Surely you've seen headlines like, "Scientists have proven that a glass of wine a day prolongs life. " It's not worth believing for several reasons.
First, scientists do not "prove" anything. They test hypotheses under certain conditions and draw conclusions that are correct with some probability.
For example, a special study may examine how alcohol is linked to the deaths of white European men. Even if as a result it turns out that a glass of wine a day is associated with a higher life expectancy, it is not a fact that this relationship is causal.
Maybe some third factor is to blame for everything - for example, the level of income: rich European men can afford a daily glass of wine, as well as quality food and good medicine. Or the cause and effect are confused: it is not alcohol that improves health, but theseFinally, nothing is known about women, people of other races and nationalities, and there are still many unreported factors, so there is no way to extend the results of one study to all. people.
The second point is that even if you analyze all the research, it turns out that there is no link between low doses of alcohol and better health. There is such a scientific method as meta-analysis - scientists collect all adequate research on a particular topic, summarize them and draw conclusions. In meta-analysis, the errors of individual scientific papers are smoothed out, their conclusions are more or less applicable to the life of each of us. So, according to meta-analyzes, there is no difference in the health of people who drink little and those who do not drink at all.
So alcohol in small doses - no more than 10 grams of ethanol per day (about a glass of wine, beer or a glass of vodka) is unlikely to improve your well-being in any way, but it will not worsen much.
Wait, but alcohol and a healthy lifestyle are incompatible!
I will tell you more - modern life in general is not very compatible with a healthy lifestyle. If you live in a city and drive a car, you no longer lead a healthy lifestyle.
In a car, for example, there are so many carcinogens in the air - vodka has never dreamed of! Running on a busy highway is more deadly than those 20 grams of pure alcohol. And if you smoke, it doesn't matter what you drink.
This does not mean that you can drink as much as you want, because everything is lost anyway.
"Beer" alcoholism is worse than "vodka" There is no "beer", "vodka", "pinonoar" and other types of alcoholism. There is only one type - dependence on ethanol.
For this addiction, it does not matter in what form the alcohol will enter the body. Another thing is that over time, the alcoholic's need for ethanol increases. It gets to the point where a person is no longer able to drink as much beer or wine to achieve a "state" - because the size of the stomach is limited. Therefore, most alcoholics eventually switch to vodka - it is ideal for them. in terms of price / quality / effect.
Let's just say that switching to vodka is an indication that the addiction has come far enough. Few people start with alcohol immediately - usually "light alcohol" such as beer and wine is used in the beginning. But just as there is no "soft drug", there is no "light alcohol" - any drink can be addictive - and it's not far off. vodka.
If you still drink, then do not mix drinks!
Once again, the body does not care which drink it received ethanol from. The severity of the intoxication (and subsequent hangover) depends only on how much pure alcohol you drink. Mix, don't confuse - if you overdo it, it will be bad in the morning anyway.
There are, of course, nuances - some drinks contain "aggravating" substances, the same methanol. It is most often found in products, especially home-made, the raw material for which serves as fruits-fruits rich in pectin - pears, apples, cherries, to a lesser extent - grapes. Now, if you mix vodka and calvados, you will feel the effects of both ethanol and methanol in the morning. Roughly the same after cognac with beer - the hangover will simply be more "brightly colored", with "hints" of toxic substances characteristic of both drinks. So, if possible, you better not mix. Just in case.
In the cold you can warm up by drinking 100 grams
You can not. On the contrary, you can freeze even more, to death.
Alcohol causes the skin vessels to dilate, releasing heat. If you enter the room from the cold and drink a little, this can help you warm up faster: the blood vessels will dilate, but the heat will stay with you because it is also warm around. But if you drink alcohol on the street, then the heat through the dilated vessels will quickly leave your body - and freeze even more.
Due to this "special effect" of alcohol, drunk people freeze to death on the street even at + 20⁰C: the temperature of the air and the ground is lower than the body, the body very quickly emits too much heat and overcools - to death.
Alcohol is a good sleeping pill
Alcohol actually suppresses brain activity, which can make you feel sleepy and fall asleep quickly. But such a dream is likely to be short and unproductive.
The effect of alcohol is similar to that of some sleeping pills. You fall asleep quickly, but the sleep phases are disrupted and you can wake up in the middle of the night - and not fall asleep again until morning.
"Alcoholic" sleep is not physiological, incomplete, does not bring normal rest. Therefore, the use of alcoholic beverages as sleeping pills is not recommended and it is usually recommended not to drink immediately before bedtime.