This post was originally published on July 30, 2014.
If you like your booze like you like your plant-based diet, I have bad news for you. A new study points to fish oil being a better friend to heavy drinkers than the one that holds your hair while you puke. Although few would argue that a vegan diet is harmful to your heath, DHA, one of the big Omega-3 fatty acids that is found most in cold-water fish oils, has been shown to reduce the risks of dementia and brain damage by 90%. At least that’s what the latest study suggests—you know, the one they did on rats.
Drunk Vegans are a Rare Breed
While this report in Good Therapy is probably enough to send animal rights activists into a Million-Man March, I am not sure how many health conscious vegans are actually knocking back a 12-pack every night. Having watched my non-animal product consuming friends scour restaurant menus to find anything they can eat makes it hard to imagine them wasted at 3 am, slurring their way through the Wendy drive-thru with questions about the kind of oil they cook their fries in. So let’s just focus on the rest of us current and former booze bags.
Red Wine Isn’t Exactly Kale
If you are one of those bottle-or-two a night wine drinkers who likes to brag about how red wine is good for your heart, I’d like to politely inform you of reality. While studies have shown that red grape skins have a biological element that could protect against cardiovascular issues, you certainly don’t have to drink four to eight glasses of vino to benefit from that (I hate to be the one to point this out but you could just eat red grapes). And a recent report from the CDC clarifies that there is a very real tipping point between a healthy moderate drinker and a health-damaging heavy drinker. On the other side of that coin, if you are sober now, congrats but that doesn’t mean you can forget the past even if you wish to shut the door on it. Internal damage from years of alcohol abuse likely needs attention—and fish oil can help begin to reverse that wear and tear.
So be honest with yourself; people who drink or have drank heavily do a lot of damage to their bodies, whether it’s via vitamin depletion, liver disease or just unhealthy habits that go hand in hand with the partying lifestyle (regardless of what you tell yourself, Ibuprofen and Pedialyte is not a breakfast of champions). While I am the first in line to tease someone ordering a Big Mac with a Diet Coke, there is something to be said about balance. So if you like to your Jack-and-Gingers—and I mean really like them—but also like the idea of remembering your kid’s name in 40 years, you might want to seriously consider making a fish oil supplement (or a lox and cream cheese bagel) a part of your daily routine.