Summary: So alcohol is Paleo after all!http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/articles/2015/01/pros-and-cons-alcohol-consumption-10m-yearsThis above is a link to a fascinating article on this idea that alcohol, first probably found by our early ancestors in the form of fermented fruit hanging on or under trees or bushes, was part of our diet at least 10 MILLION years ago! The common thought has been that alcohol was developed along with civilization roughly 10,000 years ago- not 10,000,000... but a scientist named Carrigan decided to settle the question by examining genetic evolution of the enzyme alcohol-ADH4 it’s called. He then implanted this alcohol degrader into E.coli, and tested changes in the gene’s sequence going back 70 million years. The enzyme mimicking the enzyme as it was more long ago failed to metabolize alcohol- but at the 10 million year mark it worked fine! It worked just like the RDH4 lining our own guts- it’s there to metabolize alcohol- just as it has been for 10 million years! Now I’m not saying drinking alcohol is great- but I AM saying that it is a long standing real food choice of humans, and to eliminate it entirely is like eliminating something that is essentially part of the human condition. Always has been, always will be- one of the joys of being a man or woman, and a food source to boot...Alcohol does NOT raise your insulin levels, although almost no governmental agency will admit it- just as they won’t admit that eating 8-10 servings of grains per day WILL DRAMATICALLY raise your blood sugar, and hence insulin levels! In fact, alcohol can actually increase your insulin sensitivity. I’ll leave you with this link, and brief summation:Alcohol, insulin sensitivity and health: http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.htmlModerate alcohol consumption improves insulin sensitivity, lowers triglyceride concentrations and improves glycemic control. Not only in healthy folks, but also in type 2 diabetes. There is no clear consensus on the insulin sensitizing mechanism of alcohol, but one viable explanation may be that alcohol promotes leanness by stimulating AMPK in skeletal muscle. It's not a stretch to assume that this might have favorable effects on nutrient partitioning in the longer term.If the effect of alcohol consumption on insulin sensitivity doesn't impress you, then consider the fact that studies have consistently shown that moderate drinkers live longer than non-drinkers. This can be mainly attributed to a lowered risk of cardiovascular disease. However, alcohol also contributes to a healthier and disease-free life by protecting against Alzheimer's disease, metabolic syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, the common cold, different types of cancers, depression and many other Western diseases. The list goes on and on.It can almost be said beyond doubt that moderate alcohol consumption is healthier than complete abstinence. With this in mind, it's strange that the fitness and health community shun alcohol. This irrational attitude seems to be grounded in the beliefs that alcohol is fattening and will hamper muscle gains. And to really muddy the waters: even beer seems to be OK for non-celiacs! At least in my case, (I am not celiac), although I avoid gluten at every juncture in the eating of food, in beer it really does not seem to matter- especially if you confine yourself to blonde, Pilsner types of beers- and especially if you drink the low end, cheap commercial beers made of corn and rice!!And not just Budweiser, but all of those really low end, American beers, like Hamm’s, and Blatz, and Coors and Corona (not really low end there, but you get the idea!).And here is a quote from the Heinekin’s website:"Beer contains gluten, which comes from the grain from which it is brewed. Only a fraction of the gluten that the grain contains gets into the beer. The proportion depends on the kind of grain that is used. The use of barley results only in traces of gluten in the beer whilst
