Alcoholic beverages are appropriate in small quantities. This will be confirmed by any healthcare professional. The limitation is associated with the negative impact of ethanol on organ systems. Many understand the seriousness of the problem and are aware of the seriousness of the consequences of alcohol abuse, so they are interested in how much will be considered acceptable or, conversely, harmless.
Benefits of alcohol
There is an opinion that alcohol in reasonable doses is good for health, so drinking it is not prohibited. The beneficial effect on the circulatory system is most often mentioned. So, ethyl alcohol - the main component of an alcoholic beverage - 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 in violation of the diet 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, interfering with 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 a 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.
Naturally, all valuable qualities will manifest themselves when drinking high-quality alcohol, so the choice of alcohol should be carefully considered. The type of product also plays a role. So, the greatest benefit is dry wine or cognac. These strong drinks contain bioflavonoids, vitamins and antioxidants.
It turns out that alcohol can actually be beneficial when used wisely. There are many nuances that help make alcohol consumption safe.
It is possible to drink without harm to health
Doctors are convinced that it is impossible to exclude the negative impact of alcohol on the body, but it is realistic to minimize the negative impact. There are several ways, but the best effect is observed with their complex use.
- Dosage reduction. If a person takes a lot of alcohol at once, it will not be possible to avoid deterioration in 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 associated with alcohol abuse. Therefore, it is better to consume strong drinks as little as possible.
- Have only one drink. The combination of alcoholic options is bad for the nervous system. Also, in this case, it will not be possible to avoid a severe hangover. It is worth choosing a specific drink for yourself and not getting carried away mixing different ones.
- Proper selection of food. You cannot drink alcohol and not have a snack, even if we are talking about light beer. Food rich in proteins and fats will protect the body from too rapid absorption of ethanol into the blood, and will also create a barrier that protects the mucous membranes 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 minimized, which will certainly have a positive effect on health.
What influences the determination of a safe dose
Therefore, there are no absolutely safe doses of alcohol. Alcohol, even in minimal quantities, is harmful to health, so if you can refuse strong drinks, then it's better to use it.
Usually, celebrations and parties rarely do without alcohol, so everyone drinks. To protect yourself from irreparable consequences, you need to carefully monitor how much alcohol you have already taken and how it feels.
There are no universal numbers showing how much you can drink without harm to the body. It is necessary to pay attention to various parameters that affect this:
- Genre. Women get drunk faster than men, so the dose for them should be reduced.
- Weight. The lower the body weight, the faster the state of intoxication will come.
- metabolic rate. It is important that alcohol is processed by the body and removed from it as quickly as possible. If the metabolic processes are proceeding intensively, there will be no problems with neutralizing alcohol. This is an innate trait that cannot be changed.
- State of the liver. This gland takes on the main burden of removing all incoming toxins from the body, including alcohol and decomposition products. If the liver tissue is already damaged, the alcohol neutralization processes will proceed slowly. And if so, then a person should reduce the amount of alcohol consumed.
- Food. A little more alcohol can afford those who, in parallel with the consumption of alcohol, take foods rich in protein. It is: fish, meat or poultry. Fats, such as vegetable oils, are also helpful.
- Additional training. There are many ways to prepare for an event. Some work so effectively that you can drink slightly stronger drinks. So, two hours before the party, it is recommended to take a sorbent and a preparation with a high content of organic acids.
Based on these parameters, it can be concluded that the safe dose of alcohol will be different for each person. The experts only provide average data that you need to adjust for yourself.
safe dose of alcohol
A harmless dose of alcohol is the amount that the body processes quickly and without consequences. To determine this, you must first calculate the toxicity threshold, i. e. the volume of pure ethanol that the liver can successfully handle.
That's 90 grams, if we're talking about a man weighing 70 kg. A little more than ½ cup of a strong alcoholic drink - vodka or cognac - can be drunk by a representative of the stronger sex weighing about 100 kg.
Interestingly, the toxicity threshold for the brain is much lower and amounts to 19 grams of pure ethanol, or about 60 ml of vodka. Neurons and their connections 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 brain toxicity threshold.
How much can you drink to avoid a hangover
Very often people ask this question. Citizens are more interested in how they feel the next day, and not in the destruction of the body, which 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 slightly reduce the amount.
Thus, 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 was assumed that this drink was consumed for a short period of time and entered the body in almost one portion. If this amount was drunk gradually throughout the evening, then the liver, already involved in the work, manages to neutralize some of the toxins. In this case, the volume of alcohol can be increased by about a third. These are just universal digital parameters for all people.
In fact, even a small amount of alcohol can lead to acute intoxication and a severe hangover. For this reason, you need to focus primarily on personal feelings.
So, with the appearance of severe dizziness, migraines, darkening of the eyes, heart rhythm disturbances, you should immediately stop drinking alcohol. These are typical signs of taking too much volume. It is best to take measures to cleanse the body of alcohol.
Are considered effective:
- gastric lavage;
- taking enterosorbents;
- take supplements with organic acids;
- plentiful drink;
- moderate physical activity;
- walking in the fresh air;
- to dream.
According to doctors, a hangover develops with the use of reasonable doses of alcohol. Most often it occurs after drinking beer, champagne, cocktails, wine. Strong drinks, taken according to all the rules, rarely lead to a deterioration in well-being.
A hangover appears after drinking carbonated drinks, as bubbles contribute to instant intoxication due to irritation of the mucous membranes and rapid absorption into the blood. Cocktails are dangerous because different types of alcoholic products are mixed during their production, and wines often contain phlegm oils, which become the main cause of headaches.
The maximum dose of alcohol
Doctors consider not only a safe dose for health, but also the maximum volume, drinking more than which is highly not recommended. This is the amount that the body cannot handle in one day. As a rule, full recovery takes more than a week.
Doctors consider the maximum volume of 170 grams of pure alcohol per day. That's 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 to allow organs to rest and tissues to regenerate.
The use of the maximum dose of alcohol leads to a severe hangover, which will be accompanied by symptoms such as:
- headache;
- nausea and vomit;
- diarrhea;
- swelling;
- stomach ache;
- thirst;
- bad breath;
- edema;
- hand tremor;
- chills;
- weakness.
These are external manifestations that become evident the next morning when ethyl alcohol is transformed into toxic acetaldehyde. In fact, there is deeper damage to the body.
Consequences of taking extreme doses
Alcohol has a detrimental effect on all structures, including the heart, brain, liver and pancreas. With the systematic use of even reasonable quantities, cells die, as a result of which organs cease to function normally. As a result, chronic, sometimes disturbing diseases develop for life.
An even greater danger of alcohol abuse is the formation of addiction. Initially, a person experiences psychological cravings, it seems to him that without alcohol he will no longer be able to relax and comfortably communicate with other people. Such patients do not recognize the addiction itself and believe that they can give up alcohol at any time.
When addicts try to quit, they realize there is a problem. Without ethyl alcohol, the hormonal balance is disturbed, to which the body reacts with a withdrawal syndrome similar to a severe hangover. This is a sign of the transition from addiction to the physical stage. The alcoholic himself needs medical and psychological help. He won't be able to get out of the addiction on his own.
Also, in the absence of therapeutic measures, addiction passes into the third final stage, which is called encephalopathic. At this stage, there is a global destruction of brain cells, 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 allows you to equate alcohol with drugs. This means that alcohol use should be treated with caution. Rare parties 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, health problems cannot be avoided.