Xiao Zhang's grandfather is over 60 years old this year, and he has been living in the countryside, and he always likes to drink two or three taels of white wine with side dishes at dinner, even if he doesn't stir-fry vegetables, he has to eat peanuts and pickles to drink.
Recently, Xiao Zhang swiped an article on the official account, talking about the harm of long-term drinking liquor by the elderly.
Xiao Zhang was worried about his grandfather's health and forwarded the article, but his grandfather disagreed, saying that he had always been strong and strong, and now he can still do some farm work in the field, which shows that liquor is not harmful.
In the past, there was an old saying called "drink and enjoy love", and it was also rumored that drinking a little bit of food at dinner every day can invigorate blood circulation and dispel blood stasis, dredge blood vessels, and help sleep.
There is also no shortage of controversy on the Internet about "liquor is harmless", some people feel that a little every day, the amount of alcohol will increase, and people will become more and more tolerant. There are also people who feel that baijiu is a chronic killer of the brain, heart, etc.
So, what changes will happen to the body of people who have been drinking two or three taels of wine for a long time at dinner?
1. Daily wine to prolong life?
Baijiu is basically grain wine, and some people hear that baijiu contains certain health substances, so they think that drinking in moderation is beneficial, and promote this view as an excuse for drinking in the open.
Indeed, some academic reports have discussed the relationship between liquor and health such as liquor, and have proposed that liquor has antioxidant and other effects.
However, popular understanding can be taken out of context, with its own set of risks.
On the one hand, our body is a highly complex system, and there are many factors that affect health and longevity.
On the other hand, baijiu itself is also complex, and there is no one-way definite causal relationship between baijiu and health.
This means that there is no single and accurate answer to what kind of reaction the liquor consumes in the body, and whether it is a beneficial reaction.
Not to mention the proportion of healthy substances in liquor, and how much does a person have to consume every day to achieve the effect of "prolonging life"? These questions are all false propositions.
In this way, there is no actual evidence to support the claim that "a little wine every day prolongs life".
On the contrary, there is a lot of data that shows that the harm of alcohol cannot be ignored. For example, the World Health Organization lists the dangers of alcohol as an important fact, detailing the dangers of alcohol.
According to the WTO, the harmful use of alcohol is a cause of more than 200 diseases and injuries.
Worldwide, 3 million people – more than 5% of all deaths – die each year from the harmful use of alcohol.
Alcohol consumption can lead to death and disability, and 13.5% of all deaths among people aged 20-39 are inextricably linked to alcohol.
In addition, according to 2020 research data, 740,000 new cancers in the world are caused by alcohol consumption, and China alone accounts for more than 37%.
These figures are undoubtedly staggering. So, what kind of threat does long-term intake of liquor in small doses bring to the body?
Research on the dangers of alcohol has received more attention and has yielded abundant results.
Regarding the long-term intake of liquor in small doses, we can draw inspiration from these studies. Let's take a closer look.
Second, a small amount of liquor is a big risk
According to the World Health Organization, there were 600 million drinkers in China in 2018, most of whom were 18-35 years old, and drank alcohol once or more a day.
It can be seen that there are many people who drink alcohol for a long time in their lives.
In the field of health, you can't talk about dosage alone. Some studies have defined daily alcohol consumption of between 20g and 60g as dangerous drinking, and this drinking range is associated with 39.4% of cancers.
Alcohol consumption of less than 20g per day was also associated with 13.9% of cancers. Drinking 10g of alcohol per day was also associated with 41,300 new cancers.
These numbers are staggering.
Aside from cancer, the harm to the body from ingested alcohol is all-encompassing.
1. Alcohol and the liver
The harm of alcohol to the liver has been a common problem.
The reason for this is that alcohol relies on the liver for metabolism. The main component of alcohol is ethanol, which is oxidized to acetaldehyde by liver cells. Whereas, acetaldehyde is carcinogenic and toxic.
The more alcohol you drink, the more hepatotoxic substances are produced. At first, the liver recovers on its own in the face of this threat. However, daily intake will gradually overwhelm the liver.
Alcohol-related liver disease is a typical form of liver damage caused by long-term alcohol consumption.
There are currently three main types of liver injury. What is even more worrying is that multiple diseases may coexist or induce each other, putting lives in greater danger.
Specifically, possible liver damage includes fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and alcohol-related cirrhosis. Some can be reversed, some cannot.
Among them, liver cirrhosis can be accompanied by serious complications, including ascites, portal hypertension, gastrointestinal bleeding, etc.
2. Alcohol and the stomach
Alcohol is a strong irritant to the gastric mucosa.
Studies have shown that a certain concentration of ethanol is corrosive to gastric mucosal tissues and may cause acute inflammation, mucosal bleeding, mucosal erosion, ulcers, etc.
Some people wonder, so if you only drink a little bit a day and the concentration is lower, can you ignore the harm?
In fact, the harm of chronic drinking is also enormous. The "Research Progress on the Mechanism of Ethanol on the Gastric Mucosa" by the Department of Internal Medicine of Fujian Medical University and others shows that the harm of chronic drinking may include gastrointestinal disorders, chronic atrophic gastritis and even gastric cancer.
3. Alcohol and blood pressure
Some people believe in some unfounded words, such as drinking a small amount of alcohol to dilate blood vessels, and eating a meal with a small amount of wine is actually beneficial to the body.
In fact, there is a marketing purpose behind this sentence.
Alcohol has a bidirectional effect on blood pressure, which can increase or decrease blood pressure and adversely affect heart rate.
An article in the authoritative journal Cardiovascular analyzed 19,548 participants and showed a direct association between alcohol consumption and systolic blood pressure.
Another study of healthy men showed that blood pressure decreased within 12 hours of alcohol ingestion.
Blood pressure increases after 13 hours of alcohol intake, and alcohol may cause a sustained increase in heart rate for 24 hours.
It can be seen that the effect of alcohol on blood pressure is very complex. Long-term drinking of small amounts of alcohol also significantly increases the risk of high blood pressure.
Drinking alcohol also alters the body's natural metabolic processes and may induce hyperlipidemia, which in turn can lead to atherosclerosis.
In short, long-term consumption of small amounts of liquor may also cause irreversible damage to the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular vessels.
This is also the reason why patients with high blood pressure and other conditions are told to quit drinking.
4. Alcohol and the nervous system
Wine culture has a long history in the mainland. Whether it's a meal, a festival or a daily dinner, many people have the habit of drinking some wine.
The metabolism of alcohol requires the assistance of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, etc. Lack of assistance such as acetaldehyde dehydrogenase may cause drinkers to "pour a glass" or even alcohol poisoning, damaging the health of the nervous system.
However, about 33% of individuals in China and even in East Asians are deficient in this enzyme. About 40% of Asians have a genetic defect in alcohol metabolism.
Many drinkers are unaware of their situation. Drinking alcohol over the years can put a lot of strain on the nervous system.
In addition, studies have shown that ethanol metabolites, such as acetate, are psychoactive.
For a long time, people have paid more attention to the metabolic process of alcohol in the liver. Acetic acid, one of the metabolites of ethanol, is considered harmless and non-toxic.
However, recent research has shown that metabolites such as acetic acid, which are metabolized by the liver, also enter the brain. Acetate causes neurotransmitter changes in the brain, leading to movement disorders.
Therefore, for us, the importance of abstaining from alcohol and limiting alcohol is self-evident.
3. Quit alcohol and maintain health and protect life
If you have not yet suffered from alcoholic liver disease or other diseases, it is best to start gradually quitting alcohol to avoid future strikes on the liver and other organs and regret it.
Drinking a small amount of liquor for a long time, waiting until the body is unwell before going for a check-up, you may have suffered from chronic diseases and other diseases, which have reached an irreversible level.
If you already have symptoms, or even if you have been diagnosed, abstinence from alcohol is also a necessary and beneficial step.
1. Danger signs that the body is hollowed out
You should pay attention to the signs of your body and go to the hospital for a consultation in time. Although there are few clear signs of an alcohol-related illness, vigilance is still needed to be vigilant and mindful.
First of all, as mentioned earlier, alcohol affects the function of the liver. The liver is associated with detoxification, and the health of the liver is also reflected in the face.
If your skin is not in good shape, such as if your complexion is getting darker, you should be careful. If you have symptoms that you haven't seen before, don't take it for granted, but go to the doctor as soon as possible.
In addition, a drop in alcohol consumption can mean liver damage. This is the body's prompting that the body's metabolic capacity is weakened and should be taken seriously.
If you have symptoms such as memory loss, trembling hands, weakened immunity, nausea, etc., you should also go to the hospital for screening and take action based on the results.
2. Make up your mind to quit drinking and limit alcohol
It's best to motivate yourself and make up your mind to take action. Supervision and support from family and friends is effective during the period of abstinence and restriction. You can also seek professional help if necessary.
Lifestyle changes don't happen overnight and can be made gradually. It is also normal for some people to feel empty during the period of abstinence.
We also have a good way to deal with this.
There are many meaningful and beneficial activities in the world. While you're leaving your old, unhealthy drinking habits behind, try to develop new hobbies.
In this way, a good transition can be formed. The key is to try more and find the beauty in life. In this way, you can harvest a new world and a new self.
There is only one body, and there is only one life, which needs to be carefully cared for. There is no such thing as a safe dosage to drink, and any form of drinking has its harms.
Small amounts of alcohol can also be harmful to health over the years. We need to keep our eyes peeled and not step into the trap of marketing.
We should also recognize that drinking alcohol poses a threat to many parts of the liver, stomach, intestines, nervous system, etc., and may also bring economic burden and adverse social impacts.
Therefore, drinkers should change their long-term habit of drinking small amounts of alcohol and replace them with healthier foods and drinks, or moderate exercise.
Only in this way can it be possible to make yourself physically fit and energetic.