The World Health Organization has raised the bar for a safe dose of alcohol.Now, according to recently published WHO recommendations, a healthy person can drink up to 10 liters of pure alcohol per year without harm to his health.Women are allowed a third less.This WHO generosity is equivalent to about one bottle of vodka per week.But our narcologists are more conservative;they still adhere to the usual restrictions: a maximum of 8 liters of "pure" alcohol per year and 3-4 days of complete sobriety per week.At the same time, more and more doctors insist on changing the traditional principles of helping people with alcohol problems, which have been established since Soviet times.
"More than 8 liters of pure alcohol per person per year is the extinction of the nation," says the head of the psychotherapy department of the National Scientific Center for Narcology, prof. — We are currently consuming 15.1 liters.We are in a negative peak.Increased alcohol consumption does not arise out of nowhere - it is an attempt to relieve stress, escape from reality to a certain extent and solve some psychological problems.This partially works: after drinking, a withdrawn person becomes liberated, his mood improves, and problems are pushed into the background.But still, this is a psychological trap and a pseudo solution to the problem.Man pays too high a price for this.It is paid for by pathology of the liver, heart, and brain.Moreover, when the real symptoms of the disease appear, the person is, as a rule, already deeply dependent on alcohol."
Expert advice: how much can you drink with minimal risk to your health?
A safe amount of alcohol is considered to be 14-28 drinks per week for men and 7-14 drinks per week for women.Moreover, this norm is conditional: for some people, for example, with an unfavorable heredity, the risk of health deterioration occurs when they drink very small amounts of alcohol.
How to drink properly?
They often say: abroad they eat with a drink, and here they drink with a snack.The main principle should be - the less, the better.And, of course, the drink must be of high quality.It is better to give preference to dry - not fortified or dessert - wines.Vodka, cognac and other strong drinks, if they get into the stomach, can cause a condition close to burning the mucous membrane, so it is better to dilute highly resistant drinks.If we stretch the diluted drink (can be wine) over the whole evening, then the total dose of pure alcohol will be small, and the damage to health will be minimized.Given that the oxidation of alcohol in the body requires an increased consumption of vitamins, it is recommended to take multivitamins, and there must be greens, vegetables and fruits on the table.
How healthy is dry red wine?
Truly convincing evidence of the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption, including dry wines, has not yet been obtained.But many experts believe that the dose of pure alcohol, not the type of drink, is of primary importance in the ability to relieve stress.Therefore, it is better to drink less, but better.
What dose of alcohol is considered safe?
According to the recommendations of the same WHO, men should not consume more than 40 g of pure alcohol per day (about 2 bottles of beer, 100 ml of vodka or 3 glasses of dry wine).And for women - 30 g of pure alcohol (1.5 bottles of beer or 80 g of vodka, 2 glasses of dry wine).And that on the condition that the person does not drink a drop of alcohol 2 days a week.
When does addiction start?
Few people dare to admit that they are addicted to alcohol.Most people consider themselves to be light drinkers, but one person may drink a bottle of beer a day, but every day, while another drinks rarely, but drinks a lot.Which of them has a problem with alcohol?WHO experts distinguish four forms of alcohol consumption.
- Safe form.This is when a person does not drink more than 210 ml (for men) or 135 ml (for women) of pure alcohol per week.At the same time, the daily amount of alcohol must not exceed safe doses: 40 ml (for men) and 30 ml of ethyl alcohol (for women).
- A dangerous shape.This is when a person exceeds safe doses and does not follow the sobriety regime.
- Doctors warn that with such an attitude towards alcoholic beverages, a person risks becoming addicted to alcohol in the future and, as a "bonus", getting one of the diseases associated with excessive consumption of hard drinks (cirrhosis of the liver, stomach ulcers, anemia, heart failure, etc.).
- Consumption with harmful consequences.This is when a person drinks a lot (continuous alcohol consumption for more than 2 days) and feels an overwhelming urge to get a hangover.
- But the most characteristic symptom of this form is the loss of control over the amount of drinking.That is, a person loses his sense of proportion, and therefore gets drunk more and more often.
- The third form of drinking alcoholic beverages is not yet considered an addiction, but it significantly wears down the brain and internal organs of the person who drinks.
- Alcoholism.This form of alcohol consumption is characterized by a person's persistent reluctance to give up alcohol, even in the name of poor health.
At this stage, the form of intoxication also changes, for example, before the person got drunk, cheered up and fell asleep, but now he has an aggressive form of behavior.At the same time, the dose of alcohol consumed in one day increases several times.
How much alcohol can a person drink per day?
People have different attitudes towards alcohol.Some people cannot survive the day without drinking at least one glass of vodka.Some people drink several times a month and only on special occasions.There are also individuals who react completely indifferently to alcoholic beverages.Is there a safe dose of alcohol?Some doctors assure their patients that they should not drink more than one dose of alcohol during the week, while others are convinced that the amount of alcohol that exceeds 60 ml of vodka and 150 ml of wine per month already indicates drunkenness.Scientists have even come up with many different formulas to determine the safe dose of alcohol for the human body.But most narcologists agree that each person has his own purely personal norm for drinking, which directly depends on his individual characteristics.The last assumption can be called the most likely, because some people can get drunk from a glass of wine, while others are not affected by a bottle of vodka.It is most dangerous for the weaker sex to drink alcohol.A woman gets involved in drinking very quickly, and even small doses of alcoholic beverages become dependent on her.If she drinks regularly, a woman risks becoming an alcoholic within 2 years.Men are more tolerant of alcoholic beverages and do not get drunk as quickly - after 10 years.
Doctors conducted numerous studies, based on which they came to the conclusion: men of average build can drink up to 250 ml of wine, 500 ml of beer and no more than 50 ml of vodka (or other drink with a strength of up to 40 degrees), in order not to fall asleep.For women, a smaller portion of alcohol per day is allowed: wine - no more than 150 ml, beer - up to 330 ml and vodka - 30 ml.It should be understood that we are talking about only one of the listed alcoholic beverages, and not all of them at once.Scientists believe that these parts cannot negatively affect human health.If you drink alcohol above the safe limit, then strong drinks will gradually and steadily turn you into a true alcoholic.When calculating the safe level of alcohol for a person, not only gender is taken into account.Climatic conditions also play an important role in the process of involvement in alcoholism.It has been noticed that in cold regions people become drunk much faster than in areas with a comfortable temperature regime.Another factor that must be taken into account when determining the permissible dose of alcohol is the age of the drinker.The younger the body, the faster it gets drunk, which means it is more sensitive to the negative effects of ethyl alcohol.A young man drinking low-alcohol beer gets drunk faster than a middle-aged man drinking hard liquor.
It should be remembered that alcohol, even in the smallest quantities, is contraindicated for pregnant and lactating women, children, teenagers, drivers and people taking any medication.According to the WHO, drinking about 8 liters of alcoholic beverages per year causes irreparable damage to health.At the same time, domestic narcologists note that the average citizen can drink 15 to 18 liters of alcohol per year, which is already a threatening sign of drunkenness.Why do people in some countries drink more than the legal limit?For most of our compatriots, the terms "drinking" and "rest" are synonymous.No celebration goes by without the tables bowing under the weight of bottles of vodka, cognac and wine.Inviting guests into your home and not placing a bottle of alcohol in front of them is considered a sign of rudeness.If under normal circumstances a person can control the amount he drinks, then during the feast he consciously allows himself more to relax and have fun.
It is not for nothing that people experience various chronic diseases after the holidays.In order to adhere to the norm, a person should clearly determine how much he can drink and not exceed his limit for the day.This is the only way to develop a drinking culture.But not only holidays contribute to the development of alcoholism.Having fallen ill from a viral infection, some people prefer to treat themselves not with drugs, but with strong drinks.Alcohol really helps to destroy pathogenic microbes, but together with them it slowly and surely destroys the whole body.And those people who during treatment combine drinking strong drinks with medicines do themselves a disservice: even the smallest portions of vodka, cognac or other drinks taken with pills or mixtures inflict a huge blow on the liver, pancreas and cardiovascular system.In addition, excess portions of alcohol contribute to the development of alcohol addiction.In the presence of serious diseases, alcohol poisoning occurs much faster.A dangerous condition is indicated by a very low body temperature (3-4 degrees below normal) and heavy breathing.Usually, within 12-36 hours after a large amount of alcohol enters the body, a person's heart stops and death occurs.
How much can you drink in other countries?In foreign countries, a safe dose of alcohol for men is considered to be 30 ml of pure ethyl alcohol per day (this amount is found in approximately 300 ml of wine, 600 ml of beer or 40 ml of vodka).For foreign women, the permitted alcohol limit is exactly 2 times lower than for representatives of the stronger sex.Doctors are convinced that if you drink alcoholic beverages in the indicated doses, they will help prevent diseases of the cardiovascular system.In hazy albus, the permitted dose of alcohol is 32 ml of pure ethanol for men and 24 ml for women.In another country, an adult man, without fear of harming his health and drinking himself to death, can with a clear conscience afford to drink alcoholic beverages that do not contain more than 20 ml of alcohol.For women, this norm is reduced to 10 ml per day.In countries with a dark-skinned population, the permitted portion of alcohol is 24 ml of pure ethanol per day for the male population.
There is an opinion that the daily dose of alcohol recommended by doctors is not only safe, but also very beneficial, and moderate drinkers live longer than abstainers.But supporters of the hypothesis warn that only dry red wine can bring benefits;stronger drinks will not bring any benefit to the body.Allowing themselves to drink, they always know their limit and know how to stop in time.These happy people are not afraid of alcoholism.Well, for those who do not know how to control themselves, the only way to avoid alcohol addiction is to not listen to the stories about safe doses of alcohol and not drink at all.
The Ministry of Health warns: how much alcohol can you drink?
Experts of the Ministry of Health have calculated the standards of alcohol consumption for men and women, which can be used to label these products.The State Research Center for Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Health has calculated safe standards for alcohol consumption, according to a newspaper article.The standards define the amount of drinking that corresponds to low, medium and high harm to health.According to the calculations of the State Scientific Research Center for Medical Prevention, if a man drinks 1.5 liters of beer with a strength of 4.5 degrees three days a week, then the risk will be low.The same dose for five days will increase the risk to medium, and the daily consumption of this amount of foamy drink corresponds to a high risk.Men can drink a 50 ml glass of vodka with low health risks twice a day;while maintaining safety standards, it is better for women to drink one.If this norm is exceeded, the risk will become medium.According to the recommendations of the State Scientific Research Center for Pregnancy and Pregnancy, a woman can drink two glasses (each 100 ml) of dry wine with a strength of 13 degrees per day.Or a 150 ml glass of champagne.These doses mean low risk, even if consumed throughout the week.
It is impossible to identify acceptable and unacceptable levels of alcohol consumption, the newspaper quotes the director of the Institute for Drug Health of the Nation."Such recommendations or calculations of health risks can be made for each person individually, taking into account their body weight, the state of the body's systems, the enzymatic apparatus that breaks down alcohol; this is discussed in WHO documents," the expert notes.The head of the National Alcohol Policy Development Center said that it is quite difficult for people to control their drinking at certain levels and stop at the right time based on recommendations.They are not deterred by the consequences."If a person feels good, then why would he suddenly stop, so it is worth saying that it is already a risk to start drinking alcohol," said the expert.