People are proving that drinking alcohol in moderation is extremely healthy.But what does “moderate” mean?How do you know when alcohol is harmful to your health?In fact, even scientists admit that drinking alcohol in certain (small) doses is beneficial;Take the example of red wine, in which antioxidants, vitamins and trace elements can be found.Harm occurs when alcohol damages a person's internal organs, and this will definitely happen if you drink more than 170 g of alcohol more often than once every 8 days.
So can we drink in moderation?What risks do drinkers face?When does moderate drinking end and alcohol abuse begin?
WHAT'S ALL THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS ABOUT DRINKING IS JUST WHAT IS
“The most important thing is to drink in moderation,” often thinks a person who has taken one step away from the terrible and devastating problem of alcoholism.
The dose at which the human liver is in serious danger after consumption is 90 g of pure ethanol per day.In a moment, this is 285 ml of vodka (a little more than a shot of vodka).Harm to the human brain occurs with much smaller doses - 19 g of ethanol (or 60 ml of vodka) in 24 hours.And this applies to completely healthy people with a normally functioning liver, healthy brain, kidneys and other organs.
Now imagine what awaits a person if he drinks a glass of vodka every day:
- Alcoholism will begin to develop and will be very difficult to quit;
- in six months he will begin to suffer from such alcoholism due to a genetic predisposition to this disease;
- This problem will manifest within 36 months (3 years) if there is no genetic predisposition.
- After a few months there will be a desire to increase the regular dose.
If we assume that a person already has a serious disease (for example, viral hepatitis), then the moderate dose for him will be 2 or even 3 times less.
It should be clear: moderate drinkers - how much can you drink without harming your body?How much can you drink to restore all body systems?
All calculations are made based on the fact that a healthy person processes alcohol in an amount of 170 g per day.As a result, interesting results and conclusions were obtained:
- If a person drinks 170 g of pure alcohol in 1 day, then for the next 8 days that person must abstain from drinking any alcoholic beverages (even the lightest).
- The permissible (acceptable) dose per month is 586 grams.
- In other words, you can drink more than one and a half bottles of classic vodka per month.
If it turns out that you had to drink more than 170 grams during one vacation, then you need to increase the interval between drinking and the next drink, for example, not after 8 days, but after 10-12 days.This will significantly reduce the harm and negative consequences of alcohol.
What conclusion should you draw in such a situation: drink less often or drink in moderation?Experts lean more towards the first option.Less often means once a month and no more often than that.Although some people believe that if the dosage is followed correctly, the frequency of one's drinking does not really matter.
WINE: IS IT HEALTHY OR NOT?
Moderate wine drinkers, at least those who call themselves that, insist on the following - drinking dry red wine is extremely healthy.Their rationale is based on the fact that wine contains powerful antioxidants and prevents cancer.
On the contrary, scientific research shows that drinking alcohol in large quantities is harmful.It contains a number of substances, which in excess will unintentionally cause complications, so such a drink will be harmful.
You need to know some well-founded facts about the benefits of wine:
- This drink contains the antioxidant resveratrol, which is also found in grape juice, but in much smaller amounts.
- It contains valuable trace elements that help improve human health.
- The acceptable dose for a person in good health is about 3 glasses of wine every 7 days (450 ml drink).
It is also worth recalling that talk about the effectiveness of red wine in the treatment of atherosclerosis turned out to be just rumors, since modern research has proven the opposite.
It turns out that drinking alcohol is useful, but only if you comply with established standards and do not exceed the safe dose of the consumed drink.
IS IT ALLOWED TO DRINK BEER IN MODERATE QUANTITIES?
Another drink besides wine that many people claim is good for health is beer.Yes, indeed, raw or unpasteurized beer can benefit the body, but even here there are certain limitations, after which this drink will become harmful to humans.600 ml per day is a completely acceptable norm, although this norm can also be limited, since drinking even a small amount of beer for several years leads to the development of the third stage of alcoholism.
Drinking beer in moderation has good effects:
- Cosmetic effect on skin condition.
- Normalizes blood pressure.
- Soothes the human nervous system.
- Maintain necessary cholesterol levels.
It is important to remember that beer addiction develops secretly and little by little, which makes it difficult to notice in the early stages.Then this same disease is more difficult to treat, for example, addiction caused by abuse of vodka or other alcoholic beverages.Therefore, proving that beer is a safe alcoholic beverage is fundamentally wrong.
STIMULATIVE EFFECTS OF MODERATE AMOUNTS OF ALCOHOL
As for all other types of alcohol, benefits can be obtained from moderate consumption, taking into account the so-called paradoxical stimulant effect.
What is the meaning of this principle?This is the irritant effect of exposure in small doses to substances that at higher doses would cause toxic effects.Simply put, if alcohol in large doses is harmful to the body, then in small quantities it can have a stimulating effect.
This effect is achieved not by groups of moderate drinkers, but by people who consume only an insignificant amount of alcohol (about 50 ml of vodka 2 times in 7 days) and no more than a gram.
WHAT'S BETTER: MEDIUM DRINKING OR NO ALCOHOL?
And what do you want to do now that you know all the numbers that speak of the benefits or harms of alcohol?Should I quit drinking alcohol forever or should I drink in moderation for good health?
Previous studies showing benefits of moderate alcohol consumption turned out to be wrong.Today scientists from leading countries of the world are talking about this.
Those experiments showed the following results: moderate and moderate drinkers are much healthier than people who do not drink alcohol at all.But what's interesting?Practically everyone is recruited into the group of abstainers: people in poor health, people who drank heavily when young, people who cannot drink for health reasons.
So the results are unreliable.Scientists conducted a number of additional studies, corrected their mistakes, and it turned out that people who do not drink alcohol are healthier than those who drink in moderation, and those who drink alcohol in moderation live much longer than the latter.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ALCOHOL AND SHOULD YOU DRINK IT?
A study conducted in 1999 by a physician-scientist demonstrated that drinking alcohol in moderation is beneficial for a person's cardiovascular system.A similar study was conducted the same year, when the benefits of alcohol for the human brain were proven.
The results of the experiments are as follows:
- Patients who learn to drink in moderation are less likely to have a heart attack.They drink from 14 to 56 g of pure alcohol per day (less than 1 glass of vodka).Additionally, people who adhere to moderate dosages are less likely to develop intellectual disorders.
- People who make the bold decision not to drink alcohol have a slightly increased risk of heart attack and a slightly higher risk of dementia.
- The most notable health problems occur in people who regularly drink large quantities of alcohol.In such situations, myocardial infarction has occurred and brain diseases are more often manifested.
After such research results, a number of urgent questions immediately arose in my mind: can drinking alcohol be moderate?So does that mean having a little alcohol is better than becoming an abstainer?
But here it is important to mention another experiment conducted by scientists in 2008, which showed a completely different effect - patients who drink alcohol moderately are more likely to develop serious brain diseases than those who completely abstain from alcohol.
CONCLUSION: CAN DRINKING RESPONSE?
As you can see, the experiments showed completely different results, which is not unusual, because the health and length of a person's life on earth are influenced by many other factors besides drinking: daily nutrition, lifestyle, working conditions, climate.This is why a particular study cannot provide 100% objective information.
Only one thing can be said for sure - drinking alcohol in small quantities also has benefits, but this benefit is not particularly noticeable against the background of the danger that awaits you if you drink alcohol.In addition, the harmful effects of alcohol are immediately evident and easily detected by scientists and doctors when examining a person.
How to drink in moderation and is it worth doing?If you really care about your health then it's better to forget about alcohol altogether.Consume only what brings real benefits and does not contain harm, so that you leave no doubt.