Hey youngsters you seem to be in mood! (jhyap ta haina ni?) I am pretty sure you followed the link to know something more on alcohol use. Good to see you here. As a person with queries and access to the basic information, some excerpt to guide you for drinking and manage health are presented here!
ALCOHOL AND HEALTH?
Humans have used alcohol safely and enjoyably for thousands of years, and it continues to occupy an important place in many religious ceremonies and social celebrations. In addition, moderate alcohol use can provide certain health benefits, particularly with regard to coronary heart disease.
However, alcohol consumption is also having bad outcomes. Some sort of health problems and socioeconmical problems are always associated with excessive use of alcohol.
TYPES AND AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL
Alcoholic drinks come in multiple forms and contain differing amounts of pure alcohol (ethanol); one unit of alcohol is approximately 8-10 grams of ethanol, which is equivalent with;
1 small glass of wine(usually 10-12% alcohol)
1 half pint of beer(usually 4-6% alcohol)
1 short (40ml) of whiskey or rum or other local (gharpaluwa tinmane) drinks (usually 40-45%)
For easy, we stratify as heavy, moderate, or light drinking based upon the number of drinks consumed per day or week. Moderate drinking is generally defined as 3 to 8 servings of alcohol per week.
HEALTH CONDITIONS AND ALCOHOL:
a. Paradoxical role of alcohol:
Heart and Vessels disease : it is the leading cause of death in western countries. For the time being , cardiovascular problems are on rise in Nepal too. However, some experience suggest moderate alcohol use, as compared to heavy drinking or abstaining, decreases the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and the most common type of stroke (ischemic stroke) by 40 to 70 percent.
High blood pressure — People who consume more than two drinks per day have double risk of high blood pressure compared with nondrinkers.
Heart attack — Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol is found to lower risk of having a heart attack.
Peripheral vascular disease — Peripheral vascular disease can cause pain in the legs with walking (claudication, khutta baudine tighra ma). Moderate alcohol use reduces the risk of peripheral artery disease in healthy men.
Stroke : A stroke occurs when brain tissue dies as a result of a sudden, severe disruption of blood flow and insufficient oxygen. Heavy alcohol use increases the risk of it.
Gallstones — Moderate alcohol use has been shown to lower the risk of gallstones. However, heavy drinking may reverse this benefit.
Breast cancer — breast cancer risk is high in women consuming moderate to high levels of alcohol (three or more drinks/day) compared to non drinkers. Daily consumption of multivitamin fortified with folic acid is found to lower the risk of cancer in alcoholic women.
b. Certain causal association with diseases that are increased risk by intake of alcohol are:
Cirrhosis
Pancreatitis
Osteoporosis
Pregnancy — There is a significant risk of birth defects related to use of alcohol use during pregnancy. Heavy drinking can cause fetal alcohol syndrome, which prevents normal growth, and may cause intellectual disability (mental retardation), malformations of the skull and face, and other findings. There is no known benefit of alcohol use during pregnancy. Thus, experts advise completely avoiding alcohol during pregnancy.
Perception of health and quality of life reduced
Cancers of the head and neck and digestive tract
Cancer arising within liver cells (hepatocellular carcinoma
Accidents and trauma — Alcohol use increases the risks and severity of injury from motor vehicle accidents. In addition, occupational injuries, falls, drownings, burns, and hypothermia are more common in those who use alcohol, particularly in heavy drinkers. Alcohol is involved in more than one-quarter of all rapes, at least one-half of serious assaults, and one-half to two-thirds of all homicides.
Suicide — Alcohol abuse is associated with an increased risk of suicide. However, moderate drinking does not appear to raise suicide risk.
IS DRINKING GOOD FOR YOU?
Beginning to drink alcohol may be inappropriate if you have been lifelong abstainer.
The diseases that may be prevented by moderate drinking (eg, coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke) are most prevalent in older adults, men, and people with CHD risk factors (eg, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, diabetes mellitus). For these groups, moderate alcohol use may substantially reduce the risk of dying.
For young to middle-aged adults, particularly women, moderate alcohol use increases the risk of the most common causes of death, such as breast cancer and trauma.
Men under age 45 years also may experience more harm than benefit from drinking. In these younger age groups, moderate alcohol use is unlikely to reduce the risk of dying.
Consuming less than one drink daily appears to be safe (that is, if not done before or while operating a car or heavy equipment), although even that level of drinking can be dangerous for some people .
So in which group are you?
REASONS TO AVOID ALCOHOL :
All young age people and adolescents
All pregnant
Family history of breast cancer,
Stroke patient
Have liver or pancreatic disease
Have precancerous conditions of the digestive tract
Operate potentially dangerous equipment or machinery (including cars, boats, planes, or construction equipment)
No amount of alcohol is considered safe. However, for individuals without such conditions, the healthiest dose of alcohol appears to be in the range of 0.5 to 1 unit of alcohol daily.
No more than two drinks daily for men No more than one drink daily for women
NOW ANSWER MY QUESTIONS IF YOU ARE A DRINKER:
1. Have you ever felt you should cut down your drinkings?
2. Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
3. Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
4. Do you ever have a drink first thing in the morning to stead you or help a hangover?
If you consider 2 or more answers for above questions are positive for you, here is a evaluation test for you.
a. How often do you have 8(male) or 6(female) units of drink on one occasion?
1. Never 0
2. Less than a monthly 1
3. Monthly 2
4. Weekly 3
5. Daily 4
b. How often in the last year have you been unable to remember what happened the night before because you had been drinking?
1. Never 0
2. Less than a monthly 1
3. Monthly 2
4. Weekly 3
5. Daily 4
c. How often in the last year have you failed to do what was normally expected of you because of drinking?
1. Never 0
2. Less than a monthly 1
3. Monthly 2
4. Weekly 3
5. Daily 4
d. In the last year has a friend or relative or doctor of ou has suggested you to cut off the drink?
1. Never
2. Yes, on one occasion 2
3. Yes , on more than one occasion
Conclusion of this test:
If answer to question a is never, you do not pose a problem, but regular follow up is needed.
Score of 3 or more is hazardous if you fall in other category.
WHY YOU HAVING CONFUSION?
The following guidelines may help in making an informed decision about alcohol use:
Consult a health worker or knowledgable person to determine the specific risks and benefits of alcohol use.
Consider your age, sex, personal medical history, family history, diet, physical fitness, and certain lifestyle choices such as smoking, among others.
If drinking alcohol is appropriate, follow recommended guidelines concerning moderate drinking, ie, limiting intake to no more than one drink daily for women or two drinks daily for men.
Women should not drink any alcohol during pregnancy; in addition, experts advise that women should stop drinking when trying to conceive.
Never consume alcohol before or while driving or operating any potentially dangerous equipment.
As a responsible citizen (young adults) , you should produce a model for children and adolescents by either abstaining from alcohol or drinking in moderation. Clearly, children exposed to alcohol abuse in their parents are more likely to become alcoholic themselves.
References:
1. Macleods’ clinical examination, 12th edition , Elseveirs
2. Harrisons principles of internal medicine
3. www.drinkaware.co.uk
4. www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov
