We are so close that we drink until we bleed? Please! Please don't, don't, don't, don't, don't persuade me to drink again!

The New Year is coming, and friends and family are going to get together again. In our country, drinking culture is inevitable. It has been like this since ancient times. As long as there is a reason, we have to "drink to cheer ourselves up and get drunk", even if it's just by ourselves...

What is most annoying at this time is the person who keeps jumping up and down and urging people to drink. What is the most outrageous reason for urging people to drink? I have heard:

"If you don't drink, you're not a friend!" *Drinking doesn't necessarily mean you're a friend*

"If you have deep feelings, take a sip; if you have shallow feelings, take a lick" *Or you can show off*

"If the relationship is weak, you can't drink it, but if the relationship is strong, you will bleed if you drink it" *It's so scary*

"If you think highly of me, just drink it" *Drinking doesn't necessarily mean you think highly of me*

"What do you mean by taking a sip?"*Why do you have to drink it when you can't? (Sweet mouth ing)*

Harm... it's very harmful! What we communicate at a party is our feelings, not alcohol. Moreover, drinking is harmful, so why do we have to force people to drink? In this article, we will talk about the harm of drinking, and what we can do to minimize the harm to our bodies if we really have to drink. Those who drink should know it themselves, and those who don't drink should tell their friends at home who drink.

1. How harmful is drinking?

A 2018 global alcohol health burden assessment published in The Lancet showed that there is no safe dose of drinking, and not drinking a drop of alcohol has the lowest health risk.

Another study published in The Lancet Oncology showed:

In 2020, 4% of all new cancer cases worldwide were related to alcohol consumption. For many people, even small amounts of alcohol can pose serious health risks.

In addition, studies have shown that:

Heavy drinkers already have reduced blood flow in the middle cerebral artery before they develop clinical symptoms, and reduced blood flow in the cerebral artery is one of the risk factors for cerebral infarction[1]. In addition, long-term excessive drinking can lead to high blood pressure, which can also increase the incidence of diabetes and stroke[2].

That is to say, among the health risks brought by alcohol, no drop of alcohol is innocent, and drinking any amount is harmful to health. To summarize the many hazards of drinking:

① Long-term heavy drinking can easily lead to alcohol dependence, which can cause loss of appetite, weight loss, and nutritional deficiencies;

② Drinking alcohol will consume vitamin B in the body, leading to severe vitamin B deficiency;

③ Drinking a lot of alcohol can cause damage to the intestinal mucosa, gastric mucosa and liver function, and in severe cases can lead to intestinal cancer, gastric cancer and liver cancer;

④ Long-term drinking can cause acute and chronic alcohol poisoning, alcoholic fatty liver, and in severe cases, alcoholic cirrhosis;

⑤ Excessive drinking increases the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, breast cancer, digestive tract cancer and other diseases;

⑥ Alcohol produces "empty energy" which will be consumed first, and the energy from other foods will be stored in the abdomen. Over time, this will cause people to have a beer belly, and lead to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, fatty liver, diabetes, and high blood pressure;

⑦ Long-term drinking can also cause irreversible brain damage.

So as for drinking, apart from being able to liven up the atmosphere and adjust the mood, there really is no benefit to it!

2. What should I do if I have to drink?

Although we know that drinking is harmful, we often cannot help ourselves and find it difficult to refuse. So what should we do to minimize the harm that drinking brings to our body? We recommend the following 5 points:

① Control the amount of alcohol you drink: No matter how others persuade you to drink, you should control the amount of alcohol you drink. According to the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents", the daily alcohol limit for adult males is 25g, and for women, it should not exceed 15g. [3]

Note that this is the grams of alcohol, not the grams of wine. How to control this amount? Calculation formula:

Daily alcohol limit for women = 1500ml/alcohol content

Daily alcohol limit for men = 2500ml/alcohol content

You can refer to the amounts shown in the table below. If you must drink it, it is best to control it to this amount.

▲Figure: According to the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents

② Don’t drink on an empty stomach: Drinking on an empty stomach will make alcohol absorbed faster. It is best to eat some staple food before drinking, or drink a glass of sugar-free yogurt, milk, etc. This can slow down the absorption of alcohol and reduce damage to the stomach.

② Don’t drink it with carbonated drinks: The carbon dioxide in carbonated drinks will speed up the absorption of alcohol and its entry into the blood. Mixing the two will make you drunk faster. For example, the “Jiang Xiaobai mixed with Sprite” that many people like is not recommended.

③ Don’t drink it with coffee or strong tea: Coffee and strong tea contain caffeine and other stimulating substances, which will make people more excited the more they drink, affecting their judgment of alcohol tolerance, and they will unknowingly drink more than usual.

④ Don’t drink it in one gulp: Drink slowly and in small sips, don’t drink it in one gulp. Otherwise, you will not only get drunk quickly, but it will also cause greater irritation to your stomach.

⑤ Find opportunities to drink more soup: If there is light soup on the table, such as vegetable soup. Be sure to find opportunities to drink more soup in between drinks, which is equivalent to drinking more water, which can help the body metabolize alcohol and better control the amount of alcohol consumed. Remember, water is the most effective "hangover" remedy. If there is no soup, put a bottle of water next to it and drink it directly.

In summary: alcohol is not a bargaining chip for socializing. Things done with alcohol will not last long, and people made friends with alcohol are not sincere.

Gathering is a time to communicate and enjoy each other's warmth and happiness, but don't force others to drink! The way some people try their best to force others to drink is really annoying...

Today's discussion: Have you ever met someone who urged you to drink? What are their weird reasons?

References:

[1]. Yin Meihua, Xiang Ning, Hao Yonghong. Analysis of the effect of heavy drinking on the changes of middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity[J]. Hebei Medicine, 2008(01):77.

[2]. Zhang Zhi, Zhang Yan. Effects of long-term excessive drinking on blood pressure and blood sugar in stroke population: a survey and study [J]. Chinese Community Physician: Comprehensive Edition, 2006, 008(015):P.14-15.

[3]. Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents[M]. People's Medical Publishing House. 2016