Moderate Drinking: A Productive Rant

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“Alcohol can be a medicine if consumed in moderation, but a poison if consumed in excess.”

Different people have different reasons to consume alcohol. Some people drink alcohol to relieve stress and some drink it simply for the sake of getting high. Since every person is unique in their own way, the way alcohol affects a person also varies. Various physical, emotional, and mental factors influence the way alcohol affects a person.

Blood Alcohol Level

Blood Alcohol Level is the degree of intoxication. It is measured in grams percent and is the measure of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream. A Blood Alcohol Test is performed to determine the blood alcohol level in a person.

It is often seen that the body weight of a person is a dominant factor that can affect blood alcohol. Since females have lighter body weights than men, they show signs of higher blood alcohol content than men after consuming the same amount of drinks. We can say that in a way woman are lightweight drinkers.

Defining Moderate

According to Dr.Amitava Dasgupta, “moderate drinking may increase longevity and protect against many diseases, including cardiovascular disease.” But what exactly do you understand by the term ‘moderate’?

For a man under 65, moderate means consuming no more than two drinks a day, and for women (of all ages) and men over 65, moderate means consuming no more than one drink a day. You can get an idea about a standard drink from the following:

Wine: 148 ml
Distilled spirit (80 proof): 44ml
Beer: 355 ml

There are quite some benefits of moderate drinking. A person is very likely to avoid the following medical conditions if he\she consumes moderate amounts of alcohol.

Diabetes
Heart diseases
Development of Gallstones
Ischemic stroke
Dementia and Alzheimer’s
Arthritis

What is Your Choice?

As you can see, moderate drinking can benefit you in many ways, though it doesn’t mean that regular moderate drinking won’t have any harm. It is still advised to stay away from alcohol but who doesn’t like a couple of cheat days. It is advised to not indulge in heavy drinking.

Heavy drinking can cause cancer, alcohol poisoning, heart disease, high blood pressure, lung disease, suicide, accidental injuries, violence, and even sudden death. Thus, it is better to maintain a line between moderate and heavy drinking and steer clear of the latter.