People have different attitudes towards alcohol. Some can't stand even one night without a glass of beer, while others have never touched alcohol in their lives. 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 understand.
How much alcohol not to drink
I'll tell you right away - there is no consensus on this. Some scientists say that even small amounts of alcohol have a destructive effect on the body. Others believe that alcohol is even useful in small doses. And there are WHO (World Health Organization) recommendations that the 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 vodka for men and 150 g vodka for women
- 1, 5 liters of beer
- 0, 5 liters of wine
Absolutely dangerous dose of alcohol- the average 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 your body. Even if you consume the equivalent of 30 ml of ethanol per day (90 g of vodka, 800 ml 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 data show that alcohol reduces the risk of atherosclerosis. In part, it helps to avoid clogging blood vessels with cholesterol plaques. Why is cholesterol dangerous? It causes circulatory problems. Blood stops circulating normally through the vessels because they are full of cholesterol and a person may even die. Alcohol, on the other hand, "flushes" blood vessels and prevents cholesterol from stagnating.
Does this mean you can drink alcohol every day? No. In this case we are talking about extremely low doses of alcohol. Based on the same WHO recommendations, experts advise to abstain 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 certain benefits, is150 ml of dry red wine.
But that doesn't mean you have to drink a small glass of wine every day, even if there are many stories circulating on the net about how a grandfather drank a glass every day and lived to be 90. Here everything 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 strictly 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 will start a disease such as alcoholism. It has 3 stages and in this article we will look at them. But first, let's understand - how does alcohol in general affect a person?
How alcohol works
What is alcohol in a scientific sense? This is ethyl alcohol, which is obtained by fermentation of sugar, yeast and starch. And this whole "nuclear" mixture has an amazing property: it goes through all the stages of digestion incredibly fast. That is, while digesting lunch soup (about 30 minutes) or chicken (up to 2 hours), alcohol quickly reaches its target - the human circulatory system, sometimes even bypassing the liver, if you drink seriously. She just can't get that much alcohol through her.
Alcohol begins to do its nasty business in the circulatory system: it damages red blood cells (small bodies that make up blood), causing them to stick together to form blood clots. Blood clots in turn block the flow of blood in the small arteries and this leads to blockage of blood vessels in the brain. Therefore, a 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 constantly in this state. This will lead to a deterioration of many mental and physical functions - a condition comparable to drinking a lot of alcohol at once. One cannot stand normally and does not give an account of one's actions.
Scientists have already proven that alcohol damages DNA and increases the risk of cancer.
Stages of alcoholism
Alcohol consumption leads to alcoholism, which has three stages.
- In the first stage of alcohol addiction, a person gradually loses control over the amount of drink, which leads to the appearance of pathological hunger for alcohol.
- In the second stage, a person even develops "immunity" to alcohol, or rather it seems so. In fact, if a person consumes more than 1 liter of alcohol at this stage, the body will seemingly begin to perceive alcohol more easily. In fact, it hides the development of serious diseases - hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, esophageal cancer and stomach cancer.
- Alcoholism of the third stage is characterized by complete degradation of the personality in physical and mental terms. One can no longer drink alcohol and in most cases dies.
Scientists believe that 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 just don't need to drink if you realize that you are losing control of yourself and an unpleasant body condition is occurring.
Why does a hangover occur?
This question is asked by many the next morning after a busy party (usually with the words "well, I will definitely not drink anymore"). In fact, the explanation is quite simple: alcohol enters the body's blood 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 assimilated. This is how a hangover occurs.
Certainly many people googled how to avoid a hangover before they start celebrating another alcohol 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 comes into contact with the pillow.
How to drink alcohol?
Researchers distinguish between the so-called "northern" drinking pattern and the "southern". The first includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Baltic countries, which drink a lot of alcohol, in addition to 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 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 overdo it.