{"id":31304,"date":"2013-02-28T22:13:10","date_gmt":"2013-02-28T22:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=31304"},"modified":"2017-05-01T07:32:06","modified_gmt":"2017-05-01T12:32:06","slug":"is-that-lchaim-worthwhile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/physical-health\/is-that-lchaim-worthwhile\/","title":{"rendered":"Is That L\u2019Chaim<\/em> Worthwhile?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Isn\u2019t it a wonderful custom that we have?\u00a0 We take a small shot of whisky, say \u201cl\u2019chaim<\/em>!\u201d and swig it down.\u00a0 According to Rabbi Shraga Simmons of Aish HaTorah, the custom of saying “l\u2019chaim<\/em>” when drinking wine is first mentioned in “Machzor Vitri” 80, s.v. “Shnayim.”<\/p>\n

At one time, they used to give wine to the condemned so that their execution would be less painful for them – (source: “Midrash Tanchuma” Parshat Pekudei 2).\u00a0 Jews started to say “l\u2019chaim<\/em>” (which means “to life”) before drinking wine to distinguish from this and to emphasize that drinking wine should be for life – (source: “Kol Boh” 25 s.v “U’B’Seudat”) and not for death.\u00a0 There is an ongoing discussion about the harm versus the health benefits of drinking alcohol.\u00a0 Let\u2019s try to sort it out.<\/p>\n

Alcohol, or ethyl alcohol (ethanol), refers to the intoxicating ingredient found in wine, beer and hard liquor.\u00a0 Alcohol arises naturally from carbohydrates when certain micro-organisms metabolize them in the absence of oxygen, called fermentation.\u00a0 Beer, wine and other liquor contain different amounts of alcohol.\u00a0 The amount of alcohol in distilled liquor is known as “proof.” \u00a0Proof refers to the amount of alcohol in the liquor; for example, 100 proof liquor contains 50% alcohol, 40 proof liquor contains 20% alcohol, and so on.\u00a0 Traditional wine has approximately 8-14% alcohol, while regular beer has 4-6% alcohol.<\/p>\n

\"wine<\/a>Recent studies show that moderate use of alcohol may have a beneficial effect on the coronary system.\u00a0 In general, for healthy people, one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men would be considered the maximum amount of alcohol consumption to be considered moderate use.\u00a0 (By healthy people, we are referring to non-pregnant women, individuals not addicted to alcohol, and people without pre-existing medical conditions, among others).\u00a0 However, the amount of alcohol that a person can drink safely is highly individual, depending on genetics, age, sex, weight and family history,<\/p>\n

According to the Mayo Clinic, moderate alcohol consumption may provide some health benefits. It may:<\/p>\n