Advice on Alcohol Consumption
On a regular basis, the typical adult living in the United Kingdom is exposed to alcohol and even if you are planning not to drink on a night out, the pressure to do so might just be too much. The NHS say that ‘no amount of alcohol is completely safe’ and we are continually bombarded with information telling us that if we do drink, it could cause to health problems such as high blood pressure and certain types of cancer. In reality, the majority of people will still continue to drink alcohol regardless of these warnings, so we give some advice relating to alcohol consumption.
What are the daily recommended amounts of alcohol?
The recommendations are that men should not exceed 3-4 units of alcohol per day on a regular basis and women should not exceed 2-3 units per day. A pint of 4% beer is 2.3 units and a glass of 10% red wine is 1.25 units. One unit is considered 8g of alcohol in the UK. These recommendations are from the NHS in the UK, however these recommendations differ from country-to-country.
Alcohol consumption on an empty stomach
It is better to drink alcohol with food and definitely not on an empty stomach. This reduces the speed alcohol is absorbed into your body because you have more in your digestive system, therefore it takes longer for the alcohol to be absorbed. If the alcohol is absorbed quickly, it puts more pressure on your internal organs and can cause more damage. Your also likely to feel the effects quicker.
Never drink on consecutive days
Your body needs rest from alcohol and whether you feel it or not, whenever you drink alcohol – you will be hungover and not operating at maximum efficiency. Alcohol takes up to 48 hours to completely leave your system. It is therefore vital to avoid consuming alcohol on consecutive days, because the cumulative effect can be considerably worse than the individual effect of one drink. Most people drink over the weekend and you’ll probably know from personal experience, that you can experience a ‘delayed hangover’ after the weekend is done. In Northern Ireland, one study looked at heart attacks and if there was any patterns. The study found that most happened on Monday and Tuesday, compared to other days in the week.
Is alcohol good for you?
Ever heard anyone say red wine is good for you as long as you enjoy it moderately? Well… don’t believe it, or any other ‘facts’ that suggest consuming alcohol is good for you. Most of the studies that reveal alcohol is good for you are flawed. For example, in the UK – how many people do not drink alcohol out of choice? A large proportion of people that do not drink alcohol have medical reasons preventing them from drinking alcohol and if you compare these people (as opposed to the ones that do not drink alcohol through choice), to those who drink alcohol on a moderate basis – the results will be unfair. Other studies simply look at people who drink alcohol on a regular basis and compare them to those that drink it in moderation, again providing unfair results. Wine is often touted as the most ‘healthy’ alcohol and it is typically made from grape juice, switch to grape juice – it will have a much more positive effect on your health than any sort of alcohol. If you are drinking alcohol under the illusion it is in any way good for you, then you are gravely mistaken because it isn’t – pure and simple.
The effects of alcohol
What does alcohol actually do to your body and if you drink it on a regular basis, what can happen?
> (For men) the quality and quantity of your sperm is reduced
> Alcohol directly effects the part of the brain responsible for self-control, therefore your reactions are slower and your emotional responses will be stronger
> The blood vessels in your eyes become dilated reducing their effectiveness (ever wondered where the term ‘beer goggles’ comes from)
> Some people believe alcohol helps you sleep (honestly… they do). Rapid Eye Movement (REM) is closely linked to deep sleeping, and alcohol disturbs this by raising your blood pressure and making you dehydrated. So you might sleep for longer – but only because your body needs the REM sleep that it’s struggling to get because alcohol is in your system.
> The blood vessels under your nose and cheeks become dilated, increasing the chance of your veins breaking around this area. That’s why alcoholics usually have purple noses.
> The release of anti-diuretic hormones is blocked, causing the kidney to release more water in turn leading to your skin, nails and hair not having the water required to keep them healthy.
> Your body will not store alcohol, therefore the liver has to break down the alcohol and ensure that it is changed into a chemical your body is able to release – alcohol therefore puts added pressure on your liver. Binge drinking is particularly bad for the liver because the amount of work it has to do jumps through the roof when you binge drink – just imagine if your boss gave you a whole weeks work to do at half 4 on a Friday afternoon.
> Your stomach does not like alcohol at all, in fact it gets irritable whenever you consume it. This leads to nausea, cramps, abdominal pain and irregular excretion – we’ve all heard of ‘beer poos’, well think of it as your stomach telling you off.
> High blood pressure because alcohol effects the activity of nerves regulating your heart making it pump harder.
> Increased chance of heart attack because alcohol interferes with blood flow causing your heart to work harder during times of alcohol consumption.
We could go on (seriously there is a lot more ill effects), but we’ve covered what we believe to be the most relevant points.
Some people make the point that there are plenty of elderly people who have drank alcohol their whole life. One of my favourite analogies when looking at drinking (and indeed any other form of mistreating your body) is simply this. Imagine you are driving a car, completely sober with absolutely no distractions, both hands on the wheel and conforming to the highway code exactly – there is a small chance you are going to crash. Now imagine you are driving your card intoxicated, on your mobile phone and changing the radio station at the same time – you have a very high risk of crashing, however it is not certain you will. Living your life is quite a lot like this, cutting alcohol out of your life will not guarantee you won’t have a heart attack or mouth cancer – but it dramatically reduces your chances of doing so.
The best advice you will ever get about alcohol is leave well enough alone. We do realise that’s a lot easier than it sounds though, so do your body a favour – don’t drink on consecutive days and when you do drink, don’t go over the top. Your health cannot be replaced.
On a regular basis, the typical adult living in the United Kingdom is exposed to alcohol and even if you are planning not to drink on a night out, the pressure to do so might just be too much. The NHS say that ‘no amount of alcohol is completely safe’ and we are continually bombarded with information telling us that if we do drink, it could cause to health problems such as high blood pressure and certain types of cancer. In reality, the majority of people will still continue to drink alcohol regardless of these warnings, so we give some advice relating to alcohol consumption.
What are the daily recommended amounts of alcohol?
The recommendations are that men should not exceed 3-4 units of alcohol per day on a regular basis and women should not exceed 2-3 units per day. A pint of 4% beer is 2.3 units and a glass of 10% red wine is 1.25 units. One unit is considered 8g of alcohol in the UK. These recommendations are from the NHS in the UK, however these recommendations differ from country-to-country.
Alcohol consumption on an empty stomach
It is better to drink alcohol with food and definitely not on an empty stomach. This reduces the speed alcohol is absorbed into your body because you have more in your digestive system, therefore it takes longer for the alcohol to be absorbed. If the alcohol is absorbed quickly, it puts more pressure on your internal organs and can cause more damage. Your also likely to feel the effects quicker.
Never drink on consecutive days
Your body needs rest from alcohol and whether you feel it or not, whenever you drink alcohol – you will be hungover and not operating at maximum efficiency. Alcohol takes up to 48 hours to completely leave your system. It is therefore vital to avoid consuming alcohol on consecutive days, because the cumulative effect can be considerably worse than the individual effect of one drink. Most people drink over the weekend and you’ll probably know from personal experience, that you can experience a ‘delayed hangover’ after the weekend is done. In Northern Ireland, one study looked at heart attacks and if there was any patterns. The study found that most happened on Monday and Tuesday, compared to other days in the week.
Is alcohol good for you?
Ever heard anyone say red wine is good for you as long as you enjoy it moderately? Well… don’t believe it, or any other ‘facts’ that suggest consuming alcohol is good for you. Most of the studies that reveal alcohol is good for you are flawed. For example, in the UK – how many people do not drink alcohol out of choice? A large proportion of people that do not drink alcohol have medical reasons preventing them from drinking alcohol and if you compare these people (as opposed to the ones that do not drink alcohol through choice), to those who drink alcohol on a moderate basis – the results will be unfair. Other studies simply look at people who drink alcohol on a regular basis and compare them to those that drink it in moderation, again providing unfair results. Wine is often touted as the most ‘healthy’ alcohol and it is typically made from grape juice, switch to grape juice – it will have a much more positive effect on your health than any sort of alcohol. If you are drinking alcohol under the illusion it is in any way good for you, then you are gravely mistaken because it isn’t – pure and simple.
The effects of alcohol
What does alcohol actually do to your body and if you drink it on a regular basis, what can happen?
> (For men) the quality and quantity of your sperm is reduced
> Alcohol directly effects the part of the brain responsible for self-control, therefore your reactions are slower and your emotional responses will be stronger
> The blood vessels in your eyes become dilated reducing their effectiveness (ever wondered where the term ‘beer goggles’ comes from)
> Some people believe alcohol helps you sleep (honestly… they do). Rapid Eye Movement (REM) is closely linked to deep sleeping, and alcohol disturbs this by raising your blood pressure and making you dehydrated. So you might sleep for longer – but only because your body needs the REM sleep that it’s struggling to get because alcohol is in your system.
> The blood vessels under your nose and cheeks become dilated, increasing the chance of your veins breaking around this area. That’s why alcoholics usually have purple noses.
> The release of anti-diuretic hormones is blocked, causing the kidney to release more water in turn leading to your skin, nails and hair not having the water required to keep them healthy.
> Your body will not store alcohol, therefore the liver has to break down the alcohol and ensure that it is changed into a chemical your body is able to release – alcohol therefore puts added pressure on your liver. Binge drinking is particularly bad for the liver because the amount of work it has to do jumps through the roof when you binge drink – just imagine if your boss gave you a whole weeks work to do at half 4 on a Friday afternoon.
> Your stomach does not like alcohol at all, in fact it gets irritable whenever you consume it. This leads to nausea, cramps, abdominal pain and irregular excretion – we’ve all heard of ‘beer poos’, well think of it as your stomach telling you off.
> High blood pressure because alcohol effects the activity of nerves regulating your heart making it pump harder.
> Increased chance of heart attack because alcohol interferes with blood flow causing your heart to work harder during times of alcohol consumption.
We could go on (seriously there is a lot more ill effects), but we’ve covered what we believe to be the most relevant points.
Some people make the point that there are plenty of elderly people who have drank alcohol their whole life. One of my favourite analogies when looking at drinking (and indeed any other form of mistreating your body) is simply this. Imagine you are driving a car, completely sober with absolutely no distractions, both hands on the wheel and conforming to the highway code exactly – there is a small chance you are going to crash. Now imagine you are driving your card intoxicated, on your mobile phone and changing the radio station at the same time – you have a very high risk of crashing, however it is not certain you will. Living your life is quite a lot like this, cutting alcohol out of your life will not guarantee you won’t have a heart attack or mouth cancer – but it dramatically reduces your chances of doing so.
The best advice you will ever get about alcohol is leave well enough alone. We do realise that’s a lot easier than it sounds though, so do your body a favour – don’t drink on consecutive days and when you do drink, don’t go over the top. Your health cannot be replaced.
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