You've probably heard that moderate drinking is good for your health, especially for your heart, but when you buy beer, wine or white wine and are ready to start drinking for your health, let's take a look at the following new understandings of drinking.
In the guidelines issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services, moderate drinking is defined as: for most women, the amount of alcohol consumed in a day should not exceed one sip, while for men, it should not exceed two cups. And with the increase of age, the amount of drinking will also decrease. It is found that with the increase of age, people are more likely to absorb alcohol and are more sensitive to the influence of alcohol. So, a few years ago, you could bear more alcohol than now. Why is this?
First of all, when you get older, the ratio of water to fat in your body will decrease, so there will be less and less water to dilute alcohol. Secondly, with the increase of age, the blood flow to the liver will decrease, and the enzyme function of the liver will not be as good as before, so it will be more difficult to decompose alcohol than before. Women need special attention. Most women can tolerate less alcohol than men. The main reason is that their bodies are generally small, so the total amount of blood in their bodies is small, so even a small amount of alcohol can not be ignored. Moreover, women's stomachs produce relatively few enzymes that can decompose alcohol, so some alcohol has entered the blood before it is decomposed.
Also, women have a higher proportion of fat, and fat will not absorb alcohol. And the result? If you drink the same amount of alcohol, the alcohol content in women's blood is 75% higher than that of men.
■ What are the benefits of drinking?
There is no doubt that for many people, a small amount of drinking can make people live longer and reduce the possibility of heart disease. Especially those with high incidence of heart disease, stroke and diabetes are most likely to benefit from moderate drinking (one or two glasses a day).
Researchers at Wisconsin State University in the United States conducted a survey on diabetic patients with an average age of 69, and found that the probability of these people dying of coronary heart disease varies significantly due to different drinking habits. Those diabetics who insist on drinking a glass of wine every day are half less likely to die of coronary heart disease than those who don't drink.
The human body absorbs a proper amount of alcohol, which is helpful to improve the level of HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol; Prevent thrombosis; Reduce the possibility of heart disease, adult diabetes and ischemic stroke.
In the study, it was found that for people of the same age, the mortality rate of people who insist on drinking a mouthful of wine every day is significantly lower than that of people who don't drink. Experts generally believe that this is due to drinking, and the amount of drinking decreased between the ages of 50 and 60.
The incidence of heart disease.
■ Don't exaggerate the benefits of drinking.
Even so, don't pick up the glass easily.
Don't exaggerate the above facts, because some studies have found that people who drink more than three drinks a day have a much higher mortality rate.
The important thing is that no one can know exactly how much wine he drinks.
However, once drinking too much, the related benefits brought by alcohol will be offset by the related negative effects.
This danger is considerable. Years of research show that liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and other cancers (such as breast cancer, laryngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, etc. ), as well as hypertension, hemorrhagic stroke, osteoporosis and depression, may all be related to drinking, even a small amount of alcohol.
The following are the relevant research results: drink two or three times a day.
People with one mouth (sometimes even one or two mouths) have a higher risk of cirrhosis; Alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer in women, even if they only drink a little every week. The study found that women who drink three to nine glasses a week are 50% more likely to develop breast cancer than women who drink less than three glasses a week; Even if you drink less than two cups a day on average, it may cause pharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer and esophageal cancer.
Alcohol has other crimes: it has a negative impact on the drinker's intelligence, judgment, coordination, responsiveness and memory. Alcohol can also disturb blood sugar level, affect sexual function and sleep. Alcoholics are at risk of brain atrophy.
■ For drinking, we are really worth thinking about.
Since alcohol has both advantages and disadvantages to health, how can we know whether it is good or bad for ourselves? For most people, it is ok to drink a sip of wine every day, while others should limit them to two or three sips a week. If you still have concerns about this, you can consult a doctor. Moreover, if you don't consider your medical history and current health status, don't make a hasty decision.
Here are some basic suggestions.
If you never drink, you'd better not start. Because for you, the negative effects of alcohol may outweigh its benefits.
If you drink now, you should strictly control the amount of alcohol to one mouthful a day (within five to seven mouthfuls a week). A study of 22,000 people by Harvard University shows that considering the factors of heart health, the ideal drinking amount for men is two to four sips a week.
In addition, it is important to remember that you can't "binge drink". Such concentrated drinking (more than three drinks for women and more than four drinks for men) will not bring any health benefits, but will only significantly increase the probability of premature death. Drinking too much at one time will cause arrhythmia and lead to thrombosis, which is the fuse of heart disease. Moreover, drinking more than two cups a day will increase blood pressure and increase the possibility of heart disease and stroke.
Generally speaking, if you are healthy and can control your drinking well, you may benefit from drinking, but if not, you should really consider whether to drink.