Is drinking harmful to people? Is proper drinking good for your health after all?

Chinese wine culture is broad and profound, and it is an industry with deep pockets and deep pockets. Many merchants have come up with various sayings that "drinking is good for your health" for marketing. In fact, what is recorded in the Chinese drugstore is that "drinking should be moderate", which is intentionally or unintentionally replaced by "drinking in moderation for the sake of health". So is drinking harmful to people? Is proper drinking good for your health after all?

The harm of excessive drinking

1. Deficiency of nutrients caused by excessive drinking

1. Lack of protein, fat and sugar. The main reason is that more than half of people who drink alcohol for a long time do not eat enough. Alcohol can reduce the ability of gastric peristalsis, cause secondary nausea, make alcoholics lose their appetite and reduce food intake.

2. The digestibility of protein decreased. Experts in the stomach biopsy found that about 1 to 4 long-term alcoholics suffering from atrophic gastritis, their stomach acid and pepsin are also lower than normal people.

3. Deficiency of multivitamins. Drinking alcohol is most likely to cause folic acid deficiency, followed by vitamin B1, nicotinic acid and vitamin B6 deficiency. This is due to the decrease in the absorption rate of vitamin B11, vitamin B12 and folic acid in the small intestine. The main clinical manifestations are neuropathy, glossitis, anemia and cytopenia.

4. Lack of calcium, magnesium, zinc and other elements. As alcohol affects the structure of the small intestine and damage to the digestive glands, fatty dysentery often occurs, and a variety of inorganic salts are lost from defecation at the same time, which can also increase the excretion of inorganic salts from the kidneys; on the other hand, alcoholics get less inorganic salts from their diet, which can reduce the levels of zinc, copper and magnesium in the blood.

Second, excessive drinking damages the liver

The detoxification of alcohol is mainly carried out in the liver, and about 90% to 95% of alcohol is metabolized through the liver. Therefore, drinking is particularly harmful to the liver. Alcohol can damage hepatocytes and cause liver lesions. People who drink too much alcohol are likely to suffer from fatty liver and alcoholic hepatitis, which can develop into alcoholic cirrhosis and eventually lead to liver cancer. Binge drinking (excessive drinking at a time) will not only cause acute alcoholic hepatitis, but also may induce acute necrotizing pancreatitis, which is life-threatening.

Excessive drinking damages the digestive system

1. Alcohol can stimulate the esophagus and gastric mucosa, cause congestion and edema of digestive tract mucosa, and lead to esophagitis, gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcer and so on. Excessive drinking is one of the factors leading to some cancers of the digestive system.

2. Excessive drinking increases the incidence of breast cancer.

3. Studies have shown that women who often drink alcoholic beverages are more likely to develop breast cancer. As a result, drinking restrictions may reduce the risk of breast cancer.

IV. Excessive drinking leads to hypertension, hyperlipidemia and coronary atherosclerosis

Alcohol can raise cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, leading to hyperlipidemia or coronary artery hardening. Lipids in the blood are deposited on the walls of blood vessels, reducing the lumen of blood vessels and causing high blood pressure, which is at risk of stroke. Long-term excessive drinking can cause myocardial steatosis, reduce the elastic contractility of the heart, and affect the normal function of the heart.

5. Accidents and violent behaviors caused by excessive drinking

The central nervous system of long-term drinkers is often in a state of chronic alcoholism, and some develop into alcoholic psychosis and alcoholic kinaesthesia. When the patient has the injury, the destruction and so on; middle movement behavior. Alcohol can make people lose self-control and increase the risk of accidents and violence. More than 1% of traffic accidents and work accidents worldwide are caused by alcoholism.

VI. Anemia caused by excessive drinking

After toxic substances such as alcohol are absorbed into the blood, they can stimulate and erode the cell membrane of red blood cells and other blood cells, causing blood cells to atrophy, rupture and dissolve, thus decreasing continuously. Anemic patients often lack the nutrients that make blood, and toxic substances such as alcohol can destroy the nutrients they ingest. In this way, it will further lead to blood cell production disorders, but also can make red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets and other fewer and fewer, resulting in serious anemia. Alcohol can also interfere with the hematopoietic function of hematopoietic organs such as bone marrow, liver and spleen.

Excessive drinking leads to obesity

Drinking too much can make some people fat. This is because alcohol has a high calorific value and is first absorbed and oxidized after entering the human body, but the food eaten at the same time or after drinking can not be digested and utilized in time. These foods are converted into fat and stored in the body. Middle-aged and elderly people are more likely to gain weight because of less exercise.

Excessive drinking lowers the body's immunity

Alcohol can infringe on phagocytes, immune factors and antibodies in the defense system, resulting in weakening of human immune function, prone to infection and hemolysis.

9. Fetal congenital malformations caused by excessive drinking

Alcohol is toxic to germ cells. If this poisoned cell develops into a fetus, it is likely to become a mentally retarded child, which will cause a heavy burden to the family and society. When pregnant women drink alcohol, alcohol can directly poison the fetus through the placenta and hinder the division of fetal brain cells. Alcohol is also a teratogenic factor, which can induce fetal congenital malformations.

Drinking too much alcohol does a lot of harm to the human body, it is better to drink less, it is best not to drink.

The benefits of moderate drinking

1. Maintain heart health: a large number of studies have shown that moderate drinking, including beer, can reduce the risk of heart disease, which is the number one killer in the United States. In a 2006 study, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Harvard School of Public Health found that among men with a healthy lifestyle, moderate drinkers had a 40% lower risk of heart attack than teetotalers. 60%.

2. Protect blood vessels: high blood pressure affects about 650000 Americans. But in 2007, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that men with hypertension who drank moderate amounts of beer had a lower risk of fatal and non-fatal heart attacks. Moderate beer drinking can also help prevent thrombosis and ischemic stroke.

3. Reduce the risk of diabetes: moderate drinking in diabetics can also reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, the biggest killer, studies have shown. Studies have also shown that mild drinking habits can help protect people with type 2 diabetes from developing countries. This may be because drinking increases insulin sensitivity or anti-inflammatory effects.

4. Improve cognitive ability: is beer good for the brain? Research shows that the answer is yes. A report published in 2006 in the Journal of the American Heart Association showed that moderate drinking may give women better cognitive abilities. Similarly, according to a study published in 2003 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, people over the age of 65 drank six alcoholic drinks a week, but no benefits were found for young women and postmenopausal women. It is said that the beverage may have a high content of silicon. But drinking too much alcohol can greatly increase the risk of fractures.

5. Stay active: a review of 50 studies shows that there is an inverse link between moderate drinking and overall mortality, and according to a 2005 report from the United States Department of Agriculture, people who drink two drinks a day seem to have the lowest risk of death. this may be due to the role of beer in preventing coronary heart disease and stroke.

6. Feel healthier: people who drink beer are less sick and feel better about themselves than those who abstain from alcohol, according to a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.