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Alcohol addiction is a social problem and a relatively common disease of western countries like Europe and the USA. From 20 to 40 % of subjects admitted to hospitals have alcohol-related problems1 and in elderly people alcohol-related disorders represent as frequent a reason for hospitalization as myocardial infarction2. Among the diseases related to alcoholism, nutritional disorders remain one of the bigger medical problems. The metabolic effects and nutritional value of ethanol differ in relation to the drinking patterns. In social drinkers while the intake of small quantities of alcohol seems to have no effect on body composition or metabolism3 and ethanol can be utilized as a source of energy4, the ingestion of acute heavy amounts of alcohol leads to lipid storage and to an increase in body weight via its lipid-oxidizing suppressive effect5, representing a risk factor for obesity6. On the other hand a common feature in alcoholics is reduced body weight and malnutrition. Chronic alcohol abuse deeply affects nutritional status, firstly due to the fact that ethanol may supply more than 50% of the dietary energy in alcoholics7,8, partly related to the high caloric content of ethanol (7.1 kcal/g) and partly due to the action of alcohol as an appetite suppressant9, and therefore displaces normal nutrients such as folate, thiamine and other vitamins. In addition chronic intake of heavy amounts of alcohol may cause substrate maldigestion or malabsorption originated by liver4, pancreatic9 and small intestine complications10, and the main mechanisms responsible for the secondary European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences