All About Alcohol: Health Benefits, Risks and Disadvantage
Moderate
drinking is defined as consuming up to one alcohol drink a day for women and up
to two alcohol drinks a day for men. The definition of a "standard"
alcoholic drink depends on the alcohol content of the beverage. One alcoholic
drink to be 5oz of wine, 12oz of beer or 1.5oz of spirits. Examples of one
drink include:
·
Beer: 355 ml
·
Wine: 148 ml
·
Distilled spirits:
44 ml
Moderate
alcohol use may be of most benefit if you're an older adult or if you have
existing risk factors for heart disease. If you're a
middle-aged or younger adult, some evidence shows that even moderate alcohol
use may cause more harm than good.
1.
Moderate alcohol
use may protect against stroke, heart attack, heart disease, sudden
cardiovascular death and other cardiovascular conditions, as well as improve
overall mortality. Drinking a glass of wine - and possibly other alcoholic
beverages - can benefit the heart by increasing our levels of high-density
lipoprotein (HDL), or "good" cholesterol. The strongest evidence is
in favor of wine, but some evidence recently showed beer and other types of
alcohol may provide the same benefits related to increasing good cholesterol.
2.
Moderate alcohol
consumption leads increased insulin sensitivity, which may lower diabetes risk.
Moderate drinkers were 30% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, compared
with heavy drinkers and nondrinkers.
3.
Older individuals
who engaged in light or moderate drinking had higher episodic memory - the
ability to remember events. They also had a larger volume in the hippocampus -
a brain region that plays an important role in memory. Moderate alcohol
consumption improved participants' memory and thinking skills, particularly for
women and those aged 70 and older.
4.
Moderate drinking
might actually protect against erectile dysfunction in the same way that
drinking red wine might benefit heart disease.
Drinking less than four or two drinks per day for men and women
respectively could reduce the risk of death by 18 percent.
5.
Moderate alcohol
consumption led to a decrease in common cold cases for nonsmokers.
6.
It Can Decrease
Chances of Developing Dementia
7.
It Can Reduce the
Risk of Gallstones
8.
Alcohol in
moderate amounts is effective in reducing stress.
9.
Low and moderate
doses of alcohol have been reported to increase overall affective expression,
happiness, euphoria, conviviality and pleasant and carefree feelings. Tension,
depression and self-consciousness have been reported to decrease with equal
doses.
10.
Low alcohol doses
have been found to improve certain types of cognitive performance. Included
here are problem-solving and short-term memory.
11.
Heavy drinkers
and abstainers have higher rates of clinical depression than do regular
moderate drinkers.
12.
Alcohol in low
and moderate doses has been effective in the treatment of geropsychiatric
problems.
Expanding
our understanding of the relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and
potential health benefits remains a challenge, and although there are positive
effects, alcohol may not benefit everyone who drinks moderately. The health benefits associated with moderate alcohol
consumption may be overestimated.
When to avoid alcohol
use
In certain situations, the
risks of alcohol use may outweigh the possible health benefits. Use alcohol
only with great care and after consulting your doctor if:
1.
You're pregnant
or trying to become pregnant
2.
You've been
diagnosed with alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or you have a strong family history
of alcoholism
3.
You have liver or
pancreatic disease
4.
You have heart
failure or you've been told you have a weak heart
5.
You take
prescription or over-the-counter medications that can interact with alcohol
6.
You've had a
hemorrhagic stroke (when a blood vessel in your brain leaks or ruptures)
7.
Keep in mind that
even moderate use isn't risk-free. For example, drinking and driving is never a
good idea.
The risks of heavy
alcohol use
Heavy
drinking is defined as more than three drinks on any day or more than seven
drinks a week for women and for men older than age 65, and more than four
drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks a week for men age 65 and younger.
Binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks within two hours for women and
five or more drinks within two hours for men.
While
moderate alcohol use may offer some health benefits, heavy drinking — including
binge drinking — has no health benefits. Excessive drinking can increase your
risk of serious health problems, including:
1.
Certain cancers,
including breast cancer and cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx and esophagus
2.
Pancreatitis
3.
Sudden death if
you already have cardiovascular disease
4.
Heart muscle
damage (alcoholic cardiomyopathy) leading to heart failure
5.
Stroke
6.
High blood
pressure
7.
Liver disease
8.
Suicide
9.
Accidental
serious injury or death
10.
Brain damage and
other problems in an unborn child
11.
Alcohol
withdrawal syndrome
𝙊𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙪𝙨, 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚!
ReplyDelete𝙈𝙨. 𝙏𝘼 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙐𝙎𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙇𝙄𝘼 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚1 (𝙃𝙎𝙑1), 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 # 𝙙𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙚@gmail.𝙘𝙤𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝘿𝙧 𝙐𝙩𝙪 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙪𝙢. 𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙨𝙫1. 𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙄 𝙜𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙