Moderate alcohol administration: Oxidative stress and nutritional status

Alcohol abuse and dependence are related to increased morbidity and mortality, particularly due to liver [1, 2] and cardiovascular diseases [3]. On the other hand, epidemiologic studies show both beneficial and adverse effects due to alcohol intake, i.e., a J-shaped relationship between the amount of alcohol consumed and mortality [4, 5]. Traditionally, the J-shaped relationship has been seen as a clear evidence of the protective effects of alcohol, if consumed at moderate doses. For example, consumption of moderate doses of ethanol may be associated with lower death rates from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and thrombotic stroke [6, 7]. Several mechanisms have been proposed for the protective effect of alcohol on CVD, e.g., (a) alcohol-related action on platelet aggregation [6], (b) alcohol-related action on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and other nutritional and metabolic parameters [8], and (c) increased antioxidant activity [9].