeth.

Yeah, just something I took up just as my New Year's resolution. So there we are. We'll see how long that lasts.

But yeah, I mean, I can't disagree with anything you say. And I know when you did the first part of this presentation the week before, I said everything in moderation. I still agree with that, but the thing of it is, that's me.

I don't sit down anymore and drink the amount that I used to. I mean, I still enjoy a drink, but it's, yeah, but in the back of my mind now, I know, and again, I don't have any great desire to have more than one and sometimes two drinks nowadays, but I don't do it every day. And it's funny, sometimes, you know, just hanging out with friends, they're used to this now where, I mean, sometimes I will order, let's say, oh shoot, a tonic water and just a tonic water, you know, no gin in it, or sometimes, I don't know, a cup of coffee or a tea.

And they're used to it now, but when they start to see me do that, it's like, oh my God, Charlie, what's wrong? And it's nothing, I just didn't feel like having it. I didn't feel like drinking a drink, and that's okay too. And while, yeah, it's taken a real hit to the, you know, alcohol industry, yeah, you and I grew up in a time when it was still like, you know, remember the TV series Mad Men? And it was just... Well, we think we were adults during Mad Men.

Right, but the thing of it was, you see, it was still just, you know, knock drinks back, like it was nothing. I remember doing this, you know, when we were at the University of Michigan and working on the psych ward, it was just so common. Well, to go out for drinks after, yeah.

And we didn't do it every day, but yeah, when we went out, we just went to town. I don't know, and it's just not appealing anymore. You know, and the biggest reason now for me, and I hope for most people listening, is it, yeah, what you said, what it does to your body.

So, well, yeah, I mean, just thank you for all those insights. You just got to look after yourself, got to look after your body. You have one finite body, and that's it.

And we're here to, you know, not only talk about serious illness, dying, death, and bereavement, but I think also that if there's steps that you can take to prevent a earlier death than what you maybe might have genetically been inclined to, you know, let's consider whether or not we want to do things to shorten that. Yes, and I, excuse me, you know, and I've said, you know, four years, and I don't say it anymore, you know, I'm okay if, you know, eating whatever I want, drinking whatever I want, and, you know, fill the rest with whatever I want. And I don't feel that way anymore, and I stopped feeling that way, you know, several years ago now.

Yeah, I enjoy being here, and when it's time to shuffle off that mortal coil, I hope I do it in my sleep. Recently, just in the past, what, two and a half months now, two of my closest friends died. One did die peacefully in his sleep.

The other one supposedly died peacefully to sleep. I'm not sure, but I mean, he did, at the very end, he did go quickly. Okay, so with that, for our third half, the federal government began issuing dietary guidelines in 1980 telling Americans to limit themselves to one or two standard alcoholic drinks a day.

Over time, the official advice changed to no more than two drinks a day for men and no more than one for women. In mid-January, the guidelines were updated to say that people should consume less alcohol for better overall health and limit alcohol beverages, but without a definition of what that means. The guidelines also no longer warn that alcohol may heighten the risk of breast cancer and other malignancies.

These new recommendations come at a key time for the alcohol industry, which is experiencing a slump in sales. The new guidance advises Americans who are pregnant, struggle with alcohol use disorder, or take medications that interact with alcohol to avoid drinking altogether. The guidelines also warn people with alcoholism in the family to be mindful of alcohol consumption and associated addictive behaviors.

The guidelines no longer include a warning that was in the last set issued in 2020 that even moderate drinking may increase the risk of cancer and some forms of cardiovascular disease, as well as the overall risk of dying. There is a consensus among researchers who study alcohol and health that the relationship between alcohol and health risks is a dose-response relationship, meaning that the more we drink, the greater the health risk, and that the health risks start even at low levels of alcohol consumption. While the supposed benefits of moderate drinking regarding heart disease have been a subject of heated argument, there is no debate about either the health risks or social risks of heavy drinking, which have been linked to liver disease, alcohol use disorder, violent behavior, and accidents.

Some experts have supported the idea that there is no safe level of drinking and that risks begin with the first sip. The World Health Organization, along with health authorities in many parts of the world, have been encouraging people to drink less, quit drinking altogether, or aim for two to three alcohol-free days each week. And with that thought in mind, ladies and gentlemen, please stay tuned for the continuing saga of Everyone Dies, and thank you for listening.

You can find more episodes from our series on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app. Follow and subscribe to the show. Share it with someone who needs a little hope today.

This is Charlie Navarette, and from advice columnist Ann Landers, people who drink to drown their sorrows should be told that sorrow knows how to swim. And I'm Marianne Matzo, and we'll see you next week. Remember, every day is a gift.

This podcast, such as treatments, patient profiles, advice, messages, and any other discussion, are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Always seek the advice of your primary care practitioner or other qualified health providers with any questions that you may have regarding your health. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard from this podcast.

If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. Everyone Dies does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, practitioners, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned in this podcast. Reliance on any information provided in this podcast by persons appearing on this podcast at the invitation of Everyone Dies or by other members is solely at your own risk.