Alcohol with a meal can lower the risk of food poisoning

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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/15/health/15real.html

February 15, 2005

REALLY?

The Claim: Drinking Alcohol With a Meal Prevents Food Poisoning

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR

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

another reason to indulge in a drink or two with dinner: preventing food

poisoning.

Research over the 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.

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