I celebrated my friend’s birthday this past weekend with a few other people. We went to the dinner of the birthday girl’s choice and had a really good time. Some of our friends arrived early and sat in the bar area, ordered a drink and waited for the rest of us. When we showed up, they asked me if I knew anything about how much alcohol was too much.
They had some interesting questions and I realized they would make a great blog post! So before I left that night, I asked for their permission to use the questions today. So without further ado, here’s what they asked me:
Question from Megan: Is alcohol harmful?
Drinking alcohol is very common in our society. However, alcohol can affect your health. Some people should not drink at all. You should not drink alcohol if you:
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cannot limit your drinking to low or moderate levels
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plan to drive, operate machinery, or do anything that requires you to be alert and coordinated
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have certain medical conditions
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take medicines that interact with alcohol
Question from Christa: What physical problems does alcohol cause?
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Drinking too much alcohol puts you at higher risk for cancer of the pancreas, mouth, tongue, and throat. This risk is even greater if you also use tobacco products.
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Drinking too much can raise the levels of some fats in the blood (triglycerides).
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Drinking too much alcohol makes you lose protein, minerals, and vitamins. Alcohol affects thiamine (vitamin B-1) in particular. Your nerves, muscles, heart, and brain need thiamine to work normally. Lack of thiamine can cause problems with short-term memory, eye movement, walking, cramps, numbness, tingling, and weakness in your legs and hands.
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Drinking too much alcohol also may be part of what causes high blood pressure and strokes. Alcohol can lead to heart muscle disease or heart failure.
Many violent crimes, such as sexual abuse, assault and murders are related to alcohol abuse. Drunk drivers cause about half the deaths from vehicle accidents in the US. Pregnant women shouldn't drink alcohol in any form. It can harm the baby, including causing birth defects.
Question from Chip: How much is too much?
According to the American Heart Association, moderate drinking is no more than 1 drink per day for women and no more than 2 drinks per day for men. The differences between women and men are based on body size and the way their bodies change food into energy. Examples of 1 drink are:
I’m not sure if I disappointed them with my answers, but I didn’t make up the rules! According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2006, the number of alcohol-induced deaths, excluding accidents and homicides was 22,073 and the number of alcoholic liver disease deaths was 13,050.
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