How much alcohol can you drink without seriously harming your health?

blood alcohol

Many people do not drink alcohol during the work week, but on weekends they allow themselves to relax with a few beers or a stronger drink a day. It should not be forgotten that this approach can cause dangerous and health problems. This is due to the fact that it is difficult for the body to process a large dose of alcohol that is received within 2 days.

To avoid serious problems, you need to know what dose of daily alcohol is considered safe.

Don't drink much alcohol

I'll tell you right away - there is no consensus on this issue. According to some scientists, even small amounts of alcohol have a devastating effect on the body. Others believe that alcohol in small doses is even beneficial. And there are WHO (World Health Organization) recommendations thata dangerous dose of alcohol60 ml ethanolfor men50 mlfor women. But since very few people consume ethanol in its pure form (I hope), this looks like an absolutely dangerous dose of alcohol for most drinks known to it:

  • 180 g of vodka for men and 150 g of vodka for women
  • 1, 5 l. beer
  • 0, 5 l. bor

Absolutely dangerous dose of alcohol- the average amount of alcohol consumed, enough to die.

But don’t think that if you drink less than this value, nothing will happen to your body. Even if you consume the equivalent of 30 ml of ethanol per day (90 g of vodka, 800 ml of beer or a large glass of wine), it can seriously damage your health.

ideal alcohol ratio

Formula for determining the individual alcohol content

Health professionals have developed a formula that can be used to calculate an individual’s alcohol consumption. With this method, you can independently determine how much alcohol you can consume per day without harming your health.

The base is 1. 5 g ethyl alcohol / 1 kg human weight. If a person weighs 70 kg, the individual dose of ethanol is 105 ml. In any case, we need to understand that we are averaging such values, as much depends on the age, gender, and physiological characteristics of the body.

What happens if you drink alcohol every day?

Scientists have been researching this issue for a long time. Recent evidence suggests thatalcohol reduces the risk of atherosclerosis. In part, it helps prevent blood vessels from becoming blocked by cholesterol plaques. Why is Cholesterol Dangerous? Causes circulation problems. The blood stops circulating normally through the blood vessels as they are filled with cholesterol and a person even dies. Alcohol, on the other hand, “rinses” blood vessels and prevents cholesterol from stagnating.

Does that mean you can drink alcohol every day? No. In this case, we are talking about extremely low doses of alcohol. Based on the sameWHO recommendations, experts advise you to completelyabstain from alcoholat least two days a week. Of course, the longer you don’t drink, the better.

The optimal doseAlcohol, which is not very harmful to health and may even have some benefits, is considered a150 mldry red wine.

But that doesn't mean you have to drink a small glass of wine every day, despite the fact that there are many stories circulating on the internet that some grandfathers drank a glass every day and lived to be 90 years old. until his age. Here, everything is unique and many factors need to be considered - from chronic diseases to hereditary predisposition. Not to mention the fact thatalcohol is categorically contraindicatedfor minors and pregnant women.

Did you know that alcohol stays in your hair for the longest time?

If you drink alcohol every day, your body cannot remove it from your body and a disease like alcoholism begins. It has three sections, and these are discussed in this article. But let’s figure it out first - how does alcohol affect people in general?

A wonderful intoxicating drink has been known for thousands of years, although it was called differently from country to country: digestion, ale, braga, etc. In ancient times it was believed that amber drink improves appetite, strengthens health, helps to grow and develop, which is why it is the norm to give it to children. Beer can be enjoyed both on hot days and cool evenings. In Italy, for example, in the middle of the 20th century, they were encouraged to enjoy themselves all year round, not just during the hot summer. At the time, beer was associated with urban lifestyles, fashion trends, and even advancement. And now he has many acquaintances with this frothy drink, trusting that it can be consumed for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The well-known joke, “It’s 24 hours a day, there are 24 bottles in a beer can - a coincidence? ” this confirms. But jokes, jokes, and foam can cause good problems for your health if you don’t know the steps. In this article, we will find out what are the benefits and harms of this drink, how much to consume, and whether there are any contraindications.

How alcohol works

how alcohol works

The brain of an ordinary person and an alcoholic. In the second case, most of the brain connections are destroyed

What is alcohol in a scientific sense? It isethyl alcohol, produced by the fermentation of sugar, yeast and starch. And this "nuclear" mixture has an amazing property: it goes through all stages of digestion incredibly fast. That is, while digesting lunch soup (about 30 minutes) or chicken (up to 2 hours), alcohol quickly reaches its destination - the human circulatory system, sometimes even bypassing the liver if drunk heavily. He is simply unable to allow such a large amount of alcohol into himself.

Alcohol begins to do its nasty business in the circulatory system: it damages red blood cells (the tiny bodies that make up blood), so they stick together and form blood clots. Blood clots, in turn, block the flow of blood in the small arteries, leading to blockage of blood vessels in the brain. Therefore, a feeling of intoxication occurs, which is similar to when the brain lacks oxygen.

Red blood cells of a person who consumes a large amount of alcohol. Almost all of them were together

Therefore, if you do not consume alcohol in moderation, your brain will constantly be in this state. This leads to the deterioration of many mental and physical functions - a condition that is comparable to consuming a lot of alcohol at the same time. A person cannot stand on his feet normally and does not account for his actions.

Scientists have already shown that alcohol damages DNA and increases the risk of cancer.

Beer in the modern world

Any store offers a huge selection of drinks. To make the right choice, you need to understand what types of foams there are and how they differ. Beer can be divided into 2 types: simple and strong.

Simple beer is low in alcohol, about 4 percent. It is further divided into two types: light and dark. The strength of a tapped drink can reach 8 percent.

beer in the modern world

Strong drinks may contain up to 12% alcohol. It differs from the simple in that it has an unusually rich taste, aroma, and slightly bitter aftertaste.

This drink is considered whole. It is worth noting that about 90% of the choice offered to customers is specific to the whole. The average alcohol content in this form is about 7 percent.

Stages of Alcoholism

Constantalcohol consumption leads to alcoholism, which has three stages.

  1. As a result of the first stage of alcohol dependence, one gradually loses control of the amount of drink consumed, leading to the appearance of an abnormal desire for alcohol.
  2. In thesecond stage, a person still develops "immunity" to alcohol, or rather seems to do so. Indeed, if a person consumes more than 1 liter of alcohol at this stage, the body will seem to begin to perceive alcohol more easily. In fact, it hides the development of serious diseases - hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, esophageal cancer and stomach cancer.
  3. The alcoholism of the third stage is characterized by a complete breakdown of the personality on the physical and mental plane. A person can no longer drink alcohol and in most cases dies.

Scientists believe that alcoholism is affected by an inherited predisposition caused by insufficient production of enzymes that metabolize alcohol. But in fact, the amount of alcohol consumed affects this. You just don’t have to drink if you realize you’re losing your temper and an uncomfortable condition.

alcoholism disease

Alcoholism is a disease that needs to be treated

Benefits of the drink

Oddly enough, beer also has valuable health benefits, but most of them don’t involve drinking indoors. Used externally:

  1. Beer foam is used to smooth out wrinkles in masks that improve the condition of the skin.
  2. Beer is an essential ingredient in hair masks, strong, voluminous and silky.
  3. If a person falls ill with acute respiratory infections and drinks a little warm beer, health recovers and improves faster.
  4. A reasonable dose of beer will help remove harmful heavy metals from your body, so drink at an acceptable rate and your kidneys will be healthy.
  5. If you drink beer from time to time, the silicon content in it strengthens the skeletal system.

Take care of your health!

WARNING! The information published in this article is for informational purposes only and not instructions for use. Be sure to consult your doctor.

Why does a hangover occur?

Many people ask this question the next morning after a busy party (usually with the words "well, I definitely don't drink anymore"). In fact, the explanation is quite simple: alcohol enters the body’s bloodstream terribly quickly, but leaves it VERY slowly. And the human body cannot fully recover from a stormy night until matter is completely destroyed and digested. This is how thehangoveroccurs.

Last year, Hungary tried to make a hangover-free beer with vitamins. Did they do it?

Certainly many people have askedhow to avoid a hangoverbefore I start celebrating the next event with alcohol. But the answer can be summed up in one sentence: don’t drink in large quantities, and then the alcohol will have time to leave the body before its head comes in contact with the pillow.

How to drink alcohol?

Researchers make a distinction between the so-called “north” and “south” models. The first includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Baltic countries, which consume a lot of alcohol in shocked doses and not always often. The “southern” model is typical of Spain, Italy, Greece, where they can drink alcohol even more often but less and less: for example, a glass of dry wine for dinner. No one drinks 100 g of vodka every day.

Scientists agree that the “southern” model is safer for health, although they continue to note that daily alcohol consumption is harmful to health. So don't overuse it.

Historical data

Beer is one of the oldest beverages. If you believe in history, it was first made about 8, 000 years ago. It should be noted that at that time women were engaged in the production of the drink. Mainly made at home. The men only became interested in the manufacturing business after it became increasingly popular and began to sell them.

Of course, in our age, brewing is exclusively a masculine occupation, although, as is known from history, it began completely differently. Most of the drink was made in the Middle Ages and was famous for its wonderful taste in England, the Czech Republic and Germany. That is why these countries have not lost their title and continue to make a delicious intoxicating drink.

This case was popular in many countries. People who could make beer were highly esteemed. Different ingredients were chosen for the production, so the taste of the beer was also different.