Ive seen this advice for us PCa fighters so many times. I used to be a beer drinker (British beers) and home brewer - but stopped abruptly after PCa diagnosis - due to the carbohydrate content. I take 1-2 glasses of red wine every day - and comfort myself with the indications that the Phytochemical content of red wine may help in the fight - but mostly because I intend to enjoy life - and I enjoy red wine. (much research on this).
But how often are we told by our MO - No alcohol!! - or on the other hand - eat and drink normally.
Does anybody know of any studies which can support the NO ALCOHOL advice.??
For me this is yet another example of "everything in moderation" when approaching our daily diet.
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Clearly, excessive alcohol consumption in any circumstances is not advisable. However, drinking small quantities with regular recovery breaks is a great aid to enhancing QOL. The critical factor is to avoid negatively impacting your immune system.
Excessive alcoholic drink of any type is not good for anyone. For people with PCa, it is really bad. Why? Because lupron/ADT has heart side effects and overaccumulation of fluids due to alcoholic drinks may put more pressure on heart...and cause serious problems if you already have congestive heart failure. The second problem is that alcohol has a lot of empty, nutritionless calories.. which causes even more weight gain over top of what ADT is already doing. And Obesity helps the cancer to grow faster. Alcohol increases abdominal fat.. remember "beer belly" and "Gynecomastia" .. due to its estrogenic effect...Do We need more of those ?Third problem with high alcohol intake is much increased risk of falls and fractures/head injuries because ADT already has made bones fragile and weak.
Fourth problem is that alcohol abusing obese man has higher risk of driving accidents due to slowed reaction time and cognitive impairment.
So should men with PCa not drink at all ? No..I am not saying that. What I am saying is that (1) Limit alcohol to 30 ml a day. You can calculate it ...Beer contains 4% alcohol, Wine contains 12 to 14 % alcohol and liquor contains approx. 40% alcohol.
(2) Type of drink matters.. Liquor is worst because it causes sharp rise of alcohol level in blood, Beer is better and Red Wine is best because it has Resveratrol and other polyphenols which are good for PCa and Heart. (3) Alcohol messes up with sleep. .early waking up is caused by alcohol.
Bottomline ?
Limited alcohol per day (30 ml) preferably Red Wine and not driving after drinking.
I drink 2 times a week and I get my 30 ml alcohol by one glass of red wine. One glass of Red Wine can get 30+ ml of alcohol. Most Red Wines have 12% alcohol content...so to get 30 ml one needs 250 ml of Red Wine.
There are a lot of studies from last 20-30 years about alcohol's effect (less than 2 drinks in men and less than 1 drink a day in women) indicating some benefit on risk of coronary heart disease. But, after 2 drinks a day, the risk of heart problem steadily goes up as the amount is increased. I have not seen a study showing direct adverse effects of alcohol on PCa. But any one who understands physiology and metabolism can easily see the negative effects of alcohol on men with PCa who are on ADT.
I stoppped all alcohol consumption after my diagnosis. After a year or so I started drinking an occasional red wine with a meal. Now I have one or two German beers a week. Alcohol in moderation.
I don't intend to stop living just to avoid dying. We all go sometime.
Severe dietary changes help some people feel a sense of control, when cancer steals that away. It helps people psychologically to feel like they're "doing something".
My personal opinion is that good health is what matters, with a balanced diet and limited stress. Stopping some category of food, only eating some other category of food, seems of only modest value once one is already in the cancer fight. Do it if you think it matters, but don't avoid standard treatments in lieu of dietary pursuits. (Ask Steve Jobs about how well that works. Oh wait, you can't.)
Nice illustration of the need to look into the details of studies before concluding anything. The positive result is from 47,568 cancer-free men over a 26 year time period - so its quite robust. But it doesnt necessarily tell us about alcohol and PCa. But it gives significant support to the idea that red wine is positive for cancer reduction.
The negative result is much smaller and in my mind much less robust. But there is a whole bunch of info there. It cites high alcohol consuption as the baddie:
Although trend analyses suggested some dose-response relationships, significant associations emerged only for upper intake categories, raising the possibility of a threshold effect.
So this also is compatible with a zero or slightly positive effect from moderate consumption - especially wine.
A couple of red wines are good for the heart. Personally, I quit too. My tak-700 drug doesn’t mix with alcohol well. Good thing is that I have no further taste for it beyond a social event or an occasional glass. 🍷🍺alcohol in celebration is ok. Just don’t start chugging vodka!
After my Proveng treatment yesterday, I had a fine steak and 6 oz of Cab. First steak in months and a glass of wine every other Sunday is my normal intake... QOL is maintained when possible.
I stopped after dx for about a year. Started having 1 beer 12 oz here and there or a glass of wine here or there. No spirits. I had 2 beers the other night when out foenthe first time in over 2 years.
Well folks, I think people drink alcohol for many reasons, and people dont drink for many reasons. It seems to me that the scientific evidence does not allow you to use PCa as a reason not to drink - and does tell you that excessive drink is bad for most health issues - including PCa.
We are all adults, we all make our own choices. What's in tap water these days, what's in a chocolate bar, some wines contain extra chemical to make it clear faster, some red wines make your joints ache, lager makes you fat, organic beer is better, waking up in the early hours of the morning and not sleeping well, I can do that anyway, all the studies in the world will produce nothing concrete.
Look at the brewing process for a good whiskey, I can't see much wrong in that 🤔, but I wouldn't because naturally I have a bias towards it.
I guess if you get up at some point during the day and your mind immediately has visions of going to the local supermarket and buying some of that crap cider or awful, get pissed as fast as possible lager, then you've got a problem.
But if you sit down at the end of a day and pour yourself a drop of " the water of life " and enjoy it over an hour of relaxation, then perhaps have another just to prove that you really are relaxed, then why beat yourself up over it. I don't.
Anyway cheers, me dears ........ are you ready Bob ?
My husband is on dexamethasone. Drinking alcohol while on that gave him major stomach upset. He went dry for a few months to get back to “normal”. Now, he’s able to have something now and then., but not daily. Before dex, wasn’t a problem.
I enjoy the drink. The only time I pulled back was on Zytiga, my liver enzymes went sky high. So to reduce stress on the liver, I cut way back. But, even on the half dose of Zytiga, my lever was affected. So, off Zytiga, and on to Cabernet.
HelloMy opinion about Alcohol ,we the people here are fighting the cancer and if we drink in a moderate way i think its okej .Avoid to take alcohol together with your medecin. J.P chenet a french wine BIO is good to take it in a moderate way .we have at least to enjoy our life.
What ever your choice on drinking, it is a worthwhile exercise to see how your glucose response goes when you do that. I avoid the carb beers as my glucose (and hence insulin) spike rapidly even with modest carb intake, but a glass of red wine will lower my glucose levels, however I know others where a glass of red will spike their glucose up. These day I limit my glass of wine to Friday/Sat/Sunday and have a break during the week.
Lest we forget...this is your life...your journey. What makes your life feel like living is an important consideration. My French heritage has taught me, friends, food, and wine are essential I don't wish to feel like I died while living.
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I don't wish to feel like I died while living.
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