Many people do not drink alcohol during the work week, but allow themselves to relax on the weekends by drinking several bottles of beer or stronger drinks a day. It is worth considering that this approach is dangerous and can cause health problems. This is due to the fact that it is difficult for the body to process a large dose of alcohol received in 2 days.
To avoid serious problems, it is necessary to know what dose of alcohol per day is considered safe.
Is there a safe amount of alcohol?
Doctors have not yet reached a consensus on whether there is a dose of alcohol that is harmless to the body. Some believe that 200 ml of wine or 50 ml of vodka (cognac) 2-3 times a week is a quite acceptable amount of alcohol that will not affect health in any way. Others believe that even such a small amount increases the risk of various health problems and leads to alcoholism.
There are special tables and formulas that can help you calculate approximately how much alcohol you can drink without harming your health. But it must be taken into account that it is impossible to trust them 100%, since the values obtained are averaged. For each person, the safe dose of alcohol is individual and the parameter depends on sex, age, weight and the presence of chronic diseases.
Safe amount of alcohol per day
Many studies and experiments have been conducted to determine daily alcohol intake. Most Western doctors and our doctors agreed that, without harm to health, a complex, middle-aged man can drink the following per day:
- wine – up to 200 ml;
- beer – up to 500 ml;
- vodka (cognac, whiskey) – up to 50 ml.
For good sex, the following amount of alcohol is considered safe:
- wine – up to 100 ml;
- beer – up to 330 ml;
- strong drinks – up to 30 ml.
It is worth considering that, due to their anatomical characteristics, women get drunk much faster, so they can develop alcohol dependence after 1. 5-2 years of daily alcohol consumption.
How much can you drink per week without harm?
The WHO (World Health Organization) has calculated how much alcohol can be consumed per week without harm to health. The safe dose is indicated in servings, where a standard serving is 10 ml of ethanol or 8 g of alcohol.
For men
For men, it is acceptable to drink 3 units of alcohol per day or 21 units per week, subject to two days completely sober.
For women
It is not recommended that women drink more than 2 servings of alcohol per day or 14 servings per week, and to avoid health problems, it is also necessary to drink with intervals of at least two days.
Is there a safety standard for a driver?
Many drivers are interested in knowing how much alcohol they can drink and how much before getting behind the wheel. According to established standards, the concentration of pure alcohol in blood serum should not exceed 0. 35 ppm. This rule was introduced because alcohol is always present in a person's blood, even if no alcoholic beverages have been consumed before.
Alcohol enters the body because it is found in many foods, including kefir, some fruits, and baked goods. Each country has its own permitted blood alcohol levels for a driver.
Moderate alcohol consumption
To avoid health problems and minimize the risk of developing alcohol addiction, it is necessary to drink in moderation. It is especially important to know your norm for people who have problems with alcohol, for example, those who, after a few glasses of vodka, lose control over their behavior or become too aggressive.
Even with moderate alcohol consumption, it is recommended to follow the following rules:
- You should not mix different types of alcohol with each other;
- after severe stress, it is not recommended to drink more than 70 ml of strong drinks;
- while drinking alcohol, you should refrain from smoking, since nicotine increases intoxication;
- It is better to snack on drinks with citrus fruits, since the substances present in their composition accelerate the decomposition process of alcohol.
As for restrictions, even with moderate alcohol consumption, it is recommended to refrain from taking medications, since alcohol can neutralize or, on the contrary, enhance their effect.
How to calculate your alcohol limit without a hangover?
To avoid a hangover the day after a feast, alcohol consumption should be moderate. If we talk about specific types of alcoholic beverages, then on average, per 1 kg of body weight there should be no more than:
- vodka – 4 ml;
- beer – 30 ml;
- wine – 12 ml;
- tequila – 3 ml;
- absinthe – 2 ml.
It is worth considering that over the years, the dose of alcohol should be gradually reduced, since in adulthood the body can no longer cope with ethanol as effectively and the elimination process slows down. The more components there are in a drink, the more difficult it is for the body to cope with it. After drinking cognac, whiskey or absinthe, the hangover will be worse than with the same amount of vodka.
On a note! Drinks and snacks consumed together with alcohol have little effect on the severity of a hangover. How you feel the next morning depends solely on the quantity and quality of what you drink.
How much to drink without risk of getting drunk?
Even with moderate alcohol consumption, it cannot be guaranteed that a person will not get drunk. Narcologists claim that the risk of developing alcoholism largely depends on a genetic predisposition. The psycho-emotional state also plays an important role.
In any case, it is worth remembering that regular consumption of alcoholic beverages (even in moderate quantities) is addictive and can cause alcohol dependence.
In international medicine, there is the term "critical dose": it is the maximum amount of alcohol that a person can drink without risk of moving to stage 2 or 3 of alcoholism. Anyone who suspects they are becoming dependent on alcohol should know approximately what stage they are at. This is very important to prevent disease progression and maintain a stable level.
People who drink alcohol in moderation and are between stages 1 and 2 of alcoholism cannot drink more than 100-300 ml of vodka once a week, an amount of alcohol that will not cause serious damage to health and will prevent the situation from worsening. get worse.
On a note! In case of alcohol abuse, the risk of becoming an alcoholic is especially high in people under 20 years of age.
Formula for determining individual alcohol norms.
Health experts have developed a formula that can be used to calculate an individual's alcohol intake. Using this method, you can independently determine how much alcohol you can drink per day without harm to your health.
The base is 1. 5 g of ethyl alcohol per 1 kg of human weight. If a person weighs 70 kg, the individual dose of ethanol is 105 ml. In any case, it is necessary to understand that these values are an average, since much depends on age, sex and physiological characteristics of the body.
Conclusion
When consumed in moderation, alcohol does not harm health. This is especially true in cases where high-quality drinks made from natural ingredients are consumed.
To minimize the risk of unwanted complications, it is recommended to calculate your individual alcohol consumption and not exceed it. And, of course, it must be remembered that even in minimal quantities it is not recommended to consume alcohol more than 2-3 times a week, as this can lead to the development of alcohol dependence.