Let's pour witchcraft into the crystal darkness of the glass: is it true that alcohol in small doses is beneficial? All about the dangers and benefits of alcohol for the human body. The necessary professor about the dangers and benefits of alcohol.

“The truth is in the wine” - almost everyone knows this old saying. But modern scientists completely disagree with him; they claim that the most terrible enemy of humanity is alcohol.

What is alcohol

And really, do alcohol have any advantages? What is it? Alcohol in pure form- This ethanol, it can be obtained from any sugar by fermentation. Ethanol is quickly absorbed into the blood, in just 5-10 minutes, and it immediately has an effect on nervous system.

Most often, people like this state, they feel confident, easy and comfortable; alcohol provokes a false sense of happiness. All problems fade into the background, and it seems that you can fully enjoy life.

But do not forget that alcohol is narcotic substance, and its use in any case is associated with great risks. Now more and more people are turning to specialists for help in order to get rid of

Not everyone tolerates drinking the same way. One will be happy and have fun, while the other will end up in the hospital with severe intoxication. So the benefits of alcohol are very doubtful.

Alcohol metabolism

How quickly the first effect appears, and how quickly the substance is completely eliminated from the body, depends on several factors. But to drink or not to drink, it’s better to decide in advance.

1. The influence of general metabolism and genetics is quite strong. For example, how active thyroid or the rate at which certain enzymes in the liver that are responsible for breaking down ethanol are produced.
2. Age plays a significant role. Oddly enough, alcohol is slowly draining out of young people. The weak activity of ADH (alcohol dehydrogenase) is to blame for this; it is what makes acetaldehyde from alcohol. The paradox is that when there is too much ADH, it threatens intoxication, since in this case it is already slowly broken down with the help of ACDH (acetaldehyde dehydrogenase). Elderly people are also at risk. Everything is much simpler here, the volume of water in the body and the liver itself decreases. So teenagers and old people get drunk faster.
3. Gender and weight are also very important. These two factors are interrelated. It is not without reason that it is believed that female alcoholism is the most dangerous.

After all, women are most often smaller than men, and even though the rate of elimination is the same, you need to remember that the lower the weight, the higher the peak effect of intoxication. After one hundred grams of vodka, a person weighing 60 kg will be much drunker than a 100-kilogram strong person. The one who is lighter will even have higher ppm. How much alcohol you can drink without harm directly depends on a person’s weight.

4. The degree of intoxication is also affected by how full the stomach is. A hungry person will get drunk much faster, and getting an ulcer in such a situation is a piece of cake. But drinking with a good snack can lead to an unexpected situation. After a rich, fatty lunch, alcohol takes longer to be absorbed, but it is still absorbed. A person does not get drunk for a long time and still drinks a lot. And when alcohol reaches the blood, you become very drunk and for a long time.

5. We must remember that intoxication is stronger in the morning than in the evening.

6. Various substances. Those that act on the GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) system enhance the effect of alcohol, but norepinephrine, on the contrary, makes it weaker.

Different dosages

Many people believe that alcohol in small doses is even beneficial, is this true? Indeed, the effect of intoxication depends very much on how much you drink. 20 ml of alcohol per person weighing about seventy kilograms has a strong psychostimulating effect. He will become cheerful, talkative and quite active. If you translate this into understandable doses, you get about 60 ml of vodka or a bottle of beer.

But if you drink more than 30 ml, then this dose affects the GABA system, and here there is no need to talk about the advantages of alcohol at all. There is noticeable dullness. A person’s behavior becomes inadequate; now a lot depends on upbringing and promiscuity. As the dose increases, it becomes more and more difficult to control yourself. So best recommendations In terms of alcohol consumption, it means drinking as little as possible.

Alcohol effect time

Here we need to return to metabolism again. Many factors influence how long alcohol lasts. If you average all the indicators, you get a rather rough result. This is approximately 7 grams per hour. That is, if the dose is 20 mg of alcohol, then it will come out in three hours.

Alcohol begins to take effect within a few tens of minutes. Here, too, everything depends on various factors.

Seven grams per hour is a rather relative figure. If the stomach is full, then the indicator decreases. Especially if the person’s weight is above average. If the body is trained, then the alcohol will come out a little faster, due to the fact that more anabolic hormones are produced, namely they increase blood volume.

All the pros and cons

The benefits and harms of alcohol have been debated for many centuries. Fans of the “green snake” are finding more and more advantages, but research by modern scientists refute almost all of them. Ultimately, to drink or not to drink is a personal decision for each person.

Relaxing effect

Indeed, sometimes alcohol acts as an antidepressant. If consumed in moderation, it will help you relax and relieve tension. But here it’s all about volume. In order to relax and not overdo it, a couple of glasses of natural wine or a glass of high-quality strong alcohol is enough. And if you choose the right snack, you can fully enjoy the taste of both the drink and the dish.

Causes cirrhosis of the liver

Excessive libations negatively affect the entire body. But the most swipe alcohol hits the liver. And most often the consequences are truly terrible. Liver cirrhosis is a very serious disease in which healthy cells of this organ die on their own, and in their place appears fibrous tissue. Naturally, the liver will no longer function normally.

Reason for getting closer

If most of the people in the company are strangers to each other, then a small amount of alcohol will work as a connecting link.

And speech in in this case It's not about mass drinking. In order to relax and overcome the threshold of embarrassment and awkwardness, a glass of wine or a bottle of beer is enough.

Hangover syndrome

Often, after drinking fun drinks, your condition in the morning leaves much to be desired. A hangover cannot be called a benefit of alcohol. Most often this is severe dehydration, a terrible headache, problems with the gastrointestinal tract, pain in the eyes. Usually a person spends the whole day in torment and trying to get rid of painful symptoms.

French paradox

There are constant debates between scientists here. The French prefer fatty foods and drink wine every day, but people of this nationality are least likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases. Either red wine in small quantities is really beneficial, or this particular nation has some kind of immunity to such diseases.

Negative effect on the digestive system

When drinking alcohol, intoxication of the body almost always occurs. Naturally, this cannot help digestion in any way. Dehydration also causes your metabolism to slow down. The only thing that can be advised in this situation is that, along with alcohol, you need to drink as much clean water as possible.

The benefits and harms of alcohol can be debated endlessly. One thing is clear: if you drink alcohol, then only high-quality alcohol and in small quantities.

There are many points of view regarding the benefits and harms of drinking alcohol, both scientifically based and those not based on any intelligible arguments. The benefits and harms of alcohol have long been the subject of debate.

Myths about the benefits and harms of alcohol

Doctors unanimously claim that drinking alcoholic beverages causes irreparable harm to the human body. There is an opinion among people that benefit or harm depends on specific circumstances. For example, a glass of red wine with dinner is a guarantee of longevity and at least Have a good mood. Of course, in medicine, the harm of alcoholic beverages has been proven by many years of research. However, there is still ongoing debate about the extent of the damage that alcohol causes to health. As before, the question remains open: are there “safe” dosages of alcohol for the human body?

Alcohol is also a drug

First of all, doctors pay attention to psychological and physical dependence, which even unstable, irregular drinking leads to. From drunkenness to alcoholism, which is a serious illness requiring drug treatment, the journey is not long. A shot of vodka or brandy, a bottle of beer on a special occasion or on vacation - this is how this journey usually begins. Individual characteristics

metabolism influence how quickly a person develops an addiction that leads to alcoholism.

Before drinking even a glass of beer, you should weigh the pros and cons and think about whether all the damage from drinking alcohol is worth a couple of hours of “fun”. Women should remember the danger that alcohol-containing drinks pose to the reproductive system, as they destroy healthy eggs in the expectant mother’s body. Among girls who are at puberty, the risk of giving birth to a defective child increases, i.e. a child with congenital pathologies (mental retardation, developmental problems, damage to internal organs, etc.), in addition, there is a very high risk of miscarriage different dates pregnancy.

A single dose of alcohol in a dosage of more than 50 g (for an adult) is deadly and can lead to death.

Alcohol: heals or cripples

It's no secret that poison can be medicine, and vice versa. It all depends on the dosage in which they are used. In small quantities, for example some toxic substances can serve for medical purposes (as a medicine or antidote). This principle in medicine is not new and allows us to draw a conclusion about the relativity of harm of a substance that is considered to be poison. The harm and benefits of alcohol are the subject of extensive medical research and public debate, since drinking alcoholic beverages has become part of our lives, and in Russia, according to some, it has even become part of the national everyday life and way of life.

Let's look at some examples of the influence of alcohol, in which positive changes occur in the human body. A small dose of alcohol can lower cholesterol levels in the blood, dilate blood vessels and thereby stimulate blood circulation in the body as a whole. This effect is a preventive measure in the fight against blood clots.

Does drinking alcohol really train the cardiovascular system of our body? Recent studies have shown the following statistics: among those who suffered a myocardial infarction, the least likely to die were those who had the habit of drinking alcohol (the most common drinks: wine, beer, vodka, brandy and others), but only in small quantities. After a myocardial infarction, there were 32% more deaths among “teetotalers” than among those who did not neglect alcohol in everyday life.

In television advertisements for tea or coffee, we often hear that these drinks contain natural antioxidants that slow down the aging process in the human body. However, some beers and wines also contain antioxidants.

Often supporters of a drunken lifestyle cite examples from the history of the Great Patriotic War, when “combat hundred g” helped our soldiers defend their homeland during military operations. A shot of vodka, drunk for courage, improved concentration, attention and ability to react, and added courage in war.

Many artists and music workers talk about the tradition of drinking a glass of good Cahors to “train” their voice. Wine or vodka with pepper is also traditionally considered a “cure” for a cold: if a person feels that the disease is approaching, in such cases, folk wisdom advises drinking strong alcohol to boost immunity and relieve symptoms (fever, sore throat, etc.). It is difficult to judge how justified such an action is and whether it really brings benefits.

The key message in studies about the benefits of alcohol is that the people surveyed drank alcohol in moderation.

Only knowledge of one’s “measure” can help a person avoid negative impact from drinking alcohol, which often leads to domestic tragedies.

The benefits and harms of the influence of alcohol on the human body have been argued for a long time and unsuccessfully, citing evidence-based facts for both points of view. But if the dangers are talked about a lot and passionately, then the benefits of alcohol raise some doubts.

And not without reason, because the number of patients with alcoholism exceeds the permissible threshold, thereby overshadowing positive qualities alcoholic drinks.

It's all in the dose

Harm and benefit directly depend on the amount of alcohol consumed.

Medicines made from alcohol are recommended only in drops and bring great help.

1. Alcohol tinctures are recommended for heart patients (valocardine, corvalol), and will calm the excited and restless (tincture of valerian or motherwort).
2. Those suffering from indigestion are often advised to drink vodka with salt or pepper - and just a glass is enough.
3. Garlic tincture is effective during the cold season; it improves immunity and overall body tone.
4. Vodka with pepper, which has become a traditional remedy for the onset of flu, is not far behind in popularity for relieving symptoms of colds.
5. A small dose of vodka (20-30 grams) can relieve headache, will help with stress, relieve toothache - good first aid if you don’t have pills on hand, and you can’t see a doctor until tomorrow, and even then after lunch.

Alcohol and colds

Dilute medical alcohol or vodka as an external remedy for the body in the form of compresses warms up, helps speed up metabolism, improves blood microcirculation, and removes toxins from the body. The inflammatory process recedes and the patient recovers.

Alcohol based compress

Dilute high-quality vodka or alcohol with water in equal proportions. Wet a natural cloth with the solution and apply it to the sore throat or chest. Cover the top with cellophane and wrap it in a warm blanket, scarf or blanket. You can make a compress at night.

Rubdowns

Taking vodka internally in reasonable doses fights inflammation very successfully:

• alcohol dilates blood vessels, increases blood flow to diseased organs (relieves migraines);
• has disinfecting abilities (in the treatment of sore throat or stomach);
• reduces the intensity of cough by warming the throat;
• increases local immunity;
• has an analgesic effect.

But alcohol, which undoubtedly has benefits for signs of a cold, will only help initial stage disease and is not a substitute for professional medical care.

Alcohol and the cardiovascular system

Reasonable consumption of alcohol strengthens the cardiovascular system. Alcohol is capable of dilating blood vessels, and 20 ml of alcohol during a heart attack or spasm can save the patient from death.

Alcohol and the nervous system

Alcoholic drinks are an excellent sedative.

The benefits of alcohol are: effective reduction sensitivity to heightened emotions (resentment, grief, sadness).

“Fire drinks” help you temporarily forget about a bad and unpleasant day. But this also hides enormous harm to the body. In pursuit of solace, it is easy to become a victim of alcoholism.

Alcohol and the endocrine system

The effect of alcohol on the endocrine system is to accelerate metabolism.

Without harming your health, small doses of alcohol can be recommended as a prophylactic against diabetes mellitus and a number of pathologies associated with hormonal imbalance.

Alcoholic drinks

Wine

High-quality wine has long been considered a real panacea. They treated wounded soldiers with it, gave them wine to relieve pain shock and accelerate blood clotting.

Cahors, for example, was considered a drink with medicinal properties. Doctors recommended heating and drinking wine for colds and ailments, and, if necessary, to enhance healing properties, add to wine healing herbs and natural honey.

The benefits of real wine, without artificial colors, for the human body are enormous. Wine protects blood vessels and the heart from rapid wear, eliminates bad cholesterol, and improves brain function by dilating blood vessels.

The benefits of alcohol are indicated by fructose, antioxidants, vitamins B and K, which wine is full of.

Many people suffering from anemia regularly drink a small glass of good red wine at night. This helps cope with migraines and dizziness. Red wine normalizes blood pressure.

A small glass of red wine is beneficial for women with menstrual cycle. So it turns out that alcohol is still beneficial for the human body.

Beer

Real beer is made from natural products:

• hops (contains phytohormones);
• malt from wheat or barley (contains beneficial minerals and essential vitamins).

In order not to harm your health, you can drink no more than one bottle (330 ml) per day. And you don’t have to make a whole ritual filled with salted fish and chips out of the desire to drink beer.

It is useful to drink a moderate amount of beer with dried fruits and honey, this will help with heart problems (ischemia), hormonal imbalance, renal pathologies.

Beer has no equal at home cosmetic procedures. It is added to various hair masks, used as a lotion for the skin of the face and body, and added to the bath.

Beer can also be used in cooking; it will add a delicate bitterness and hoppy taste.

Cognac

Cognac is highly valued by alcohol lovers.

Reasonable use is not only pleasant, but also useful:

• 20-30 grams of cognac dilate blood vessels and normalize blood pressure;
• in moderate doses it helps get rid of migraines and angina attacks;
• tannins contained in alcohol help ascorbic acid completely absorbed by the body;
• cognac will easily solve the problem of poor appetite;
• cognac can relieve stomach spasms;
• effective during the season of colds and infections (tea with cognac will support the immune system and protect against diseases);
• a miracle cure for sore throat - warm cognac. You just need to use cognac to rinse;
• Honey cognac with a lemon drop will help reduce hyperthermia;
• inflammation of the bronchi is treated with a slightly warmed drink along with milk;
• pain in the teeth subsides with cotton swabs soaked in cognac: apply one to the painful tooth, and the other near the ear on the side of the painful tooth;
• Memory will improve if you drink no more than 20 g daily.

The effect of cognac on the human body directly depends on its quality. You need to purchase only natural products without artificial colors or food additives. And there are benefits from alcohol if you purchase quality drinks, and this applies not only to cognac.

It is impossible to say unequivocally what is more beneficial for the human body in drinking alcohol. The benefits and harms of any product depend only on the rate of use and quality of manufacture.

When it comes to alcoholic beverages, they are associated with alcoholism and certainly not with medicine. However, they can still be beneficial and help treat many diseases. But it is worth remembering that alcoholic drinks as medicine can only be used strictly following the dosage. Also, such methods of drug therapy have a lot of contraindications and limitations. Alcohol can only be used if the person has not previously been dependent on it. In addition, it is definitely contraindicated for the treatment of children, adolescents, patients diabetes mellitus and pregnant women.

If a person has even the slightest bit of uncertainty about whether he can resist taking larger doses of alcohol, such treatment is definitely not for him. Remember that drinking alcohol over time causes the body to require more of it. Therefore, under no circumstances should you lose self-control and vigilance when using alcohol as a medicine.

When taking medications, you should not simultaneously drink any doses of alcohol, as they can completely distort your health. medicinal effect.

Remember that vodka and alcohol are completely empty drinks and do not contain anything useful. Fill them up healing power can be various fruits and herbs, on the basis of which rubs and tinctures are prepared. In this form, alcohol promotes accelerated delivery useful properties herbs into body tissues. To understand the benefits of alcohol, it is worth getting acquainted with the recipes in which it appears.

Treatment of respiratory organs:

- Sore throat, bronchitis and colds can be treated by gargling with eucalyptus or calendula tincture. Dilute a teaspoon of tincture in a glass of warm water.

Get rid of for ulcerative sore throat Kalanchoe tincture with vodka will help. Dilute it with water in a ratio of 1:10 and gargle.

- For the treatment of acute respiratory diseases or influenza you should drink the following mixture at night: 50g of warm wine and warm mineral water, a pinch of cinnamon and a tablespoon of honey.

- Pneumonia treated with this remedy: Mix a glass of red wine with a tablespoon of honey and a pinch of lemon balm and thyme. Place the container on the fire and heat, but do not boil. After the medicine has cooled, drink it in small sips and go to bed.

- As an antipyretic you can use the following composition: For a glass of white wine, take a tablespoon of linden honey and lemon juice, and also add a pinch of ground nutmeg. Mix thoroughly, then leave for an hour. Drink one tablespoon strained four times a day.

- To treat a runny nose take propolis tincture and mix it with freshly squeezed beet juice, maintaining a 1:2 ratio. Place the resulting product in your nose up to four times a day.

- Treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Half a liter of red wine infused with two handfuls of rose petals will help cure chronic heart failure. You need to insist for two weeks, and take 50g once a day.

- For the treatment of hypertension mix 150g of sugar and natural liquid honey with 100g of finely chopped aloe and 300g of dry red wine. Mix all this thoroughly, leave for 24 hours, then strain and take for a month and a half. The recommended dosage is a tablespoon three times a day.

Another cure for hypertension: mix a couple of glasses of freshly squeezed beet juice with one and a half glasses of cranberry juice and the juice of one lemon. Add a glass of vodka and 250g of natural liquid honey to this mixture. This remedy should be taken three times a day in the amount of a tablespoon.

- Treatment of varicose veins. Crush six horse chestnuts and pour half a liter of vodka. Leave for two weeks in a place protected from light. Take thirty drops strained three times a day. Continue treatment for one month.

- Treatment of the gastrointestinal tract. Taking 150g of dry red wine daily will help cope with gastritis with low acidity. It should be consumed, divided in half, morning and evening. Best time to take - half an hour before meals.

- Cure diarrhea A mixture of oak bark, galangal root and marshmallow will help. Pour 30g of this mixture into a liter of red wine and heat it up. Drink one teaspoon hot at intervals of an hour.

- Diuretics and choleretic drugs. Take 25g of birch buds and fill them with half a liter of 90% alcohol. Thaw for two weeks in a place protected from light. Take one teaspoon up to three times daily. The dose should be taken after meals.

- With a sluggish gallbladder pour a couple of tablespoons of barberry leaves with one hundred grams of vodka. Leave for two weeks, then take 30 drops, diluting them in a glass of water. Take three doses a day, the course of treatment is half a month.

- For the treatment of joints. Mix vodka and honey in equal proportions. Make compresses with this mixture at night, after heating it.

Finely chop one immortelle bulb and add alcohol, maintaining a ratio of 1:5. Leave for two weeks and use to rub sore joints. This tool will help cope with gout.

remember, that successful treatment is possible only if the dosage and rules for taking medications are strictly observed.

Ekaterina, www.site

We all want to work productively, achieve success and be healthy. Of course, health is very important to fully enjoy life, and if it is lacking, nothing is good for us. But it turns out that in order to maintain health, in addition to the usual medical procedures and medications, you can also use very non-standard methods. One of them is to drink alcohol regularly, of course, in reasonable quantities, and in our article we will tell you whether there is any benefit from alcohol. You should immediately take into account that in our article we are talking about the benefits of alcohol for an adult and healthy person. Alcohol is harmful for a child in any quantity; there are also many contraindications for adults to drink alcoholic beverages - diseases of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, and people with pathologies in the cardiovascular system.

The benefits of alcohol

It is often said that small doses of alcohol are even beneficial for our health. This opinion is supported by a lot of scientific data.
By drinking several glasses of alcohol per week, you can significantly reduce the risk of diabetes and gallstones. With alcohol you can lower the amount of cholesterol, dilate blood vessels, improve blood circulation. Therefore, in people who periodically consume small doses of alcoholic beverages, risk is reduced occurrence of cardiovascular and other diseases.

A little alcohol before meals improves digestion. With alcohol you can relieve stress and relax after a working day. In addition, chatting with friends over a glass of cocktail becomes much more enjoyable.

Alcohol can also fight radiation. 100 grams of vodka significantly increases the body's resistance to radioactive radiation.

Alcohol myths

However, There are many myths regarding the benefits of alcoholic beverages, which are often far from reality.

They say that alcohol helps you stay warm. There is some truth in this statement. However, only the first 50 g of alcohol helps to overcome cooling. They normalize blood circulation and dilate blood vessels. But all subsequent doses have the opposite effect, since heat transfer increases, and the person freezes even more, without even feeling it.

What's with Alcohol awakens appetite, which is also only partly true. Only strong drinks (primarily vodka) have a similar effect, and in small quantities. This process takes 15-20 minutes. But this method should not be abused, since alcohol harms the gastric mucosa.

It is also believed that alcohol increases performance and activates the thinking process. However, Australian scientists have proven that the speed of thinking does increase, but the reactions are often erroneous. Besides, concentration of attention and the quality of inferences is significant are decreasing.

Many people think that alcohol can lower blood pressure. Of course, it dilates blood vessels, but at the same time significantly speeds up the heartbeat, resulting in the pressure just rises. Therefore, it should not be considered a cure for hypertension.

Which alcoholic drink to choose

Most a healthy alcoholic product is natural red wine. It is a good antioxidant and increases the amount of alpha lipoproteins with good cholesterol. Some types of beer have similar properties. However, other types of alcohol can also be beneficial.

Safe dose of alcohol

When determining the dosage of alcohol, focus on your feelings. If the feeling of pleasure from drinking a drink is replaced by negative emotions, it is better to stop. A safe dose of alcohol is a dose of up to 25-35 grams of pure alcohol for a person who weighs 70 kilograms. If you drink more than 35 grams of pure alcohol, it turns into poison and harms almost all systems and organs.
It should also be noted that the permissible safe dose of alcohol without harm to health can be taken no more than once every four days. Let us remind you that we're talking about about pure alcohol, not about alcoholic beverages.

Of course, the benefits of alcohol are an issue that is rarely discussed in official medicine. Most often, it is its harm that is emphasized. This is due to the fact that promoting alcohol consumption can lead to a sharp increase in its consumption, which can lead to serious consequences. However, reasonable people understand that everything should be in moderation. Drinking alcohol is no exception. To protect yourself from illnesses, you can drink a little alcohol every day, but it is important not to overdo it, so as not to cause harm to the body instead of benefit.