Tipplers Need More Tuna

An excess of alcohol not only provides an excess of calories, but those calories lack sufficient amounts of important nutrients, including essential fatty acids (EFAs). A new study (Alcohol Consumption and Fatty Acid Intakes in the 20012002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Soo Yeon Kim, Rosalind A. Breslow, Jiyoung Ahn, and Norman Salem Jr., Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 31 (8), 14071414, doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.2007.00442.x) found that men who binge drink have substandard intake of essential omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids, which indicates heavy drinkers often make poor dietary choices with negative long-term health consequences.

To determine the relationship, researchers used data from more than 4,000 adults who self-reported their alcohol consumption as part of the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They were also questioned about their EFA intake during the previous 24-hour period. The data shows that EFA intake drops as alcohol consumption increases, particularly among men.

Our most important finding is the decrease in n-3 EFA intake in binge-drinking men, said Norman Salem, Jr., chief of the Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry & Biophysics at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. We really couldnt evaluate women who binge drink two or more times per week due to the low numbers in this population, although it is quite possible that we would obtain similar findings. The changes we found indicate that those who drink alcohol make food selections in such a way as to decrease foods with this important nutrient. The binge-drinking men have decreases in the longer-chain n-3 fatty acids, the ones that we typically get from eating fish, and so this suggests that they eat less fish.

Long-chain omega 3s include eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), typically found in oily fish or from algal sources. The body can also synthesize these from the shorter-chain precursor omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is found in a variety of plant sources. Previous studies by Salem and colleagues have shown that requirements for these fatty acids actually increase with greater alcohol consumption. Omega-3 fatty acids are needed for healthy circulation and brain functioning, so drinkers are put at greater risk for related disorders.

Considering that the ALA levels are already low compared to the LA (linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid) levels, these results are further reason for concern over the ALA intake of alcoholics, says J. Thomas Brenna, professor of human nutrition and of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.