Alcoholism has been debated for ages for whether the fermented beverage is good for you or bad for you. Depending upon its dosage it can acts as a tonic or a poison. Completely avoiding drinking doesn’t take away anything from you while moderate drinking is good for your heart and circulatory system, it even protects you from gallstones and type 2 diabetes. Heavy drinking however has been a major cause of preventable deaths caused by fatal accidents and violence; increased chances of cancer and depression; severe damage to liver and heart.
How Much Is Too Much?
Now that you know that too much is bad for your health and has serious repercussions you must understand how much is the defined moderate.
Moderate alcohol use for healthy adults means up to two drinks a day for men up to 65 years of age and up to one drink a day for men older than age 65 and women of all ages.
One drink here means:
Beer: 12 fluid ounces (355 milliliters)
Wine: 5 fluid ounces (148 milliliters)
Distilled spirits (80 proof): 1.5 fluid ounces (44 milliliters)
These quantities however, will vary for each of us as every individual has unique personal and family histories.
Now that we know the moderate quantities, let’s compare the outweighing risks and potential benefits in order to decide if consuming alcohol is worth it:
Associated Benefits
Assuming you are a moderate consumer of alcohol it may:
- Reduce your risk of developing and dying from a heart disease
- Possibly reduce your risk of ischemic stroke (when the arteries to your brain become narrowed or blocked, causing severely reduced blood flow)
- Possibly reduce your risk of diabetes
Possible Risks
Heavy drinking including binge drinking is surely bad for your health but moderate or even light drinking also puts you at the following risks:
- Increased risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, breast and liver
- Pancreatitis
- Heart muscle damage (alcoholic cardiomyopathy) leading to heart failure
- Cardiovascular diseases leading to death
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
- Liver disease
- Suicide
- Accidental serious injury or death
- Brain damage
- Alcohol withdrawal syndrome
The Bottom Line
Alcohol offers each person a different spectrum of benefits and risks and the comparison above makes it clear that no one should begin drinking alcohol or drink more often on the basis of potential health benefits as they are less compared to the risk involved.
Source: