Confined to our homes, we all find ourselves drinking more than we used to. But how much is too much?
For years it was considered healthy for an adult woman to consume one alcoholic beverage per day and an adult man to drink two per day. But drinking two drinks a day comes up to 14 drinks a week, which is quite an alarming number of drinks a week. Health experts have raised concern long ago that the guidelines are too generous for both women and men. For those who drink alcohol, recommended limits for better health are actually up to 1 drink per day for both women and men.
Read this again: UP TO ONE DRINK PER DAY.
When getting older, our body's ability to metabolize alcohol diminishes, and our drinking habits should change in tandem if we don't want to impair our body's ability to function properly. For some, the signs of a problem may manifest itself in poor sleep, for others, in strong cravings or mood swings.
A common way people gauge how much they should drink is not drinking to the point of becoming drunk. But it can be inaccurate.
It’s important to note that even though we may not feel the effects of alcohol, we still have the same amount of alcohol in our body as someone who starts to feel intoxicated after one or two drinks. The lack of response to the alcohol may be related to an increase in body’s alcohol tolerance over time. Some people are born with high tolerance and many people develop a tolerance with regular drinking.
An occasional glass of wine with dinner can be beneficial for our health.
But what happens when that one glass turns into two?
Or three?
Or four?
Drinking every day, especially alcohol with high sugar content, can actually weaken our immune system, affect the good bacteria in our gut and also put us at higher risk for developing high blood pressure.
There's a fine line between safe alcohol consumption and unhealthy alcohol consumption. Something we should always keep in mind.
Sources:
New U.S. Dietary Guidelines Reject Recommendation to Cut Sugar, Alcohol Intake Limit
Dr. Terry Schneekloth, Liza Torborg, Mayo Clinic, News Network
Keenan Mayo, https://www.eatthis.com/news-the-biggest-danger-sign-youre-drinking-too-much-alcohol-say-doctors/
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