Alcohol Abuse, Consequences, and Treatments from the Perspective of Traditional Iranian Medicine: A Review Study

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use has always been prevalent in human societies, but in many Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, national laws prohibit the consumption of this substance. METHODS: In this study, reference books on traditional Iranian medicine and electronic documents from Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus were searched for entries about the consequences and treatments of alcohol abuse. FINDINGS: Seminal books of traditional Iranian medicine refer to alcoholic beverages using two terms, namely, “khamr” and “sharâb” (wine). These sources indicate that the temperament of “sharâb” is generally warm but may vary depending on color, taste, concentration, and age. Traditional Iranian medicine views wine as a cause of multiple adverse effects on health. CONCLUSION: Traditional Iranian medicine advocates the beliefs that no level of alcohol use is beneficial for health and that physicians should advise against alcohol consumption even in small amounts. Scholars of indigenous medical practices have long been opposed to the adoption of wine as a remedy or otherwise, as they believe that the benefits of alcohol are dwarfed by its harmful effects.