People are proving that drinking in moderation is incredibly healthy.But what does “moderate” mean?How do you know when alcohol is harmful to your health?In fact, even scientists admit that alcohol in certain (small) doses is beneficial;take the example of red wine, in which we find antioxidants, vitamins and microelements.Damage occurs when alcohol damages a person's internal organs, and this will definitely happen if you drink more than 6 ounces of alcohol more than once every 8 days.
So is it possible to drink in moderation?What risks does a person who drinks alcohol face?When does moderate alcohol consumption stop and alcohol abuse begin?
ALL THE MOST IMPORTANT ABOUT WHAT TO DRINK IN MODERATION
“The main thing is to drink in moderation,” a person who is already one step away from terrible and destructive alcoholism often thinks.
The dose, after which the human liver is in serious danger, is equal to 90 g of pure ethanol per day.For a moment, that's 285 ml of vodka (a little more than a glass of vodka).Human brain damage comes from a much smaller dose - 19g of ethanol (or 60ml of vodka) in 24 hours.And this applies to completely healthy people, with a normal, functioning liver, brain, kidneys and other healthy organs.
Now imagine what awaits a person if he drinks a glass of vodka every day:
- an addiction to alcohol will begin to develop, from which it is very difficult to get rid of;
- in six months he will begin to suffer from such alcohol dependence in the presence of a hereditary predisposition to this disease;
- this disorder will manifest itself within 36 months (3 years) in the absence of hereditary predisposition.
- after a few months there will be a strong desire to steadily increase the dose.
If we assume that a person suffered from a significant disease (for example, viral hepatitis), then the moderate dose for him will be 2 or even 3 times lower.
This should be clear: moderate drinkers - how much can you drink without harming your own body?How much can you drink so that all body systems are restored?
All calculations are made based on the fact that a healthy person processes 170 g of alcohol per day.As a result, interesting results and conclusions are obtained:
- If a person ingests 170 g of pure alcohol in 1 day, they must refrain from drinking any alcoholic beverage (even the weakest) for the next 8 days.
- The permitted (acceptable) dose per month is 586 grams.
- That is, you can drink a little more than one and a half bottles of classic vodka per month.
If it turns out that you need to drink more than 170 grams during a holiday, then you need to increase the time between drinking alcohol and the next time drinking alcohol, say, not after 8 days, but after 10-12.This will significantly reduce the harm and negative consequences of alcohol.
What conclusion should we draw in such a situation: drink much less often or drink in moderation?Experts lean more towards the first option.Less often means once a month and not more often.Although some argue that if the dosage is followed correctly, it doesn't really matter how often a person drinks.
WINE: IS IT HEALTHY OR NOT?
Moderate drinkers, at least those who call themselves that, insist on the following: drinking dry red wine is extremely healthy.Their justification is based on the fact that wine contains a powerful antioxidant and prevents cancer.
On the contrary, scientific research shows this: drinking wine in large quantities is harmful.It contains certain substances, an excess of which will unintentionally lead to complications, therefore such a drink will be harmful.
You need to 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 microelements that improve human health.
- An acceptable dose for a healthy person is approximately 3 glasses of wine per 7 days (450 ml drink).
It is also worth mentioning that discussions about the effectiveness of red wine in treating atherosclerosis turned out to be just rumors, since modern research proves the opposite.
It turns out that drinking wine is useful, but only when you comply with the established standards and do not exceed the safe dosage of the consumed drink.
IS IT ALLOWED TO DRINK BEER IN MODERATE QUANTITIES?
Besides wine, another drink that many people claim is healthy is beer.Yes, indeed, unpasteurized or live beer can be beneficial for the body, but even here there are certain restrictions, after which the drink becomes harmful to humans.600 ml per day is a completely 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.
Beer in moderation has beneficial effects:
- Cosmetic effect on skin condition.
- Normalizes blood pressure.
- Calms the human nervous system.
- Maintains necessary cholesterol levels.
It is important to remember that beer addiction progresses secretly and little by little, making it difficult to notice at the initial stage.Subsequently, this 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 false to prove that beer is a safe alcoholic beverage.
STIMULATING EFFECT OF MODERATE DOSES OF ALCOHOL
As with all other alcohols, moderate consumption can bring benefits, taking into account the so-called paradoxical stimulation effect.
What is the meaning of this principle?This is the stimulating effect of exposure in small doses to substances which, at higher doses, cause a toxic effect.Simply put, if alcohol in large doses harms the body, then in small quantities it can have a stimulating effect.
This effect is achieved not by groups of people who drink moderately, but by those who consume simply insignificant doses of alcohol (about 50 ml of vodka 2 times every 7 days), and not a gram more.
WHICH IS BETTER: DRINK IN MODERATION OR NOT DRINK ALCOHOL AT ALL?
And what do you want to do now, knowing all these figures which speak either of the benefits of alcohol or of its harm?Should you stop drinking forever or should you drink in moderation for your health?
Previous studies showing the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption have been shown to be flawed.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 is the catch?The fact is that everyone was recruited from the category of abstainers: people who were already in poor health, those who drank a lot in their youth, those who could not drink alcohol for medical reasons.
The result was therefore not reliable.Scientists conducted a number of additional studies, correcting their mistake, and it turned out that non-drinkers are healthier than those who drink in moderation, and the former live much longer than the latter.
ARE THERE BENEFITS OF ALCOHOL AND SHOULD YOU DRINK IN MODERATION?
A 1999 study by a physician-scientist demonstrated that moderate alcohol consumption has benefits for the cardiovascular system.A similar study was conducted in the same year, when the benefits of alcohol for the human brain were proven.
The results of the experiments were as follows:
- Patients who learned to drink in moderate doses were less likely to suffer a myocardial infarction.They drank 14 to 56 g of pure alcohol daily (less than a glass of vodka).Additionally, people who adhered to moderate doses were less likely to develop an intellectual disorder.
- Those who made the bold decision not to drink at all had a slightly increased risk of heart attack and were slightly more likely to develop dementia.
- The most visible health problems were those who frequently drank alcohol in large quantities.In such situations, myocardial infarction occurred and brain diseases manifested themselves more often.
After such research results, several pressing questions immediately arise in my head: Can alcohol be consumed in moderation?So, does that mean that it’s still better to drink a little alcohol than to become abstinent?
But here it is important to mention another experiment conducted by scientists in 2008, which showed a completely different effect: patients who drank alcohol moderately were more likely to suffer from serious brain diseases than those who completely abstained from alcohol.
CONCLUSIONS: IS IT POSSIBLE TO DRINK IN RESPONSE?
As you can see, the experiments showed completely different results, which is not abnormal, because the health and lifespan of a person on earth are influenced by many factors other than alcohol consumption: daily diet, lifestyle, working conditions, climate.This is why a specific study cannot provide 100% objective information.
Only one thing can be said with certainty: there are benefits from drinking alcohol in small quantities, but this benefit is not particularly visible against the background of the danger that awaits you if you drink alcohol.In addition, the harm of 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?If you really care about your own health, it is better to forget about alcohol altogether.Only consume what brings real benefits and does not contain harm, so as to no longer have doubts.