People have different attitudes towards alcohol. Some can't last even one night without a glass of beer, while others have never touched alcohol in their life. Even a person without a degree is clear that drinking alcohol every day is harmful to the body, but what if we talk about the optimal dose of alcohol? How much can you drink to minimize the health effects of alcohol? This question is relevant to many. Let's try to find out.
How much alcohol not to drink
I'll tell you right away: there is no consensus on this topic. Some scientists claim that even in small amounts, alcohol has a devastating effect on the body. Others believe that alcohol is even beneficial in small doses. And there are recommendations from the WHO (World Health Organization), according to which a dangerous dose of alcohol is 60 ml of ethanol for men and 50 ml for women. But since very few people consume ethanol in its pure form (well, I hope), here's what an absolutely dangerous dose of alcohol looks like in terms of beverages familiar to most:
- 180 g of vodka for men and 150 g of vodka for women
- 1, 5 l. beer
- 0, 5 l. wine
Absolutely dangerous alcohol dose- the average value of the amount of alcohol consumed, sufficient to lead to death.
But don't think that if you drink less than these values, nothing will happen to your body. Even if you consume the equivalent of 30ml of ethanol per day (90g of vodka, 800ml of beer, or a large glass of wine), you can seriously damage your health.
What happens if you drink alcohol every day?
Scientists have been studying this problem for a long time. Recent evidence suggests that alcohol reduces the risk of atherosclerosis. In part, it helps avoid blockage of blood vessels by cholesterol plaques. Why is cholesterol dangerous? It causes circulatory problems. The blood ceases to circulate normally through the vessels, as they are full of cholesterol and the person can even die. Alcohol, on the other hand, "rinses" the vessels and does not allow cholesterol to stagnate.
Does this mean you can drink alcohol every day? Not. In this case, we are talking about extremely low doses of alcohol. Based on the same recommendations from the WHO, experts recommend completely abstaining from alcohol at least two days a week. Of course, the longer you don't drink, the better.
The optimal dose of alcohol, which is not very harmful to health and may even bring some benefits, is150 ml of dry red wine.
But this does not mean that you have to drink a glass of wine every day, even if numerous stories circulate on the Net, of how some grandfathers drank a glass every day and lived up to 90 years. Everything here is individual and it is necessary to take into account many factors: from chronic diseases to hereditary predispositions. Not to mention the fact that alcohol is categorically contraindicated for minors and pregnant women.
If you drink alcohol every day, the body will not be able to remove it from the body and a disease such as alcoholism will begin. It has 3 stages and in this article we will cover them. But first, let's find out: how does alcohol generally affect a person?
How alcohol works
What is alcohol in the scientific sense? This is ethyl alcohol, produced by the fermentation of sugar, yeast and starch. And all this "nuclear" mixture has an amazing property: it goes through all the stages of digestion incredibly quickly. That is, while digesting lunch soup (about 30 minutes) or chicken meat (up to 2 hours), alcohol quickly reaches its goal - the human circulatory system, sometimes even bypassing the liver, if you drink on a scaleserious. It simply cannot pass that large amount of alcohol through itself.
Alcohol starts doing its bad business in the circulatory system: it damages red blood cells (small bodies that make up blood), which is why they stick together, forming blood clots. The blood clots, in turn, block the flow of blood in the small arteries and this leads to blockage of blood vessels in the brain. Thus, the feeling of intoxication arises, which is similar to when the brain lacks oxygen.
Therefore, if you don't drink alcohol in moderation, your brain will be constantly in this state. This will lead to the degradation of many mental and physical functions, a condition comparable to consuming a lot of alcohol at one time. A person cannot stand normally and is not accountable for his actions.
Scientists have already shown that alcohol damages DNA and increases the risk of cancer.
Stages of alcoholism
Alcohol consumption leads to alcoholism, which has three phases.
- In the first stage of alcohol addiction, a person gradually loses control over the amount of drink, which leads to the appearance of a pathological craving for alcohol.
- In the second stage, a person even develops "immunity" to alcohol, or rather, it seems so. Indeed, if a person at this stage consumes more than 1 liter of alcohol, the body will apparently begin to perceive alcohol more easily. In fact, this hides the development of serious diseases: hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, esophageal cancer and stomach cancer.
- Third stage alcoholism is characterized by the complete degradation of the personality on the physical and mental plane. A person can no longer drink alcohol and in most cases dies.
Scientists believe alcoholism is influenced by a hereditary predisposition caused by insufficient production of enzymes that metabolize alcohol. But in fact, the amount of alcohol consumed affects this. You simply don't need to drink if you realize that you are losing control of yourself and an unpleasant state of the body occurs.
Why does a hangover occur?
This question is asked by many in the morning after a hectic party (usually with the words "well, I definitely won't drink anymore"). In fact, the explanation is quite simple: alcohol enters the body's bloodstream very quickly, but leaves it VERY slowly. And the human body cannot fully recover from a stormy night until the substance is completely destroyed and digested. This is how a hangover occurs.
Surely many people have been Google searching how to avoid a hangover before starting to celebrate another alcoholic event. But the answer can be summed up in one sentence: do not drink in large quantities, and then the alcohol will have time to leave the body before your head makes contact with the pillow.
How to drink alcohol?
Researchers distinguish between the so-called "northern" and "southern" drinking model. The first includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Baltic countries, who drink a lot of alcohol, moreover, in shock doses, and not always often. The "southern" model is typical of Spain, Italy, Greece, where they can drink even more often than in other countries, but less and less strong alcohol: for example, a glass of dry wine at dinner. Nobody drinks 100g of vodka every day.
Scientists agree that the Southern model is safer for health, although they continue to note that daily alcohol consumption is harmful to health. So don't be abused.