Modern medicine, the term “alcoholism” is interpreted unambiguously as a disease.
Moreover, the disease is mental. A person does not have a physiological need for the use of ethyl alcohol.
Alcoholic drinks are drunk for the sole purpose of reaching a special state of the nervous system, which is commonly called intoxication.
Any drug has a similar effect, which is why there are a number of drugs used to treat alcohol and drug addiction.
Contrary to the attitude of doctors towards alcoholism, among drinkers there is such a thing as moderate alcoholism. What does it mean?
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What is meant by moderate alcoholism
There is confusion in terms. You can talk about moderate alcohol consumption, but alcoholism cannot be moderate, because this implies an uncontrollable craving for alcohol.
Moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages
The alcoholic has no sense of proportion in relation to alcoholic beverages, therefore he cannot be “moderate”.
Generally accepted norms for the consumption of alcoholic beverages
Moderate consumption (provided 3-4 days a week without drinking) implies the following rates:
- for men – no more than 40 g of pure alcohol per day (100 ml of vodka, 2-3 glasses of wine or 2 bottles of beer),
- for women – up to 30 g (80 ml of vodka, 700 ml of beer or 1-2 glasses of wine).
It should be remembered that ethanol is a poison and a strong carcinogen.
Is there a safe dose of alcohol?
Ethyl alcohol is one of the metabolic products constantly produced by the human body.
If you consume a dose that does not exceed the daily production of your own (endogenous) alcohol, it will be safe, because it will not be able to create a dangerously high concentration of ethanol in the blood.
Where does endogenous alcohol come from? In science, there is not a single example of the formation of ethyl alcohol in the process of metabolic reactions of the human body.
Differences between exogenous and endogenous alcohol
Then where does it come from? The answer is simple: many microorganisms live in the human intestine that are capable of releasing ethyl alcohol during the processing of certain food products. These are the same fermentation processes that occur during wine preparation, when bacteria break down carbohydrates to release ethanol.
Therefore, it is impossible to calculate the exact amount of endogenous alcohol. It is individual for each person, and depends on the diet.
According to information from the World Health Organization, there is no safe dose of exogenous alcohol (consumed in the form of alcoholic drinks).
Conclusion
“Moderate alcoholism” is the same as “a little pregnant.” If a person is not able to control the consumption of alcoholic beverages, then he is susceptible to alcohol dependence.
If you do not get rid of alcoholism in time, negative health consequences are inevitable. Close people may also suffer, because a drunk person does not have adequate behavior.