What is the power of beer on health? Since my youth, I have been drinking traditionally brewed beers and was told that if I wanted to become a strong and respected man I would do so. This included drinking both the sorghum and banana beer that my parents would brew at home.
As time went on and I studied the sciences, I learned details about what alcohol may do to our bodies (pharmacodynamics) compared to what our bodies can do to alcohol (pharmacokinetics). Once ingested alcohol produces considerable negative effects on the liver functionality and mind stability based on the dose ingested. I started asking some questions:
• Why do some people love drinking alcohol more than they enjoy food?
• Why do lower income populations love it more than others?
• How come a person earning a daily income of less than $1.5 can drink every day?
• How should we be tackling this silent determinant of health?
Everyone’s effort is needed in this struggle against alcoholism, because people more easily adhere to their daily alcohol consumption than they do a treatment plan. The dilemma arose when I was told that alcohol brewing companies are leading taxpayers that support different health promotion programs.
I once had a roadside conversation with an intoxicated man who I had known to struggle financially and to my knowledge his financial situation was not sustainable enough to allow him to drink in excess. When I asked him why he prefers buying beer instead of food (he had 4 children and a wife), he replied that his family members needed to take care of themselves, as he did. I found that beer may bring negative changes into the minds of people who consume in excess, including social violence and economic instability. These issues may be addressed by reducing alcohol consumption, therefore promoting health equity through sustainable development.
This issue should not be tackled solely on religious beliefs because a Catholic Christian may decide not to drink for personal reasons while someone from another church may decide the opposite despite what their doctrine states. This silent determinant needs a silent approach to finally yield loud outcomes for better health, and healthy people make wealthy communities.
As this concern affects both communicable and non-communicable diseases, joint efforts are needed for not only behavior change but also for strategies to reverse the situation and improve global health.