How Alcohol Affect Your Health
What is alcohol?
Alcohol usually refers to drinks such as beer, wine or spirits that contain ethyl alcohol (ethanol). It is a mood-changing legal drug that belongs to the class of drugs known as 'depressants'.
This doesn’t mean that alcohol makes you depressed (although it can have this effect). It means that alcohol slows down the central nervous system and inhibits many of the brain’s functions. It also affects almost all of the body’s cells and systems.
When a person drinks alcohol it is absorbed into the blood stream through the walls of the stomach and small intestine, and then rapidly distributed to all parts of the body – including the brain.
Although the rate of absorption can differ depending on a number of factors, including sex, body size and composition, age, experience of drinking, genetics, nutrition and individual metabolism, it generally only takes a few minutes for alcohol to reach the brain.
The liver is the main body organ responsible for removing alcohol from the bloodstream.
It is processed at a fixed rate, and it generally takes about one hour to break down the alcohol content of one standard drink. You cannot remove alcohol from your blood by vomiting, having a cold shower or drinking coffee or other caffeine drinks.
What is a standard drink?
operating out exactly what a general drink is may be elaborate. In a nutshell, one trendy drink contains 10g of pure alcohol (equivalent to twelve.5ml of natural alcohol), regardless of glass size or alcohol kind (such as beer, wine or spirits).
as an instance, a 250ml can of high strength pre-blend spirits (7-10% alc. vol) equals 1.four-1.9 preferred liquids, even as a 285ml glass of full electricity beer (four.8% alc. vol) equals 1.1 wellknown drinks. consequently, those liquids represent nearly three trendy drink measures in keeping with their alcohol content. that is why you must measure preferred drinks with the aid of the quantity of alcohol they incorporate, and no longer by way of the range of glasses that you eat.
In Australia, all bottles, cans and casks containing alcoholic beverages are required by using law to nation on the label the approximate variety of widespread beverages they comprise.
How much alcohol can different people drink safely?
There is no amount of alcohol that can be said to be safe for anyone as it impacts humans in exclusive approaches. factors which include gender, age, mental health, drug use and current clinical situations can exchange how alcohol influences different people.
For healthful ladies and men, drinking no greater than two wellknown drinks on any day reduces their threat of harm from alcohol-associated sickness or damage over a life-time. The danger of cancer will increase with any alcohol consumption and the advice is avoid ingesting altogether. Don’t drink more than 4 wellknown liquids at a time to avoid the chance of alcohol-related damage.
Pregnant women must now not drink alcohol because it increases the danger of damage to the child. that is due to the fact alcohol can cross the placental barrier and locate its way into the fetal blood.
Breastfeeding girls have to additionally keep away from alcohol due to the fact it could input their breast milk.
Alcohol and children
It’s illegal for anyone to drink alcohol if they are under 18 years of age. The body also doesn’t cope as well with alcohol when people are younger because their brain, heart and liver aren’t fully developed enough to process it. This means it can seriously damage their health.
Alcohol is responsible for numerous hospitalisations and deaths in teenagers aged 14-17 each week in Australia.
Some useful tips for dealing with teenagers and drinking include:
- Setting a good example in your own consumption of alcohol.
- Talking to your teenager about alcohol laws and the potential consequences for breaking them.
- Rewarding good behaviour if they show a responsible attitude towards alcohol.
- Talking to your teenager about how to deal with peer pressure related to alcohol or binge drinking.
What is binge drinking?
Binge drinking manner ingesting heavily on a single event, or drinking continuously over some of days or weeks. a person might be more likely to interact in this behaviour if they experience peer strain to do so, or if they’re feeling awkward or uncomfortable at a celebration.
Binge consuming additionally has adverse quick-time period outcomes which include nausea and ability damage to the individual ingesting, and to others around them. it is able to also motive lengthy-time period consequences on their fitness and well-being. these consequences encompass full-size harm to the mind and liver, physical and psychological dependence on alcohol, and the chance of growing emotional and mental fitness troubles inclusive of depression and anxiety.
Tips on how to drink responsibly
- Keep an eye on what you’re drinking, set limits for yourself and stick to them.
- Know what a standard drink is and find a way to keep track of what you’re drinking.
- Start with non-alcoholic drinks and alternate with alcoholic drinks, or try drinks with a lower alcohol content.
- Eat before or while you are drinking.
- Don’t drink and drive.
- If you are going out in a group, work out who will drive everyone home. If no one wants to be the nominated driver, bring enough money for a taxi.
- Avoid mixing alcohol and other drugs/medications.
- Understand that your blood alcohol will continue to rise after you have consumed your last drink. You generally won’t reach your maximum BAC until 45-90 minutes after consuming it.
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