The famous “small glass of red per day” is, as is quite well-established now in science, but not so much in popular culture, known to be not a good idea.

What most people don’t know

Rethinking “One Drink a Day”:

• Outdated beliefs and flawed studies:
  • The idea that “one drink a day is healthy” stems from flawed associative studies that included…
    • unhealthy former heavy drinkers in the zero-drinks category, and
    • healthy older individuals who continued light drinking due to good health, not because alcohol contributed to it, in the drinkers category
  • In other words, they looked at former alcoholics whose health was ruined by drinking and said “aha, non-drinkers have bad health”, and looked at the survivors of survivorship bias and said “aha, light drinking is the key to good health”. Which of course is terrible science propped up by terrible abuse of statistics propped up by shoddy methodology.
• New research findings:
  • A 2022 UK Biobank Study showed that even one drink a day leads to brain shrinkage, neuron death, and cognitive decline.
  • Another study on CVD disproved the notion that light drinking benefits heart health once confounding variables were removed.
  • There are plenty more, and at 10almonds we’ve done a main feature about it, but for now, you get the idea.

Some other things you should know:

Ethanol and acetaldehyde damage neurons responsible for impulse control, judgment, motor coordination, and memory formation, leading to cognitive decline. The feeling of being drunk results from the suppression and damage of these neurons. But while the drunk feeling wears off, the damage to neurons does not.

Alcohol causes cumulative DNA damage in neurons, accelerates brain aging, and prevents the formation of new neurons, similar to a slow, gradual stroke.

Broader Health Impacts of Alcohol

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: alcohol is bad for pretty much everything.

Here are some examples mentioned in the video:

• Neurodegenerative diseases: heavy drinking increases the risk of Alzheimer’s, particularly in those genetically predisposed.
• Sleep disruption: alcohol reduces deep, restful sleep and hampers the brain’s natural detox process overnight, contributing to morning grogginess.
• Inflammation and immune suppression: alcohol increases inflammation, exacerbates autoimmune diseases (like psoriasis and arthritis), and weakens immune function.
• Cancer risk: alcohol is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, linked to various cancers, especially breast cancer. Even light drinking increases breast cancer risk.
• Hormonal imbalances: in women, alcohol heightens PMS symptoms, reduces fertility, and increases testosterone. In men, it lowers sperm quality and disrupts hormones.

For more on all of these and more, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

• Can We Drink To Good Health? ← this is mostly about red wine and heart health
• How To Reduce Or Quit Alcohol ← this is about the more general reasons to quit, and how to do so
• What Happens To Your Body When You Stop Drinking Alcohol ← a realistic timeline of recovery

Take care!

Single-leg strengthening is essential for joint health at any age (unless you want to bunny-hop up and down the stairs with both feet at once, for example), yet many people overlook it. This neglect often leads to pain, stiffness, and a higher risk of injury.

Dr. Alyssa Kuhn, arthritis specialist, explains how to do it:

On the rise

In this video, different exercise variations—beginner, intermediate, and advanced—are presented to help you build strength at your own pace:

Beginner: start by using a chair, adding a cushion for support if needed. Sit at the edge and position one foot slightly in front of the other in a staggered stance. Stand up and sit down in a controlled manner, allowing the back leg to bear more weight and work harder than the front leg. Do 8–10 repetitions per side and pay attention to whether one side feels weaker. To build strength, incorporate this movement into daily activities, such as standing up from the couch. Master this variation before progressing, to avoid knee injury.

Intermediate: to make the exercise more challenging, you can either use a lower chair, or extend your front foot further out, shifting more weight to your back leg. Only modify one variable at a time to maintain control. Do 8–10 repetitions per side, ensuring proper form. A common mistake is allowing the back knee to move inward, which can cause knee stress. To prevent this, use a mirror to check your form and keep the knee and ankle aligned during movement.

Advanced: when you’re ready, extend your front leg completely with the heel on the ground and toes up, removing its stability and forcing the back leg to work even harder. Maintain controlled movement while keeping your knee and ankle aligned. Repeat the exercise on both sides, focusing extra effort on the weaker leg to build balanced strength.

For more on each of these, plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like:

The Secret To Better Squats: Foot, Knee, & Ankle Mobility

Take care!

Dana Findwell’s late 50s were not an easy time, but upon now hitting 60 (this week, at time of writing), she’s enthusiastically throwing herself into the things that bring her purpose, and so can you.

Start where you are

Findwell was already no stranger to starting again, having been married and divorced twice, and having moved frequently, requiring constant “life resets”.

Nevertheless, she always had her work to fall back on; she was a graphic designer and art director for 30 years… Until burnout struck.

And when burnout struck, so did COVID, resulting in the loss of her job. Her job wasn’t the only thing she lost though, as her mother died around the same time. All in all, it was a lot, and not the fun kind of “a lot”.

Struggling to find a new career direction, she ended up starting a small business for herself, so that she could direct the pace; pressing forwards as and when she had the energy. This became her new “ikigai“, the main thing that brings a sense of purpose to her life, but getting one part of her life back into order brought her attention to the rest; she realized she’d neglected her health, so she joined a gym. And a weightlifting class. And a hip-hop class. And she took up the practice of Japanese drumming (for the unfamiliar, this can be a rather athletic ability; it’s not a matter of sitting at a drum kit).

And now? Her future is still not clear, but that’s ok, because she’s making it as she goes, and she’s doing it her way, trusting in her ability to handle what may come up, and doing the things now that future-her will be glad of having done (e.g. laying the groundwork of both financial security and good health).

Change can sometimes be triggered by adverse circumstances, but there’s always the opportunity to find something better. For more on all of this, enjoy:

Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

Our Resources About Ikigai

Take care!