People are proving that drinking in moderation is incredibly healthy.But what does "moderate" mean?How do you know when alcohol is damaging your health?In fact, even scientists admit that alcohol in certain (small) doses is beneficial;take red wine as an example, which contains antioxidants, vitamins and trace elements.Harm occurs when alcohol damages a person's internal organs, and this will certainly happen if you drink more than 170g of alcohol more often than once every 8 days.
So is it possible to drink in moderation?What risks does a person who drinks alcohol face?At what point does moderate drinking end and alcohol abuse begin?
ALL MOST IMPORTANT FOR WHAT TO DRINK IN MODERATION
"The main thing is to drink in moderation," often thinks a person who is already one step away from the terrible and destructive alcoholism.
The dose after which the human liver is in serious danger is equal to 90 g of pure ethanol per day.For a moment, this is 285 ml of vodka (a little more than a glass of vodka).Human brain damage is produced by a much smaller dose - 19 g of ethanol (or 60 ml of vodka) in 24 hours.And this applies to absolutely healthy people with a normal and working liver, healthy brain, kidneys and other organs.
Now imagine what awaits a person if he drinks a glass of vodka every day:
- alcohol dependence will begin to develop, which is very difficult to get rid of;
- after six months he will begin to suffer from such dependence on alcohol in the presence of a hereditary predisposition to this disease;
- this problem will manifest itself within 36 months (3 years) in the absence of a hereditary predisposition.
- after a few months there will be a strong desire to regularly increase the dose.
If we assume that a person has suffered a serious illness (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 own body?How much can you drink to restore all body systems?
All calculations are based on the fact that a healthy person processes alcohol in the amount of 170 g per day.As a result, interesting results and conclusions are obtained:
- If in 1 day a person consumes 170 g of pure alcohol, then during the next 8 days he must refrain from drinking any (even the weakest) alcoholic beverages.
- The permissible (allowable) dose per month is 586 grams.
- In other words, you can drink a little more than one and a half classic bottles of vodka per month.
If it turns out that you need to drink more than 170 grams on one holiday, then you need to increase the time period between drinking alcohol and the next time you drink alcohol, say, not after 8 days, but after 10-12.This will significantly reduce the harm and negative consequences of alcohol.
What conclusion should you draw in such a situation: drink much less often or drink moderately?Experts are more inclined to the first option.Less often means once a month and no more often than that.Although some argue that if the dosage is followed correctly, it doesn't really matter how often one drinks.
WINE: IS IT HEALTHY OR NOT?
Moderate drinkers, at least those who call themselves that, claim that drinking dry red wine is extremely healthy.Their rationale is based on the fact that wine contains a strong antioxidant and protects against cancer.
On the contrary, scientific studies show the following: drinking wine in large quantities is harmful.It contains certain substances, the excess of which will inadvertently cause complications, so such a drink will be harmful.
You should know some well-founded facts about the benefits of wine:
- The drink contains the antioxidant resveratrol, which is also found in grape juice, but in much smaller amounts.
- It contains valuable trace elements that improve human health.
- The permissible dose for a person in good health is approximately 3 glasses of wine for 7 days (450 ml drink).
It should also be noted that talk about the effectiveness of red wine in the treatment of atherosclerosis turned out to be only rumors, since modern research proves the opposite.
It turns out that drinking wine is useful, but only when you observe the established standards and do not exceed the safe dose of the consumed drink.
IS DRINKING BEER ALLOWED IN MODERATE QUANTITIES?
Another drink besides wine that many people claim is healthy is beer.Yes, indeed, unpasteurized or live beer can be good for the body, but even here there are certain restrictions, after which the drink becomes harmful to people.600 ml per day is a perfectly acceptable norm, although this norm is also subject to reservations, since drinking even a small amount of beer for several years leads to the development of the third stage of alcohol dependence.
Moderate beer has a beneficial effect:
- Cosmetic effect on skin condition.
- Normalizes blood pressure.
- Calms the human nervous system.
- Maintains the necessary cholesterol levels.
It is important to remember that beer addiction progresses secretly and little by little, which makes it difficult to notice in the initial stage.Subsequently, the same disease is more difficult to treat than, for example, addiction caused by the abuse of vodka or other alcoholic beverages.It is therefore fundamentally wrong to argue that beer is a safe alcoholic drink.
STIMULATING EFFECT OF MODERATE DOSES OF ALCOHOL
As with all other alcohols, the benefits of moderate consumption can be obtained by taking into account the so-called paradoxical stimulation effect.
What is the meaning of this principle?This is the stimulating effect of small doses of exposure to these substances, which in higher doses cause a toxic effect.In simple words, if alcohol in large doses harms the body, then in small quantities it can have a stimulating effect.
This effect is achieved not by moderately drinking groups of people, but by those who consume quite insignificant (about 50 ml of vodka 2 times every 7 days) doses of alcohol and not a gram more.
WHICH IS BETTER: DRINKING IN MODERATION OR NOT DRINKING ALCOHOL AT ALL?
And what do you want to do now, knowing all these numbers that speak of either the benefits of alcohol or its harm?Should you stop drinking forever or should you drink in moderation for your health?
Previous studies showing the benefits of moderate drinking have been proven wrong.Today, scientists from leading countries in the world are talking about it.
These experiments showed the following result: moderate and moderate drinkers were much healthier than absolute non-drinkers.But what's the catch?The fact is that everyone was included in the category of abstainers: people with already poor health, those who drank a lot in their youth, those who could not drink alcohol for medical reasons.
Therefore, the result was unreliable.Scientists conducted a number of additional studies, correcting their mistake, and it turned out that non-drinkers are healthier than those who drink moderately, and the former live much longer than the latter.
ARE THERE BENEFITS FROM ALCOHOL AND SHOULD IT BE DRINKED IN MODERATION?
A study conducted in 1999 by a physician-scientist demonstrated that drinking alcohol in moderation has benefits for the human cardiovascular system.In the same year, a similar study was conducted, when the benefits of alcohol for the human brain were proven.
The results of the experiments are as follows:
- Those patients who have learned to drink in moderate doses are less likely to have a myocardial infarction.They drank from 14 to 56 g of pure alcohol per day (less than 1 glass of vodka).Also, people who stick to moderate doses are less likely to develop intellectual disability.
- Those who made the brave decision not to drink at all had a slightly increased risk of heart attack and were slightly more likely to develop dementia.
- Those who frequently drink alcohol in large quantities had the most noticeable health problems.In such situations, myocardial infarction occurs and brain diseases are more often manifested.
After such research results, several urgent questions immediately arise in my head: can an alcoholic drink in moderation?So is it still better to drink a little alcohol than to become a teetotaler?
But here it is important to mention another experiment conducted by scientists in 2008, which showed a completely different effect - patients who drink alcohol in moderation are more likely to get serious brain diseases than those who completely abstain from alcohol.
CONCLUSIONS: IS IT POSSIBLE TO DRINK IN ANSWER?
As you can see, the experiments showed completely different results, which is nothing unusual, because the health and life expectancy of a person on earth are affected by many factors other than alcohol intake: daily diet, lifestyle, working conditions, climate.That is why a specific study cannot give 100% objective information.
Only one thing can be said for sure - there are benefits to drinking alcohol in small quantities, but this benefit is not particularly noticeable against the background of the danger that awaits you if you drink alcohol.In addition, the harm from alcohol manifests itself instantly and is easily detected by scientists and doctors when examining a person.
How to drink in moderation and is it worth doing it at all?If you really care about your own health, then it is better to forget about alcohol altogether.Consume only what brings real benefits and does not contain harm, so that you have no more doubts.