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"Another round" by the Danish film director Thomas Vinterberg is the story of four friends who (inspired by a theory from the Norwegian psychiatrist Finn Skårderud that modest intoxication would open our minds to the world around us) set out to "test", that if they maintain a 0.05% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) during work hours, it will improve their creativity and mindset. Several studies suggest, that food in the stomach before drinking not only leads to a lowering of the peak BAC but also boosts the rate of ethanol metabolism, and other findings indicate, that the BAC is higher after drinking vodka/tonic than beer or wine after fasting.

To obtain an understanding of the ethanol loss during cooking of liquid foods containing alcoholic beverages, ethanol concentration was measured as a function of time and remaining volume in meat stocks prepared with wine and beer. A mathematical model describing the decline in volatile compounds during heating of simple liquid foods was derived. The experimental results and the model show that concentration of ethanol at any given time is determined by the initial concentration and a power law function of the remaining volume fraction. The power law function is found to be independent of factors like pot dimensions and temperature. When using a lid to cover the pot during cooking, the model was still valid but the ethanol concentrations decreased more steeply, corresponding to a higher exponent. The results provide a theoretical and empirical guideline for predicting the ethanol concentration in cooked liquid foods., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The effervescence of champagne is due to 4.8 l of CO2-gas dissolved at a pressure of five bars. The velocity of an uncontrolled cork (60 km/h) may cause serious eye injuries. The fizz of champagne is mediated by carbonic anhydrase IV located in the membrane of sour-sensing cells. The association between alcohol intake, cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality follows a J-shaped curve with the nadir at consumption levels of one drink/day. Polyphenols present in champagne increase spatial working memory in aged rodents and induce a neuroprotective effect against oxidative neuronal injury.

In a cross sectional study based on information on the number, type of item and total charge of 3(1/2) million transactions over a period of 6 months in various supermarkets in Denmark we examined whether people who buy wine also buy healthier food items than those who buy beer. We found that wine buyers bought more olives, fruit and vegetables, poultry, cocking oil and low fat cheese, milk and meat than beer buyers who bought more ready cooked meals, sugar, cold cuts, chips, pork, butter or margarine, sausages, lamb and soft drinks than wine buyers.

Objective: To investigate whether people who buy wine buy healthier food items than those who buy beer., Design: Cross sectional study., Setting: Supermarkets in Denmark. Data Information on number, type of item, and total charge from 3.5 million transactions over a period of six months., Results: Wine buyers bought more olives, fruit and vegetables, poultry, cooking oil, and low fat cheese, milk, and meat than beer buyers. Beer buyers bought more ready cooked dishes, sugar, cold cuts, chips, pork, butter or margarine, sausages, lamb, and soft drinks than wine buyers., Conclusions: Wine buyers made more purchases of healthy food items than people who buy beer.

Background: Red wine polyphenols and ethanol reduce fatty streak formation (early atherosclerosis) in various animal models. These experimental results support the observation that alcoholic beverages protect against myocardial infarction in humans. However, fatty streaks may not reflect the pathology of mature and clinically relevant atherosclerosis. The present study examined the effects of red wine polyphenols and ethanol on mature atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice., Methods and Results: Eighty-four 7-week-old mice were randomized to receive water, red wine (diluted to 6% ethanol v/v), 6% ethanol v/v, or red wine powder in water. All mice were fed a normal chow diet. At 26 weeks of age, the mice were killed. HDL cholesterol was raised 12.0% (95% CI, 4.0% to 20.0%) and 9.2% (95% CI, 1.5% to 16.9%) by red wine and ethanol, respectively. At the end of study, all mice exhibited advanced atherosclerosis in the aortic bulb, whereas less mature atherosclerosis predominated in the brachiocephalic trunk. The amount of atherosclerosis in the aortic bulb and the brachiocephalic trunk were similar in all groups (P:=0.92 and P:=0.14, respectively). To evaluate whether ethanol or red wine polyphenols were protective by stabilizing atherosclerotic plaques rather than reducing their size, we measured the percentage of collagen-poor areas in left coronary sinus plaques as a morphological criterion of plaque stability. The percentage of collagen-poor areas did not differ between groups (P:=0.71)., Conclusions: Neither ethanol nor red wine polyphenols reduced mature atherosclerosis or changed the content of collagen in plaques in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

A negative association between light to moderate alcohol consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease has been documented in numerous ecological, case-control and cohort studies. The observed association is in the order of a 40-60% reduction in risk among light to moderate drinkers. The epidemiological findings are consistent, and several plausible biological mechanisms by which alcohol could reduce the risk of coronary heart disease add support to the hypothesis that the association is casual. The epidemiological evidence confirms the wellknown risk of adverse health effects of alcohol consumption above one to two drinks a day for women and one to three drinks a day for men.