How often can an average person drink alcohol? Is it once a day or once a week? Where’s the line? Some people say that a bottle of beer once a week is not harmful. Others say that a glass of wine with dinner can be quite healthy. So, who is right? Is there any safe dose of alcohol?
We’re going to break the top eight myths about alcohol and alcohol addiction. There are a lot of rumors and beliefs, so now’s the time to make everything clear.
It’s OK to drink in small quantities
The Myth. Moderate consumption of high-quality dry wine raises the level of hemoglobin, lowers the levels of cholesterol, helps to normalize blood pressure and helps to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
The Truth. Statements that the daily doses of certain types of alcohol are not only not harmful but also beneficial to your health are a mirage. It’s enough to stick to a healthy lifestyle, engage in proper physical training, get enough sleep, breathe fresh air, eat good food.
There are many useful things that are not as addictive as alcohol. And still, many people are quick to say that alcohol can actually help improve our health. If you feel that you or someone close to you drinks alcohol regularly, you can always call an addiction help hotline and get help.
Female addiction is a disease
The Myth. Female addiction is a separate disease and, unlike male addiction, cannot be cured.
The Truth. Female addiction is considered more complex for two reasons. Firstly, it’s due to the relatively low biological content of alcohol-destroying enzymes in the liver. Secondly, mental disorders develop faster for women. Female addiction develops, just like male addiction, when the desire to drink turns into a need. However, if you call any addiction helpline, they will tell you that female addiction can be treated successfully.
Beer is not harmful
The Myth. Light alcoholic beverages (like beer or some cocktails) are less harmful than strong alcohol.
The Truth. This is also not true. Light drinks affect the body in the same way strong drinks do. The only difference is that a person needs to drink more beer or cocktails to achieve the same effect as hard liquor. Another danger lurks in the very taste of cocktails. Some cocktails are incredibly sweet so you can’t really tell how much you’ve actually had until you find yourself in a state of uncontrollable intoxication. Drug information hotlines know that this is where the illegal actions of adolescents sometimes come from.
Addiction can never be treated forever
The Myth. If a person stops drinking, then he or she will surely drink again. It’s just a matter of time.
The Truth. If a person has not drunk for many years, this does not mean that he or she has fully recovered. Patients and relatives of a patient with addiction should know the truth. When alcoholism resumes, the disease will return, and sometimes it can come back to bite even harder than the first time.
The liver enzymes that are destroyed by ethanol are not restored. Because of this it is necessary to understand that the disease can recur. If a person, for example, is ill with an oncological disease, this does not mean that people have to “give up on him”.
Also, alcoholism has one indisputable advantage over many other serious diseases. If a patient promptly contacts a call rehab, consults a doctor, and he or she completely refuses to drink alcohol after the treatment, there’s a great chance to recover. A great help can also be an in-home alcohol detox service for the addiction recovery. Elite Home Detox brings a custom rehab program to the patient’s home for convenient and effective treatment.
Addicts have no hangovers
The Myth. If you have a hangover, you are not an addict. But if the night before you drank pretty much, and in the morning you feel great, it’s an addiction because your body has ceased to perceive alcohol as poison.
The Truth. In fact, the opposite is true. The appearance of a hangover syndrome indicates the development of a biological dependence of alcohol. The term withdrawal is derived from Fr. Absence, which literally means the “absence.” A drug-deprived organism begins to demand its return. If you do not stop in time, you should contact drug rehab hotline.
Safe alcohol-free drinks
The Myth. Scientists are developing so-called “safe alcohol”. It’s a substance that causes a sensation similar to intoxication, but at the same time, there is neither addiction nor harmful effects.
The Truth. If scientists really develop such a substance, they can celebrate the invention of another new drug. In human physiology, there is one immutable rule legitimized by WHO. Most substances that improve well-being and mood can be addictive. And this is true even for the drinks that do not contain traditional alcohol.
Safe alcohol dosage exists
The Myth. If you do not exceed a safe dose (five drinks a week), there will be no harm to your health.
The Truth. Talking about the mythical “safe dose” is impossible, and here’s why. Each person has an individual safe dose: one person can drink 5 bottles of beer and have a good evening, while another will have a horrible night after just one bottle. When a person drinks his or her state of consciousness changes, and inner sensations can be deceiving. A drug addiction helpline will help you to objectively establish the nature of intoxication if needed.
The bottom line
Alcohol cannot be 100% safe in any form at any place and at any time. If you believe that you can drink a can of beer a day and you are just fine with it, you may face problems with addiction in the future. There are many more myths that are not listed above that people spread which aren’t true about alcohol.