Benefits And Disadvantages Of Alcohol For Health
The effect of alcohol on human health depends on how we drink it

There is a lot of conflicting information about alcoholic beverages.

On the one hand, with a moderate amount, it is beneficial for health.

On the other hand, when drinking too much, it is addictive and extremely toxic.

The truth is that the health effects of alcoholic drinks are extremely complex.

They vary depending on the individual, the consumption of each person and the drink they drink.

So, how does alcohol affect health?

Let's find out through the following article.

What is alcohol and why do people drink it?

The active ingredients in alcoholic beverages are called ethanol.

Often referred to as "alcohol," ethanol is the substance that makes you drunk.

Ethanol is produced by the process when enzymes digest sugar in rich foods carb , such as grapes (alcohol) or cereals (beer).

Alcohol is the most popular "medicine" in the world. It has a very strong impact on mood and spirit.

Alcohol can make people less shy and embarrassed, making people communicate and act more easily without being inhibited. At the same time it can weaken judgment and cause people to do things that they do often regret doing .

Some people drink less, while others often get drunk. Job Alcohol in a continuous period of time can be addictive.

Summary: Ethanol is an active ingredient in alcoholic beverages, often called "alcohol." It has strong effects on your mental state.

Alcohol is neutralized by the liver

Benefits And Disadvantages Of Alcohol For Health
The liver is an important part with hundreds of functions in the human body.

One of its main functions is to disable all harmful substances that the body loads. Therefore, the liver is particularly vulnerable to alcohol consumption .

Acquired liver diseases caused by drinking alcohol are collectively called .

The first disease that can be mentioned is characterized by an increase in fat in liver cells.

Liver fat is found in 90% of people who drink more than 16 g of alcohol per day and often have no specific symptoms and completely recover .

For heavy alcoholics, drinking alcohol causes inflammation or infection in the liver. In the worst case, the liver cells die and are replaced by scar tissue, leading to an extremely serious condition called cirrhosis .

The disease cannot be improved and involves many serious health problems. In cases of advanced cirrhosis, liver transplantation may be the only option.

Summary: Alcohol is metabolized by the liver, and regular consumption can increase the amount of fat in liver cells. Alcohol abuse can cause cirrhosis, a very serious health condition.

Alcohol and brain

Benefits And Disadvantages Of Alcohol For Health
Alcohol abuse in the long run can cause brain function decline

Drinking a lot of alcohol can cause adverse effects on the brain.

Essentially ethanol reduces the link between brain cells, a temporary effect due to intoxication.

Drinking a lot of alcohol can lead to a condition a phenomenon occurs when drinking too much alcohol .

These effects are only temporary, but alcohol abuse in the long run can cause injuries forever in the brain, leading to impaired brain function .

The brain is really sensitive to injuries caused by chronic alcohol abuse , may increase your risk of getting sick , causing brain atrophy in middle-aged and elderly people .

In the worst case, the severity of brain damage can impair the ability of people to live a normal life.

In contrast, moderate alcohol consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of dementia, especially in the elderly .

Summary: Alcoholism is only temporary, so chronic alcohol abuse can permanently impair brain function. However, moderate alcohol consumption can benefit the brain, especially in the elderly.

Alcohol and depression

The relevance of alcohol consumption and evidence is quite obvious but complex .

While alcohol consumption and depression seem to increase the risk, alcohol abuse can be a stronger cause .

Many people are anxious and depressed to intentionally drink alcohol to relieve stress and improve their mood . This may work within a few hours, but then it will exacerbate the overall health and a vicious cycle will take place.

High alcohol consumption has been shown to be a major cause of depression in some people, and treatment with alcohol abuse has a major effect .

Summary: Alcoholism and depression are related. People can start alcoholism because of depression, or become depressed by alcoholism.

Alcohol and weight

Benefits And Disadvantages Of Alcohol For Health
Moderate drinking can help with weight loss, whereas excessive drinking causes weight gain

Obesity is a very serious health problem.

Alcohol is actually the second energy-rich nutrient after fat, provided to 7 calories / 1 gram.

Beer contains the same amount of calories as sweetened soft drinks, while red wine has twice the calories .

However, studies investigating the relationship between alcohol and weight have provided some results but not consistent .

It seems that eating habits and hobbies also play a role.

For example, moderate alcohol consumption may help limit weight gain , while drinking more alcohol is related to weight gain .

Also, drinking beer regularly can cause weight gain while drinking red wine may decrease again .

Summary: Evidence of alcohol and weight gain is not clear. Heavy drinking and beer are associated with weight gain, while moderate intake and wine may help with weight loss.

Alcoholic and cardiovascular health

is the leading cause of death in modern society.

Benefits And Disadvantages Of Alcohol For Health
Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, but alcoholism increases the risk.

It is really a dangerous disease, the most common are heart attacks and strokes.

The relationship between alcohol and cardiovascular disease is complex, and seems to depend on several factors.

Moderate to moderate alcohol consumption may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, while alcoholism seems to increase the risk of disease .

There are several reasons for the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption.

Moderate alcohol consumption can help:

  • Level up (good) blood cholesterol .
  • Reducing blood pressure, the main cause of heart disease .
  • Reduces fibrinogen levels in the blood, a substance that blocks blood vessels .
  • Reduce the risk of diabetes , another major cause of heart disease.
  • Reduce stress and temporary anxiety .

Summary: Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, but alcoholism increases the risk.

Alcohol and type 2 diabetes

is a common metabolic disease, currently affecting about 8% of the world's population .

Characteristic manifestations are abnormally high blood sugar levels, type 2 diabetes caused by cells that reduce the absorption of glucose (blood sugar), a phenomenon known as insulin resistance.

Moderate alcohol consumption seems to help reduce insulin resistance, helping to counter the main symptoms of diabetes .

Therefore, drinking alcohol while eating can reduce blood sugar by 16-37% compared to water . Blood sugar levels between meals (blood glucose levels) can be reduced .

In fact, the general risk of diabetes can be reduced when drinking alcohol at moderate levels. However, when drinking too much or alcohol, the risk increases .

Summary: Moderate alcohol consumption can reduce symptoms of type 2 diabetes by increasing the absorption of blood sugar by the cells.

Alcohol and cancer

is a dangerous disease caused by abnormal cell growth.

Alcohol consumption is one of the carcinogens of the mouth, throat, colon, breast cancer, liver cancer .

Cells in the mouth and palate are particularly susceptible to alcohol. This is not surprising because they are in direct contact with everything.

Even drinking less alcohol, 1 time a day, still has a 20% increased risk of oral and palate cancer .

Risks will increase with alcohol consumption per day. Drinking more than 4 times a day will increase the risk of oral and palate cancer by 5 times and also increase the risk of breast, colon and liver cancer .

Summary: Alcohol consumption may increase the risk of certain cancers, especially oral and nasopharyngeal cancer.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can cause fetal malformations

Benefits And Disadvantages Of Alcohol For Health
Alcohol is harmful to the fetus

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is the cause of birth defects in the United States .

Drinking alcohol during early pregnancy is a particularly dangerous risk for developing babies .

In fact, it has many negative effects on development, growth, intelligence and behavior, which may affect the child throughout the rest of his life .

Summary: Alcoholism is one of the most common causes of congenital fetal defects. The fetus is particularly vulnerable during pregnancy.

Alcohol and risk of death

Abraham Lincoln once said "The problem with alcohol has long been acknowledged as unrelated to the use of a bad thing, but to abuse a good thing."

Interestingly, there seems to be some contradiction in his sentence. Studies show that drinking low to moderate alcohol can reduce the risk of premature death, especially in Western countries .

At the same time, abuse Alcohol is the third major cause of preventable deaths in the US , an important cause of chronic diseases, accidents, traffic accidents and social issues.

Summary: Moderate alcohol consumption can increase life expectancy, while alcohol abuse is a high risk factor for premature death.

Addictive alcohol leads to alcoholism in people with a substance

Some people are addicted to the effects of alcohol, this state is called (alcoholism).

About 12% of the US population is believed to depend on alcohol at some point in their lives .

Alcohol dependence is one of the main causes of alcohol abuse and disability in the US and is a high risk factor for many different diseases .

Many factors can cause people to have problems in drinking alcohol, such as family history, social environment, spirit and genes.

Many types of secondary symptoms of alcohol dependence have been identified, characterized by alcohol dependence, inability to control, or lose control over alcohol consumption .

In principle, if alcohol is causing many problems in your life, then you may have problems with dependence on alcohol or alcoholism.

Summary: Alcohol consumption can lead to dependence on it, or alcoholism, in people who have a history of alcohol diseases.

Alcohol abuse can cause bad health consequences

High alcohol consumption is the most common form of substance abuse.

Alcohol abuse can have serious health effects, all over the body and cause a range of health problems.

For example, it can cause liver damage (including cirrhosis), brain damage, heart failure, diabetes, cancer and infection .

The synthesis of all the terrible effects of alcohol is not within the scope of this article.

However, remember that if You are a heavy alcoholic, so you should at least diet and collectively.

Control of alcohol intake, or abstinence completely in case of alcoholism, should be the number one priority.

Summary: Long-term alcoholism can have adverse effects on the body in the brain, increasing the risk of other types of diseases.

What kind of alcohol is the best (or the worst)?

Benefits And Disadvantages Of Alcohol For Health
Red wine offers the most benefits if you drink in moderation

The things you drink are usually less important than how much you drink.

However, some alcoholic drinks are better than others.

Red wine seems to have a lot of benefits, because it contains many healthy antioxidants.

In fact, it has more to do with health benefits than any other alcoholic beverage .

It is worth mentioning that drinking a lot does not mean having more health benefits. Whatever the type, alcoholism can cause many health problems.

Summary: Red wine is probably the best healthy alcoholic drink, possibly due to its high levels of antioxidants.

How much is too much?

The recommended amount of alcohol to drink is usually based on the number of standard drinks you drink each day.

The problem is, most people don't have what the concept of "standard drink" really is. Things get worse when the official definition of standard drinks varies.

In the United States, a standard drink is any drink that contains 14 grams of pure alcohol (ethanol).

This image shows the "standard drink" for each popular alcoholic drink:

Benefits And Disadvantages Of Alcohol For Health
The standard drinking level for each concentration

Moderate alcohol consumption is defined as 1 standard glass per day for women and 2 for men.

On the other hand, high alcohol consumption is defined as more than 3 drinks per day for women and 4 for men .

Drinking frequency is also important. Drinking insipidity is a form of alcohol abuse and can be harmful.

Summary: Moderate alcohol consumption is defined as a "standard drink" per day for women, and 2 glasses for men.

Main message

Generally, the health effects of alcohol fluctuate in the range of "maybe good" to "extremely toxic".

Drinking a small amount, especially red wine, has many health benefits.

On the other hand, alcohol abuse and alcoholism are related to both negative and serious effects both physically and mentally.

If you like alcohol and keep your intake moderate, then continue what you are doing.

However, if you tend to drink too much or alcohol causes problems in life, you should consider avoiding it as far as possible.

Alcohol is one of those things totally dependent on individual needs. It's good for some people, but it's harmful for others.

Hopefully this article outlines the pros and cons of drinking alcohol that can help you make the right decision