FACT VS. FICTION

It may prevent food poisoning, but it can come with a
hangover

By Anahad O'Connor

February 22, 2005

THE CLAIM: Drinking alcohol with a meal prevents food
poisoning.

 THE FACTS: Recent studies have found that a little
alcohol may help ward off heart disease and slow dementia.
But an old wives' tale suggests one more reason to indulge
in a drink or two with dinner: preventing food poisoning.

 Research through thee years appears to confirm this. In
2002, for example, health officials in Spain studied an
outbreak of salmonella among people who had been exposed
to contaminated potato salad and tuna at a large banquet.

 Their findings, which were published in the journal
Epidemiology, showed that the rate of sickness was lowest
in those who had consumed large amounts of beer, wine or
spirits.

 Consumers of larger amounts of alcohol also had the
lowest levels of sickness documented in earlier studies of
large salmonella outbreaks in Spain.

 But some studies suggest that a drink may have to be
stiff for alcohol's protective effect to kick in.

 In a 1992 study, for example, health officials in the
United States looked at an oyster-borne outbreak of
hepatitis A and found that only drinks with an alcohol
concentration of 10 percent or greater prevented or
reduced the severity of the sickness.

 The effect may have something to do with alcohol's
ability to strongly stimulate gastric acid secretions in
the stomach, and wine may be particularly effective
because grapes have antibacterial properties.

 THE BOTTOM LINE: Alcohol with a meal can lower the risk
of food poisoning.