Alcohol and Health

Alcohol and alcoholic beverages contain ethanol. When it enters the body, alcohol is metabolized in the liver to acetaldehyde and then to acetic acid. Asians are more prone to alcohol poisoning due to a lack of alcohol-metabolizing enzymes such as alcohol dehydrogenase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase.

Alcohol and its properties

Alcohol can also contain various impurities such as methanol. Methanol is highly toxic to the body because it is metabolized in the liver to form more toxic substances such as formic acid and formaldehyde (formol), which can cause blindness due to damage to the optic nerve and central nervous system poisoning.

Health effects of alcohol

Direct effects on the central nervous system:
- Low concentration: causes euphoria, feeling of relaxation, excitement, talkativeness. At this stage, drunk people often ignore behaviors that are harmful to their health, such as speeding, unsafe driving, which can lead to traffic accidents, unsafe sex.
- The blood alcohol concentration increases when drinking a lot of alcohol, causing agitation, aggressive behavior, difficult to control leading to violence, disrupting social order.
- At high levels of intoxication, the drinker will fall into a state of depression, drowsiness, sleep, and decreased ability to receive and analyze information from the senses. A blood alcohol concentration that is too high can lead to coma and death.
- In the long term, alcohol degenerates the brain, causing symptoms such as Parkinson's, memory loss, mental disorders, loss or reduced ability to work creatively and will be a great burden on the family and society.
Alcohol and beer also cause liver damage leading to cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. The liver is more susceptible to damage if the alcohol drinker is suffering from hepatitis or a healthy person carrying the hepatitis virus.
Alcohol is associated with cardiovascular disease
- Drinking a lot of alcohol increases atherosclerosis, increases blood fat (lipid metabolism disorder - blood) leading to cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke.
Pregnant women who also drink alcohol at any stage will seriously affect the normal development of the fetus, causing intellectual disability in the fetus.
Drinking a lot of alcohol also increases other risks such as: diabetes, cancer of the esophagus, stomach, liver ... drinking alcohol is also a factor causing malnutrition due to an unbalanced diet, or overnutrition due to too much energy from alcohol and accompanying fatty foods.
Alcohol also gives rise to and increases other social problems such as social evils, accidents, violence, unhappy marriages, suicide, increased costs for medical treatment, rehabilitation ...

How to drink alcohol appropriately?

Drinking a lot of alcohol is a major risk factor for high blood pressure, can cause resistance to treatment of high blood pressure and is a risk factor for stroke, diabetes, lipid-blood disorders, cirrhosis, stomach syndrome. But if drinking alcohol is moderate and appropriate, it is also beneficial for preventing cardiovascular diseases, especially red wine.
We should limit alcohol to no more than 30 ml of ethanol (2 cans of beer or 300 ml of wine or 60 ml of whiskey per day). Women who are underweight need to drink less than this amount.
Do not drink alcohol when driving.
Prevention is always better than cure
If you are addicted to alcohol, you also need to take measures to limit alcohol consumption.
People who quit drinking need to have high determination and need the support of family, friends, and agencies: participate in social activities, sports ... In severe cases of addiction, it may be necessary to seek help from doctors, use medications to quit alcohol and beer.

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