Copper and zinc status in moderate alcohol intake
Frimpong, N.A.; Louis-Charles, J.
Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 258: 145-154
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0065-2598 PMID: 2626983 Document Number: 347161
For 6 weeks groups of 8 and 10 healthy mean 21 to 35 years old, within 10% of ideal body weight, who were not athletes and who normally consumed moderate amounts of alcohol drank 40 g ethanol daily as beer (fixed drinkers) or maintained normal drinking habits (variable group). Then both groups abstained from alcohol for 3 weeks. Controls were 7 men who did not take alcohol. Alcohol consumption and abstention had no significant effect on intake of copper and zinc, but non-drinking controls had greater Zn intakes than had variable drinkers (P<0.05). Non-drinkers had higher serum Zn concentrations than had variable or fixed drinkers (P<0.01) and higher serum Cu than variable drinkers (P<0.05). Urine Zn concentrations were not affected by moderate alcohol consumption or abstention. Serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased during alcohol consumption (P<0.01) and decreased during the abstention period to values similar to baseline.