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We have all promised to reduce or moderate our alcohol consumption. That's why we're having a "wet, dry January," because every New Year's resolution seems to involve mindfulness. But before you know it, you're suddenly drinking cocktails with cool names at your best friend's cousin's wedding or at your manager's awards ceremony. Let's be clear: alcohol is not the best thing to put into your body. In fact, drinking alcohol "in moderation" was once considered somewhat healthy, but is now under scrutiny as many experts believe the research supporting this claim is flawed. Simply put, moderate alcohol consumption generally refers to a level of alcohol consumption that is considered low-risk for most adults. This means minimizing potential health risks while having fun socializing. The term “moderate alcohol consumption” varies from country to country.
In Australia and France, men and women are recommended to drink no more than 10 drinks per week.
Canada's latest guidelines define moderate alcohol consumption as more than two drinks per week, regardless of gender.
For Americans, it's one drink a day.
However, in India there is no committee that recommends what is considered “moderate alcohol consumption”. But when we asked the experts this question, we got mixed opinions about how much alcohol is consumed in an average week. Others reject the idea of moderate alcohol consumption and argue that even one glass of alcohol is harmful to health. If you're wondering why these numbers vary from country to country, experts suspect that our geographical location can influence our body's response to alcohol and our drinking habits. Additionally, Indians are prone to digestive problems, which is another important factor to consider when drinking. It is no exaggeration to say that we Indians love alcohol and hard spirits such as whiskey, gin and rum are often preferred over wine and vodka here.
According to WHO guidelines, the recommended upper limit for alcohol consumption is one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. However, for Indians, staying below this limit or reducing the frequency of alcohol consumption may be beneficial given the population-specific health risks. Alcohol can worsen these problems by causing inflammation in the digestive tract, increasing acid production, and affecting gut bacteria. Indians suffer from diabetes, metabolic disorders and heart problems more often than many other ethnic groups. India is currently the diabetes capital of the world. These are all risks that can be exacerbated by excessive alcohol consumption. So if there is one country where drinking habits should be minimized, it is India.
Indians are also more prone to digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn's disease, stomach ulcers, gallstones, hemorrhoids, bloating and bloating. This happens not only through genes, but also through the composition of the normal intestinal microbiome. This happens through our diet and environment. Alcohol significantly disrupts the composition and health of the gut microbiome. Alcohol is also toxic to these microorganisms as it can cause an imbalance in the gut microbiome and lead to diseases such as gastritis, pancreatitis and ulcers. External factors such as temperature can affect the way our bodies metabolize alcohol. However, ideal alcohol consumption is not directly determined by temperature alone. In hot weather, drinking alcohol can lead to dehydration more quickly. Therefore, it is important to drink enough fluids and control alcohol consumption.
In general, it is recommended that men consume no more than two standard drinks per day and women no more than one standard drink per day. A standard drink typically contains around 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is equivalent to around 350ml of beer, 150ml of wine or 45ml of spirits. It's no news that alcohol is harmful to your health. But it's often said (and some studies have shown the same thing) that if you drink alcohol in "moderate" amounts, you may feel "fine." For example, the American Heart Association says moderate alcohol consumption can prevent heart disease by increasing HDL (“good”) cholesterol and reducing plaque buildup in the arteries.
Another study cited by the Harvard School of Public Health explains that the concept of drinking in moderation, or drinking only enough alcohol so that it doesn't cause harm to the body, is also a good one. However, every expert we spoke to said the research on the “benefits of alcohol” is full of fallacies. It is important to note that many of these studies are purely observational. That is, it included people who reported their daily alcohol consumption (manipulation) and had access to health information over a certain period of time.
Previously, until recently, some studies suggested that drinking alcohol in moderation once or twice a week was okay and even healthy. All of this has now been refuted, at least from a purely medical perspective. Recent major research on the subject shows that even moderate alcohol consumption can lead to several fatal lifestyle diseases, including liver disease, cancer, heart disease, stroke, digestive disorders, obesity, dementia and other cases. From a medical perspective, even a single drink of alcohol is dangerous. This is not surprising because alcohol is essentially a poison, no nutrients, just empty calories. Drinking even a single glass of alcohol is detrimental to your health, so it is always advisable to reduce alcohol consumption.
