Alcoholic beverages are appropriate in small quantities. Any medical professional will confirm this. The limitation is related to the negative impact of ethanol on organic systems. Many understand the seriousness of the problem and are aware of the severity of the consequences of alcohol abuse, so they are interested in how much it will be considered acceptable or, on the contrary, harmless.
Benefits of alcohol
There is an opinion that in reasonable doses alcohol benefits health, so drinking it is not prohibited. The beneficial effect on the circulatory system is most often mentioned. Thus, ethyl alcohol - the main component of alcoholic beverages - helps dissolve cholesterol plaques that form on the inner walls of blood vessels. Their presence indicates a disease such as atherosclerosis. The disease often develops due to diet violations and the use of large amounts of animal fats, which tend to turn into "bad" cholesterol or low-density triglycerides. These compounds block the lumen of the arteries, hindering the free flow of blood.
Another valuable quality of alcoholic beverages is the ability to quickly relax and relieve stress. Even a small dose of strong drink will cheer you up and improve your emotional state. This is due to an increase in the concentration of hormones of happiness and pleasure.
Of course, all valuable qualities will be manifested in drinking high-quality alcohol, so the choice of alcohol should be carefully considered. The type of product also plays a role. Therefore, the maximum benefit is dry wine or cognac. These strong drinks contain bioflavonoids, vitamins and antioxidants.
It turns out that alcohol can actually be beneficial if used wisely. There are many nuances that help make drinking alcohol safe.
Is it possible to drink without harm to health?
Doctors are convinced that it is impossible to rule out the negative impact of alcohol on the body, but it is realistic to reduce the negative impact to a minimum. There are several ways, but the best effect is observed with their complex use.
- Dose reduction. If a person drinks a lot of alcohol at once, it will not be possible to avoid deterioration of health. The safest option is to drink in moderation.
- Rare use. Those who drink every day or even twice a week suffer from chronic diseases related to alcohol abuse. Therefore, it is better to consume as little strong drinks as possible.
- Drinking just one drink. The combination of alcohol is harmful to the nervous system. In addition, in this case it will not be possible to avoid a severe hangover. It is worth choosing one particular drink for yourself, and not getting carried away by mixing different ones.
- Proper selection of food. You can't drink alcohol and not have a snack, even if it's light beer. Food rich in proteins and fats will protect the body from too fast absorption of ethanol into the blood, and will also create a barrier that protects the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract from alcohol, which is an aggressive substance.
By following these simple rules, the negative effects of alcohol on the body are reduced to a minimum, which will certainly have a positive effect on health.
What affects the determination of a safe dose
As such, there are no absolutely safe doses of alcohol. Alcohol, even in minimal quantities, harms health, so if you can refuse strong drinks, then it is better to use it.
Usually celebrations and feasts rarely pass without alcohol, so everyone drinks. In order to protect yourself from irreversible consequences, it is necessary to carefully monitor the amount of alcohol already consumed and how you feel.
There are no universal numbers that show how much you can drink without harming your body. It is necessary to pay attention to various parameters that affect it:
- gender. Women get drunk faster than men, so their dose should be reduced.
- Weight. The lower the body weight, the faster the state of intoxication will occur.
- metabolic rate. It is important that alcohol is processed in the body and removed from it as soon as possible. If the metabolic processes take place intensively, then there will be no problem with the neutralization of alcohol. This is an innate trait that cannot be changed.
- Liver condition. This gland takes the main burden of removing all incoming toxins from the body, including alcohol and decay products. If the liver tissue is already damaged, alcohol neutralization processes will take place slowly. And if so, then a person should reduce the amount of alcohol consumed.
- Food. A little more alcohol can be afforded by those who, along with drinking alcohol, take food rich in proteins. It is: fish, meat or poultry. Fats, such as vegetable oils, are also beneficial.
- Additional training. There are many ways to prepare for an event. Some work so effectively that they allow you to consume a little more strong drinks. Therefore, it is recommended to take sorbents and preparations with a high content of organic acids two hours before the feast.
Based on these parameters, it can be concluded that the safe dose of alcohol will be different for each person. Experts only give average data that you need to adjust to yourself.
a safe dose of alcohol
A safe dose of alcohol is the amount that the body processes quickly and without consequences. To determine it, you must first calculate the toxicity threshold, that is, the volume of pure ethanol that the liver can successfully handle.
This is 90 grams, if we are talking about a man weighing 70 kg. A representative of the stronger sex, weighing around 100 kg, can drink a little more than ½ cup of a strong alcoholic drink - vodka or cognac.
It is important to note that the threshold of toxicity for the brain is much lower and is 19 grams of pure ethanol, which is about 60 ml of vodka. Neurons and the connections between them are sensitive structures that, under the influence of negative factors, including ethyl alcohol, begin to collapse. When calculating a safe dose, attention should be paid to the threshold of brain toxicity.
How much can you drink to avoid a hangover
Most often people ask this question. Citizens are more interested in how they feel the next day, not the destruction of the body that is imperceptible in the early stages.
Doctors give average data, according to which a person can take up to 1. 5 ml of pure ethyl alcohol per kilogram of body weight. This figure is for men, women are advised to reduce the amount slightly.
So, in order not to suffer from a hangover, a man weighing 70 kg should stop if he has already drunk 262 ml of vodka. It is assumed that this drink was consumed in a short period of time and that it entered the body in almost one portion. If this amount is drunk gradually throughout the evening, then the liver, already involved in work, manages to neutralize part of the toxins. In this case, the amount of alcohol can be increased by about a third. These are just digital parameters that are universal for all people.
In reality, even a small amount of alcohol can cause acute intoxication and a severe hangover. For this reason, you must primarily focus on personal feelings.
Therefore, with the appearance of severe dizziness, migraine, darkening of the eyes, heart rhythm disorders, you should immediately stop drinking alcohol. These are typical signs of taking too much volume. It is better to take measures to cleanse the body of alcohol.
The following are considered effective:
- gastric lavage;
- intake of enterosorbents;
- taking supplements with organic acids;
- copious drink;
- moderate physical activity;
- a walk in the fresh air;
- a dream.
According to doctors, a hangover develops with the use of reasonable doses of alcohol. It most often occurs after drinking beer, champagne, cocktails, wine. Strong drinks, taken according to all the rules, rarely cause deterioration of well-being.
After drinking carbonated drinks, a hangover occurs, because the bubbles contribute to immediate intoxication due to irritation of the mucous membrane and rapid absorption into the blood. Cocktails are dangerous because several types of alcoholic products are mixed during production, and wines often contain fusel oils, which become the main cause of headaches.
Maximum dose of alcohol
Doctors take into account not only the dose that is safe for health, but also the maximum volume, more than which drinking is highly discouraged. This is the amount that the body cannot handle in one day. As a rule, full recovery takes more than a week.
Doctors believe that the maximum amount is 170 grams of pure alcohol per day. This is 538 ml of vodka - one bottle. There will be no serious negative consequences when using such a dose if a person refuses alcohol for another 8-9 days, but it is better to increase this interval by a month in order for the organs to rest and the tissues to regenerate.
The use of the maximum dose of alcohol entails a severe hangover, which will be accompanied by symptoms such as:
- headache;
- nausea and vomiting;
- diarrhea;
- flatulence;
- heartburn;
- thirst;
- bad breath;
- edema;
- hand tremor;
- chills;
- weakness.
These are external manifestations that become visible already the next morning when ethyl alcohol is processed into poisonous acetaldehyde. In fact, there is a deeper damage to the organism.
Consequences of taking extreme doses
Alcohol has a damaging effect on all structures, including the heart, brain, liver and pancreas. With the systematic use of even reasonable amounts, cells die, due to which the organs cease to function normally. As a result, chronic diseases develop, sometimes disturbing throughout life.
An even greater danger from alcohol abuse is the creation of addiction. At first, a person experiences psychological cravings, it seems to him that without alcohol he will no longer be able to relax and easily communicate with other people. Such patients do not recognize the addiction itself and believe that they can give up alcohol at any time.
When they try to quit, addicts realize there is a problem. Without ethyl alcohol, there is a disruption of the hormonal balance, to which the body reacts with an abstinence syndrome similar to a severe hangover. It is a sign of addiction transitioning into a physical phase. The alcoholic himself needs medical and psychological help. He won't be able to stop his addiction on his own.
Further, in the absence of therapeutic measures, the addiction passes into the third, final stage, which is called encephalopathic. At this stage, the global destruction of brain cells occurs, which leads to irreversible changes in the human psyche. As a person, an alcoholic quickly degrades, loses his memory and can no longer boast of intellectual abilities.
The risk of developing addiction makes it possible to equate alcohol with drugs. This means that the use of alcohol should be handled carefully. Rare feasts with high-quality alcohol will not cause significant harm and will give the body a chance to recover. If alcohol is drunk often and in large quantities, then health problems cannot be avoided.