People have different attitudes towards alcohol. Someone cannot last even an evening without a glass of beer, while others have never touched alcohol in their life. Even a person without a degree clearly knows 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 now - there is no consensus on this issue. Some scientists say that even in small amounts, alcohol has a devastating effect on the body. Others believe that in small doses, alcohol is even beneficial. 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 drinks familiar to most:
- 180 g men's vodka and 150 g women's vodka
- 1. 5 l. beer
- 0. 5 l. wine
Absolutely dangerous dose of alcohol- the average value of the amount of alcohol consumed, sufficient to cause death.
But don't think that if you drink less than these values, then nothing will happen to the body. Even if you consume the equivalent of 30 ml of ethanol per day (90 g of vodka, 800 ml of beer or a tall glass of wine), you can seriously harm your health.
What happens if you drink alcohol every day?
Scientists have studied this problem for a long time. Recent evidence suggests that alcohol reduces the risk of atherosclerosis. In part, it helps prevent blockage of blood vessels by cholesterol plaques. Why is cholesterol dangerous? This causes circulatory problems. Blood stops flowing normally through the vessels because they are filled with cholesterol, and the person may even die. Alcohol, on the other hand, "flushes" the vessels and does not allow cholesterol to stagnate.
Does this mean you can drink alcohol every day? Do not. In this case, we are talking about extremely low doses of alcohol. Based on the same WHO recommendations, experts advise to completely abstain from drinking 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 provide some benefits, is150 ml of dry red wine.
But that doesn't mean you have to drink a little glass of wine every day, although there are many stories circulating the web how a grandfather had a drink every day and lived up to90 years old. 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 steps, and in this article we will cover them. But first, let's look at it: How does alcohol generally affect a person?
How alcohol works
What is alcohol in the scientific sense? This is ethyl alcohol, which is made by fermenting sugar, yeast, and starch. And this whole “nuclear” mixture has one amazing property: it goes through all stages of digestion incredibly quickly. That is, while you digest lunch soup (about 30 minutes) or chicken meat (up to 2 hours), alcohol quickly reaches its goal - the human circulatory system, sometimes even inbypassing the liver, if you drink on a serious scale. She just isn't able to pass such a large amount of alcohol on her own.
Alcohol begins to do its nasty business in the circulatory system: it damages red blood cells (tiny bodies that make up blood), which is why they stick together, forming blood clots. Blood clots, in turn, block the flow of blood through small arteries, resulting in blockage of blood vessels in the brain. As a result, the feeling of intoxication occurs, which is similar to when the brain lacks oxygen.
Therefore, if you do not drink alcohol in moderation, the brain will be in this state all the time. This will result in the degradation of many mental and physical functions - a condition comparable to consuming a lot of alcohol at once. 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 stages.
- At 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 to him. This is because if a person at this stage consumes more than a liter of alcohol, the body will apparently start to perceive alcohol more easily. In fact, it hides the development of serious diseases - hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, cancer of the esophagus and cancer of the stomach.
- Third-stage alcoholism is characterized by a complete breakdown of the personality in the physical and mental planes. A person can no longer drink alcohol and in most cases dies.
Scientists believe that alcoholism is influenced by an inherited predisposition caused by insufficient production of enzymes that metabolize alcohol. But in fact, the amount of alcohol consumed affects this. You just don't need to drink if you realize that you are losing control of yourself and an unpleasant condition in the body is occurring.
Why does a hangover happen?
This question is asked by many the next morning after a hectic party (usually with the words "well, I definitely won't be drinking anymore"). In fact, the explanation is quite simple: Alcohol enters the body's bloodstream terribly 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 a lot of people have Google searched for how to avoid a hangover before they start celebrating another alcoholic event. But the answer can be summed up in one sentence: do not drink in large quantities, and the alcohol will then have time to leave the body before your head hits the pillow.
How to drink alcohol?
Researchers distinguish between the so-called "Nordic" model of alcohol consumption and the "southern" model. The first includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Baltic countries, which drink a lot of alcohol, moreover, in shock doses, and not always often. The "southern" model is typical of Spain, Italy, Greece, where you can drink even more often than in other countries, but less and less strong alcohol: for example, a glass of dry wine at dinner. No one drinks 100 g of vodka every day.
Scientists agree that the southern model is safer for health, although they still note that daily alcohol consumption is harmful to health. So don't get overused.