People have different attitudes towards alcohol. Someone cannot last even one evening 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 for 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 issue. Some scientists say that even in small quantities, alcohol has a devastating effect on the body. Others believe that in small doses, alcohol is even beneficial. And there are recommendations of 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), this is how an absolutely dangerous dose of alcohol looks in terms of drinks 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 dose of alcohol- the average value of the amount of alcohol consumed, sufficient to cause death.
But do not 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 large glass of wine), you can seriously harm your health.
What happens if you drink alcohol every day?
Scientists have been researching this issue for a long time. Recent evidence suggests that alcohol reduces the risk of atherosclerosis. In part, it helps to avoid blockage of blood vessels by cholesterol plaques. Why is cholesterol dangerous? It causes circulatory problems. Blood ceases to circulate normally through the vessels, since 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? 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 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 this does not mean that you need to drink a small glass of wine every day, even if there are numerous stories circulating on the Web, how some grandfather drank a glass every day and lived to be 90 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 stages, and in this article we will cover them. But first, let's figure it out - 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 all this "nuclear" mixture has an amazing property: it goes through all stages of digestion incredibly quickly. That is, while you are 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 serious scale. She simply is not able to pass such a large amount of alcohol through herself.
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 in small arteries, and this leads to blockage of blood vessels in the brain. Hence, the feeling of intoxication arises, which is similar to when the brain lacks oxygen.
Therefore, if you do not drink alcohol in moderation, the brain will constantly be in this state. This will lead to the degradation of many mental and physical functions - a condition comparable to drinking a lot of alcohol at one time. A person cannot stand on his feet normally and does not give an account of his actions.
Scientists have already shown that alcohol damages DNA and increases the risk of cancer.
Stages of alcoholism
Consuming alcohol 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.
- At the second stage, a person even develops "immunity" to alcohol, or rather, it seems to him so. Indeed, if a person at this stage consumes more than 1 liter of alcohol, the body will seemingly begin to perceive alcohol more easily. In fact, this 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 the physical and mental planes. A person 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 state of the body arises.
Why does a hangover occur?
This question is asked by many the next 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 bloodstream of the body 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 googled 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 comes into contact with the pillow.
How to drink alcohol?
Researchers distinguish between the so-called "northern" drinking model and the "southern" one. 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 for 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 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 be overused.