Maybe It's Not the Cheeseburgers

In the year 2012 I resolve to make healthier choices for myself, get back in shape, and take time for my physical and mental health.  I am particularly proud of this resolution and plan to at least stick to it until the end of February unlike my other resolutions which experienced early deaths in late January.

My first step was to evaluate my current diet to see where I needed to make sacrifices in favor of a healthy caloric intake. First to get cut were sodas and fast food which had unfortunately become staples in my weekly diet. Fruit and vegetables would have to conquer my daily plate for as long as my wallet and palate would allow. While I was evaluating my current diet I was reminded of a training I attended a few months ago on the calories consumed by the average college student from alcoholic beverages. While I didn’t think alcohol made up a significant portion of my calories, I decided to look up my own alcohol related calorie consumption. After learning as much as I had about alcohol consumption since beginning my work at the San Antonio Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, I had already cut my usage to no more than 2 drinks a week, with the exception of holidays when I would enjoy a glass of wine at family dinners. Still my usage is within the recommended rates, and I expected the calorie totals to reflect my responsible consumption. I was surprised to see that my monthly total for calories from alcohol came out to 916 (equivalent to 3 cheeseburgers) with a total of 10,992 for the year. While that might not sound like much, according to the recommended calorie intake for a woman of my size and age that is equivalent to over 5.5 days worth of calories.

On top of my health I resolved to save money for graduate school this year. After consulting my handy calculator I estimated that the financial expense of my alcohol consumption comes out to approximately $40 a month or $480 a year. Again for some readers that might not sound like a lot of money, but for me it is almost a full month’s rent; not to mention enough to buy a few textbooks for graduate school.  

While I have no intention of completely cutting alcohol out of my diet, I do plan to take these calculations into consideration. Taking into account my priorities of healthy living and financial security, it makes sense for me to consider cutting back to one drink a week. In view of the fact that one of the most popular resolutions is to lose weight and get healthy, it is important for people to consider cutting back on alcohol as part of a healthy diet.

For more information on health concerns related to alcohol use contact the Circles of San Antonio (COSA) at 210-225-4741 or by email at coalition@sacada.org. For more information on the work our coalition is doing in your community check out our Facebook page or follow our Twitter account @circlesofsa.

Wasted Potential

Bethany Denman was a promising student. She was a member of the honor roll and planned to be a physician. Some say that her recent 15 year sentence for killing Amy Meron, a local piano teacher and mother, while driving at .30 blood alcohol content is too harsh, and that it will prevent her from being a full contributing member of society. The truth is that she already made choices that prevented her from reaching her full potential.

One poor choice was to abuse alcohol, pills, and marijuana. Even with all of her education, her brain was not fully formed. It was still developing its capacity to retain knowledge and use judgment. Regardless of whether or not our laws see her as an adult, her brain was not fully developed; and thanks to the abuse of alcohol and drugs it will never be the fully functioning tool that it could have been.

Her drinking was nearing a lethal dose even without the pills and marijuana. She would have been experiencing near total loss of motor functions, inability to stand or walk, vomiting, incontinence, and potential unconsciousness. By drinking at those levels while abusing drugs she was risking serious damage to her body potentially resulting in liver, pancreas, and bone damage; not to mention cancer and heart disease.

Denman’s attorney argued that “throwing her in jail for 20 years . . .  is not going to stop the alcoholic that’s drinking right now and ready to get in their car.” He argued that as an honors student and an applicant to medical school she “isn't the type of careless sociopath one might expect on a Mothers Against Drunk Driving billboard.”  To this perspective I must argue that the average drunk driver is not an alcoholic. Offenders are not sociopaths; they do not necessarily have poor education or low socioeconomic status. While I agree that Denman’s sentence will do little to deter future drunk drivers, we cannot allow the problem to be so undervalued as to warrant probation. The victims of this crime were not treated differently because of their own background or education, and perpetrators of this crime should not be given more credit for their standing in the community.

 In order to prevent future fatalities and wasted potential we must not rely on enforcement alone. This problem is community wide and therefore requires a community response. Everyone should be involved in some way or another whether it is educating your kids on the dangers of alcohol, or calling the police when you see an intoxicated person preparing to get behind the wheel. Prevention, advocacy, education and community awareness are key to solving this problem.

For information on alcohol and substance abuse in Bexar County contact the Circles of San Antonio (COSA) at 210-225-4741 or by email at coalition@sacada.org. For more information on the work our coalition is doing to reduce drunk drinking in your community check out our Facebook page or follow our Twitter account @circlesofsa.