The World Health Organization has raised the bar for a safe dose of alcohol.Now, according to recently published WHO recommendations, a healthy man can drink up to 10 liters of pure alcohol per year without harm to health.Women are allowed a third less.This generosity from the WHO is equivalent to approximately one bottle of vodka per week.But our narcologists are more conservative;they still stick to the usual limits: maximum 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 care for people with alcohol problems, established since Soviet times.
“More than 8 liters of pure alcohol per person per year represents the extinction of a nation,” says the head professor of the psychotherapy department of the National Scientific Center of Narcology. — We currently consume 15.1 litres.We are in the negative top.The increase in alcohol consumption does not happen out of nowhere: it is an attempt to relieve stress, to some extent escape from reality and solve some psychological problems.Partly it works: after drinking, a withdrawn person frees himself, his mood improves and problems are relegated to the background.But this is still a psychological trap and a pseudo-solution to problems.For this man pays too high a price.Pays with pathology of the liver, heart, brain.Furthermore, when the real symptoms of the disease appear, the person, as a rule, is already deeply dependent on alcohol."
Expert Advice: How Much Can You Drink With Minimal Health Risk?
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 unfavorable heredity, the risk of deterioration of health occurs when drinking very small amounts of alcohol.
How to drink correctly?
They often say: abroad you eat with a drink, but here you drink with a snack.The fundamental principle should be: the less, the better.And, of course, the drinks must be of high quality.It is better to give preference to dry, non-fortified or dessert wines.Vodka, cognac and other strong drinks, if they get into the stomach, can cause a burn-like state of the mucosa, so it is better to dilute high-alcohol drinks.If we stretch a diluted drink (it could be wine) throughout the evening, the total dose of pure alcohol will be small and the harm to health will be minimized.Since the oxidation of alcohol in the body requires increased consumption of vitamins, it is advisable to take multivitamins, and the table should include vegetables, greens and fruits.
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, and not the type of drink, is of primary importance in relieving stress.Therefore it is better to drink less, but better.
What dose of alcohol is considered safe?
According to the WHO's own recommendations, men should consume no more than 40 g of pure alcohol per day (approximately 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 this is provided that the person does not take a drop of alcohol 2 days a week.
When does addiction begin?
Few people dare to admit alcohol addiction.Most people consider themselves 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 occurs when a person drinks no more than 210ml (for men) or 135ml (for women) of pure alcohol per week.At the same time, the amount of alcohol per day should not exceed safe doses: 40 ml (for men) and 30 ml of ethyl alcohol (for women).
- Dangerous form.This is when a person exceeds safe doses and does not comply with the sobriety regime.
- Doctors warn that with such an attitude towards alcoholic beverages, a person risks becoming dependent on alcohol in the future and contracting as a "bonus" one of the diseases associated with excessive consumption of strong drinks (cirrhosis of the liver, gastric ulcers, anemia, heart failure, etc.).
- Consumption with harmful consequences.This happens when a person drinks a lot (continuous alcohol consumption for more than 2 days) and feels an irresistible desire to have a hangover.
- But the most characteristic symptom of this form is the loss of control over the amount of alcohol drunk.That is, a person loses his sense of proportion and therefore more and more often gets drunk.
- The third form of consuming alcoholic beverages is not yet considered an addiction, but with it the brain and internal organs of the drinker are significantly worn out.
- 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 a person got drunk, became cheerful and fell asleep, but now he has an aggressive form of behavior.At the same time, the dose of alcohol drunk in a day increases several times.
How much alcohol can a person drink per day?
People have different attitudes towards alcohol.Some people can't live a 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 cannot drink more than one dose of alcohol during the week, while others are sure that the amount of alcohol exceeding 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 a safe dose of alcohol for the human body.But most narcologists agree that each person has his own purely personal norm of drinking, which directly depends on his individual characteristics.The last hypothesis can be called the most plausible, because some people manage to get drunk with a glass of wine, while others are not affected by a bottle of vodka.It is very dangerous for the weaker sex to drink alcohol.A woman very quickly becomes involved in drinking, and even small doses of alcoholic beverages are addictive.By drinking regularly, a woman runs the risk of 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, as a result of which they came to the conclusion: to avoid falling asleep, 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 another drink with a strength of up to 40 degrees) per day.For women, the permissible daily portion of alcohol is less: wine - no more than 150 ml, beer - up to 330 ml, and vodka - 30 ml.It should be understood that we are talking only about any of the listed alcoholic beverages, and not about all of them at once.Scientists believe that these portions are not capable of having a negative impact on human health.If you drink alcohol above the safe limit, strong drinks will gradually and steadily turn you into a real alcoholic.Not only gender is taken into account when calculating the safe level of alcohol for a person.Climatic conditions also play an important role in the process of involvement in alcoholism.It has been noticed that in cold regions people get drunk much faster than in areas with a comfortable temperature.Another factor to take into consideration when determining the allowable 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 who drinks low-alcohol beer will get drunk faster than a middle-aged man who drinks strong drinks.
It should be understood that alcohol, even in minimal quantities, is contraindicated for pregnant and breastfeeding women, children, adolescents, motorists and people taking medications.According to the WHO, drinking around 8 liters of alcoholic beverages over the course of a year causes irreparable damage to health.At the same time, domestic narcologists note that the average citizen can drink from 15 to 18 liters of alcohol per year, and this is already an ominous sign of drunkenness.Why do people in some countries drink more than the legal limit?For most of our compatriots the concepts of “drinking” and “holiday” are synonymous.Not a single celebration takes place without the tables buckling under the weight of bottles of vodka, cognac and wine.Inviting guests to your home and not placing a bottle of alcohol for them is considered a sign of indecency.If under normal circumstances a person is able to control the amount he drinks, during a party he consciously allows himself more to relax and enjoy himself.
It is not for nothing that after the holidays people suffer from all sorts of chronic ailments.To comply with the norm, a person must clearly determine for himself how much he can drink and not exceed the daily limit.This is the only way to develop a drinking culture.But not only holidays contribute to the development of alcoholism.Having fallen ill with a viral infection, some people prefer to be treated not with drugs, but with strong drinks.Alcohol really helps to destroy pathogenic microbes, but together with them it slowly and surely destroys the entire body.And those people who, during treatment, combine the consumption of strong drinks with medications, do themselves a disservice: even the smallest portions of vodka, cognac or other drinks taken in tablets or mixtures deal a serious blow to the liver, pancreas and cardiovascular system.In addition, excess portions of alcohol contribute to the development of alcohol dependence.In the presence of serious diseases, alcohol poisoning occurs much more quickly.A dangerous condition is indicated by a very low body temperature (3-4 degrees below normal) and heavy breathing.Usually, within 12 to 36 hours of a huge amount of alcohol entering the body, a person's heart stops and death occurs.
How much can you drink in other countries?Abroad, a safe dose of alcohol for men is considered to be 30 ml of pure ethyl alcohol per day (this amount is contained in approximately 300 ml of wine, 600 ml of beer or 40 ml of vodka).For foreign women, the permissible alcohol limit is exactly 2 times lower than for representatives of the stronger sex.Doctors are sure that if you drink alcoholic beverages in the indicated doses, they will help prevent diseases of the cardiovascular system.In Foggy 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 to death, with a clear conscience can afford to drink alcoholic beverages containing no more than 20 ml of alcohol.For women, this norm is reduced to 10 ml per day.In countries with dark-skinned populations, the permissible amount 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 useful, and moderate drinkers live longer than teetotalers.But supporters of the hypothesis warn that only dry red wine can provide benefits;stronger drinks will not provide 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 cannot control themselves, the only way to avoid addiction to alcoholic beverages is not to listen to stories about safe doses of alcohol and not to drink at all.
The Ministry of Health warns: how much alcohol can you drink?
Specialists from the Ministry of Health have calculated alcohol consumption standards for men and women, which can be used in the labeling of these products.The State Research Center for Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Health calculated safe standards for alcohol consumption, the newspaper article said.The standards define the amount of alcohol consumption that corresponds to low, medium and high health harm.According to calculations by the State Scientific Research Center for Medical Prevention, if a man drinks 1.5 liters of beer with an alcohol content of 4.5 degrees three days a week, the risk will be low.The same dosage for five days will increase the risk to medium, and daily consumption of this amount of foamy drink corresponds to a high risk.Men can drink a 50ml glass of low-health-risk vodka 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 150ml glass of champagne.These doses mean a low risk, even if consumed throughout the week.
It is impossible to identify acceptable and unacceptable levels of alcohol consumption, the newspaper quoted the director of the nation's Institute of Narcological Health as saying.“Such recommendations or calculations of health risks can be made for each individual person, taking into account his body weight, the state of body systems, the enzymatic apparatus that breaks down alcohol; these points are discussed in WHO documents,” the expert notes.The head of the Center for National Alcohol Policy Development said it is quite difficult for people to control alcohol consumption at certain levels and quit at the right time based on recommendations.They are not deterred by the consequences.“If a person feels good, then why should he suddenly stop, so it is worth saying that starting to drink alcohol is already a risk,” the expert said.