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 his 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 respect the usual limits: a maximum of 8 liters of “pure” alcohol per year and 3-4 days of total sobriety per week.At the same time, more and more doctors insist on changing the traditional principles of assistance to people with alcohol problems established since Soviet times.
“More than 8 liters of pure alcohol per person per year is the extinction of a nation,” says the head professor of the psychotherapy department of the National Scientific Center for Narcology. — We currently consume 15.1 liters.We are at the top negative.Increased alcohol consumption does not come out of nowhere: it is an attempt to relieve stress, escape reality to some extent and solve some psychological problems.This works in part: after drinking, a withdrawn person is freed, his mood improves, and problems are relegated to the background.But still, this is a psychological trap and a pseudo-solution to problems.Man pays too high a price for this.Pays with pathology of the liver, heart, brain.Furthermore, by the time real symptoms of the disease appear, the person, as a rule, is already deeply dependent on alcohol.”
Expert tip: how much can you drink with minimal health risk?
A safe amount of alcohol is considered to be 14 to 28 drinks per week for men and 7 to 14 drinks per week for women.Moreover, this norm is conditional: for some people, for example, with unfavorable heredity, the risk of deterioration in health arises 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, not fortified or dessert wines.Vodka, cognac and other strong drinks, if they get into the stomach, can cause a condition close to a burn on the mucous membrane, so it is better to dilute high-proof drinks.If we extend a diluted drink (it can be wine) throughout the night, the total dose of pure alcohol will be small and damage 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 to 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 this as long as the person does not drink a drop of alcohol 2 days a week.
When does addiction start?
Few people dare to admit their addiction to alcohol.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 problems with alcohol?WHO experts distinguish four forms of alcohol consumption.
- Safe way.This is when a person drinks no more than 210 ml (for men) or 135 ml (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 way.This occurs when a person exceeds safe doses and does not comply with the sobriety regimen.
- Doctors warn that with such an attitude towards alcoholic beverages, a person risks becoming addicted to alcohol in the future and contracting as a "bonus" one of the diseases associated with excessive consumption of strong drinks (cirrhosis of the liver, stomach ulcers, anemia, heart failure, etc.).
- Consumption with harmful consequences.This occurs when a person drinks heavily (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 drink.That is, a person loses his sense of proportion and therefore becomes increasingly drunk.
- The third way of drinking alcoholic beverages is not yet considered an addiction, but with it the brain and internal organs of the drinker are considerably 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, earlier a person used to get drunk, happy and fall asleep, but now he has an aggressive form of behavior.At the same time, the dose of alcohol drunk in one day increases several times.
How much alcohol can a person drink a day?
People have different attitudes towards alcohol.Some people can't live a day without drinking at least a glass of vodka.Some people drink several times a month and only on special occasions.There are also people who react with complete indifference 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 per week, while others are confident that an 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 drinking norm, which directly depends on his individual characteristics.The last assumption can be considered the most plausible, because some people can get drunk from a glass of wine, while others are not affected by a bottle of vodka.It is more dangerous for the weaker sex to drink alcohol.A woman very quickly becomes involved in drinking and even small doses of alcoholic beverages become addictive for her.By drinking 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 have conducted numerous studies and come to the conclusion that 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 other drink with a strength of up to 40 degrees) per day.For women, the permissible portion of alcohol per day 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 one of the listed alcoholic beverages and not about all of them at once.Scientists believe that these portions cannot have 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.It's not just gender that 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 engaging in alcoholism.It has been noted that in cold regions people get drunk much faster than in areas with a comfortable temperature regime.Another factor that must be taken into account 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 small quantities, is contraindicated for pregnant and lactating women, children, adolescents, drivers and people taking any medications.According to the WHO, drinking about 8 liters of alcoholic beverages over the course of a year causes irreparable damage to your 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 in some countries do people drink more than the legal limit?For most of our compatriots, the concepts of "drinking" and "vacation" are synonymous.There is not a single celebration without tables sagging from the weight of bottles of vodka, cognac and wine.Inviting guests to your home and not placing a bottle of alcohol in front of them is considered a sign of indecency.If under normal circumstances a person is able to control the amount he drinks, during a feast he consciously allows himself to relax and have more fun.
Not in vain, after the holidays people suffer from all kinds of chronic ailments.To comply with the norm, a person must clearly determine how much he can drink and not exceed his daily limit.This is the only way to develop a drinking culture.But not only vacations contribute to the development of alcoholism.Having fallen ill with a viral infection, some people prefer to be treated not with medicines, 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 them no favors: even the smallest portions of vodka, cognac or other drinks taken with tablets or mixtures deal a devastating blow to the liver, pancreas and cardiovascular system.In addition, excess alcohol contributes to the development of alcohol addiction.In the presence of serious illnesses, alcohol poisoning occurs much faster.A dangerous condition is indicated by a very low body temperature (3-4 degrees below normal) and labored breathing.Typically, 12 to 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?Abroad, 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 the stronger sex.Doctors are confident that if you drink alcoholic beverages in the indicated doses, they will help prevent diseases of the cardiovascular system.In fog, the permitted alcohol dose 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, can with a clear conscience allow himself 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 permitted serving 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 abstainers.But supporters of the hypothesis warn that only dry red wine can provide benefits;Stronger drinks will not provide any benefit to the body.By 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 dependence on 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 has calculated safe norms for alcohol consumption, according to the newspaper article.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 a concentration of 4.5 degrees three days a week, the risk will be low.The same dose 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 50 ml glass of vodka twice a day with few health risks;Maintaining safety standards, it is best for women to drink one.If this norm is exceeded, the risk will be medium.According to the recommendations of the State Scientific Research Center on Pregnancy and Pregnancy, a woman can drink two glasses (each 100 ml) of dry wine with a concentration of 13 degrees per day.Or a 150 ml glass of champagne.These doses pose a 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 National Institute of Narcological Health."These recommendations or calculations of health risks can be made for each person taking into account their body weight, the state of the body's systems, the enzymatic apparatus that breaks down alcohol; these points are discussed in the WHO documents," notes the expert.The director of the Center for National Alcohol Policy Development said that it is quite difficult for people to control their alcohol consumption at certain levels and stop drinking at the right time according to recommendations.They are not deterred by the consequences."If a person feels good, why should they suddenly stop drinking? That's why it's worth saying that starting to drink alcohol is already a risk," the expert said.