People have different attitudes towards alcohol. One 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 important to many people. Let's try to find out.
How much alcohol should not be drunk
I will tell you right away - there is no consensus on this issue. Some scientists say that even in small amounts, alcohol has a destructive effect on the body. Others believe that in small doses, alcohol is also 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), this seems like an absolutely dangerous dose of alcohol in terms of the most popular beverage:
- 180 g vodka for men and 150 g vodka for women
- 1. 5 l. beer
- 0, 5 l. summer
Absolutely dangerous dose of alcohol- the average value of the amount of alcohol consumed, enough to lead to 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 damage 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 avoid blockage of blood vessels by cholesterol plaques. Why is cholesterol dangerous? Causes circulatory problems. Blood stops circulating normally through the vessels, as they are full of cholesterol, and the person may even die. On the other hand, alcohol "rinses" the dishes and does not allow cholesterol to stagnate.
Does that 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 completely from alcohol at least two days a week. Of course, the longer you do not drink, the better.
The optimal dose of alcohol, which is not very harmful to health, and may even bring certain benefits, is150 ml dry red wine.
But that does not mean you have to drink a small glass of wine every day, even though there are many stories circulating on the Web about how a 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 start. It has 3 stages, and in this article we will address them. But first, let's find out - how does alcohol usually affect a person?
How alcohol works
What is alcohol in a 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 the stages of digestion incredibly fast. This means that while you are digesting lunch soup (about 30 minutes) or chicken (up to 2 hours), alcohol quickly achieves its purpose - the human circulatory system, sometimes even bypassing the liver, if you drink ina serious degree. She just is not able to pass such a large amount of alcohol through herself.
Alcohol starts to do its bad business in the circulatory system: it damages the red blood cells (the small bodies that make up the blood), so they stick together, forming blood clots. On the other hand, blood clots block blood flow to the small arteries and this leads to blockage of blood vessels in the brain. Therefore, 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 be constantly in this state. This will lead to the degradation of many mental and physical functions - a condition comparable to drinking too much alcohol at the same 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 stages.
- In the first stage of alcohol dependence, a person gradually loses control over the amount of alcohol, which leads to the emergence of a pathological desire 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, 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 the physical and mental plane. 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 do not need to drink if you realize that you are losing control of yourself and an unpleasant body condition arises.
Why does a hangover happen?
This question was asked by many the next morning after a hectic party (usually with the words "okay, I will definitely not 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 be completely healed by a stormy night until the substance is destroyed and completely digested. This is how a hangover happens.
Surely many people asked 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 in contact with the pillow.
How to drink alcohol?
Researchers distinguish between the so-called "northern" model of the drink and the "southern" one. The first includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Baltic states, which drink a lot of alcohol, moreover, in shocking 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. 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 do not overdo it.