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19

Apr 2016

Moderate Drinker Wins The Race

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Drinking in moderation is a way of life that encourages an alcoholic or alcohol abuser to drink moderately so that they can live a healthier and fruitful life. Some people believe that moderate drinking is a myth and doesn’t bring any drastic results in one’s life; on the contrary, some say that it has changed their life for good. No one can really prove its effectiveness and it’s still an on-going debate. We did some research in our stride to unveil what’s really happening behind the curtains of moderate drinking.

 

Before taking a peek behind the curtain let’s talk about what moderate drinking really is and what amount of drinking could be counted as ‘moderate drinking’.

 

Moderate Drinking In A Beaker

According to NIAAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism), moderate drinking could be defined as follows:

  • Up to 4 alcoholic drink in a single day for men and a maximum of 14 drinks in a week.
  • Up to 3 alcoholic drink in a single day for women and a maximum of 7 drinks in a week.

And as per the National Health Service (NHS) –

  • Men should not consume more than 30 to 40 ml of pure alcohol in a day.
  • Whereas women should not consume more than 20-30 ml of pure alcohol in a day.

 

Moderate Drinking – A Healthy Way Of Life

  • As per a report in “Journal Neuropsychiatric Disease And Treatment”, a study conducted that has over 365,000 participants since 1977 showed that those who drank moderately had 23% fewer chances of having Alzheimer’s or any other form of dementia as alcohol stresses up the brain cells and make them tighten, enabling them to cope with these conditions.

 

  • According to studies done by “The School of Public Health at Harvard University” drinking in moderation could be linked to beneficial changes in better sensitivity of insulin that leads to better blood flow as it reduces the blood clots in the heart, brain and neck which reduces the chances of stroke in both men and women who doesn’t have a history of any cardiovascular condition.

 

  • World Health Day – Beat Diabetes has just passed by and it is a known fact that excess alcohol consumption could decrease blood sugar level and sometimes to dangerous levels, especially for people with type 1 diabetes. Although, as per a Dutch study drinking alcohol in moderation in healthy adults has shown to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

 

  • It has been discovered by “The Department of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University” that smoking could worsen the common cold whereas a moderate amount of alcohol consumption could be beneficial against common cold. Also, moderate consumption of red wine has shown 60% less chance of having common cold.

 

There are many such studies that have found other health benefits but most of these don’t have any scientific evidence of these health benefits. So, one can’t actually prove that moderate drinking is either good or bad.

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01

Mar 2016

Short Term Alcohol Effects You Ought To Know

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Cheating your brain to be happy when you are not can be an almost impossible task but alcohol makes it possible. What people don’t know is that alcohol is also a depressant that depresses the functioning of your central nervous system. So the state of happiness that you achieve is like a mirage in the desert, it isn’t real. Youngsters becoming alcoholics has become a trend these days and the number of teenagers dying because of alcoholism is also on the rise. The major brain disorder occurs in mostly in those who abuse alcohol.

Binge drinking is the first step towards becoming an alcoholic. It all comes down to the number of drinks consumed by an individual. If someone has been drinking for a short period of time the effects of the alcohol could be less lethal. The amount of alcohol consumed on a short period of time could cause the following psychological effects (This also depends on the gender and size of the person):

  • When your system is flushed with one to four drinks it will cause very mild effects on your brain.
    • You will start feeling stress free and will enter into a state of happiness.
    • Your mind will be distracted from the daily things happening in your life and you won’t be able to be attentive.
    • You will feel a little exhausted and find it difficult to move.
    • You will be able to converse more confidently and become more social.
    • Your skin will turn red because of the constant emotional rush in your body.

 

  • When you have consumed 5 or more drinks then you will start experiencing a few negative effects.
    • It will impact you memory and you will find it hard to remember the stuff that is happening.
    • You will find it difficult to judge or react on a situation and will be confused most of the time.
    • You will start feeling calm and drowsy and won’t be able to control your movements as if you are sedated.
    • If you are more than 10 drinks down then you will start having blurred and unclear vision and effects on other sensory organs.
    • You will have sudden mood swings and start feeling depressed or annoyed.
    • The sensory ability to feel pain will be decreased.
    • These will be followed by dizziness and puking with an unpleasant feeling.

 

  • When you have crossed the line and have consumed more than 10-12 drinks the effects can be life threatening.
  • Vomiting repetitively in an unconscious state which can also result in puking blood and can be life threatening.
  • Inability to walk properly and control your movements which cause an accident.
  • Difficulty in respiration and increased consumption of carbon dioxide can be very deadly as it can make your organs dysfunctional.
  • It can also leave you unconscious making you an easy target for stealing and robbery.
  • The slow heart rate can lead to heart failure.

Stress and misery are only there so that we can realize the importance of true happiness. There is no way to live a perfect life and no shortcuts to happiness. Cherish the good memories and ignore the pain and misery after all you only live once.

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14

Jan 2016

The Thin Line Between Drinking & Binge Drinking

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Have you ever gone to a party and told yourself that you won’t drink much but ended up doing completely the opposite? Well, fret not as this is a more common occurrence than you think. As it turns out, the line between drinking and binge drinking is too thin.

For those who aren’t familiar with binge drinking, it denotes the phenomenon of getting heavily intoxicated in a small amount of time by drinking heavily as if there’s no tomorrow.

Peer Pressure

When one talks about the reasons how a normal get together turns into a binge drinking fiasco, peer pressure occupies the top most position. Just image – you’re a group of 5-6 friends who are hanging out at a local pub or bar. And each friend forces you to take at least one shot with him/her. Do the math! It doesn’t take much for one to go the full way.

All it takes is a push, a trigger per se.

Its All In The Will Power

Even though the lines between drinking and binge drinking are too thin, still with a semblance of will power one can avoid such situations by hook or by crook. Sometimes, saying ‘No’ is not as bad as people think it is. Ergo, your will power will define things for you.

More often than not, people budge in front of their closest mates. And reasons don’t come too hard to find! It could be as small as ‘I can’t let my friend drink alone’ to as big as ‘this is my last shot with my friend who is moving to the states the next day’. In any case, the reasons don’t matter, do they?

Effects Of Binge Drinking

It should come as no surprise that binge drinking is a cardinal sin. You’re putting your own and the life of others at risk in a way as you are intoxicated on such high levels. You’re out of control simply! Period!

Vomiting, brain damage, anxiety and depression, alcohol poisoning, and memory loss – such are the effects of binge drinking.

How To Avoid Binge Drinking When You’re Drinking Socially

  • Be resilient enough to know when you’re done
  • Predefine the amount of drinks that you will have today
  • Possess the strength to stop yourself after that threshold
  • If you don’t want to act like a party pooper, you can imitate drinking by holding a coloured mocktail which is non-alcoholic.
  • Don’t drink at all if you’re questioning your mental strength and will power
  • Stay close to your sober friends who don’t intend to drink as company matters a lot
  • Fight against peer pressure

 

We sincerely hope that no one crosses the ever so thin line between drinking and binge drinking. There are other more responsible ways to have fun as well. Good luck!

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06

Jan 2016

Why is binge drinking riskier than drinking normally?

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Two large glasses of wine may not seem like very much. But drinking six units of alcohol in a short space of time – an hour, say – will raise your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and could make you drunk very quickly. Drinking the same amount over several hours, and accompanied by food, will not have the same effect on your BAC.

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06

Jan 2016

How can you tell if you’re a binge drinker?

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Even if you don’t drink alcohol every day, you could be a binge drinker if you:

  • tend to drink quickly
  • regularly drink more than the lower risk guidelines in a single session
  • sometimes drink to get drunk.

If you find it hard to stop drinking once you have started, you could also have a problem with binge drinking and possibly Aalcohol dependence.

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26

Aug 2015

What are the effects of binge drinking?

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Getting drunk can affect your physical and mental health:

  1. Accidents and falls are common because being drunk affects your balance and co-ordination.
  2. Binge drinking can affect your mood and your memory and in the longer term can lead to serious mental health problems.

More commonly, binge drinking can lead to anti-social, aggressive and violent behaviour.

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14

Aug 2015

What can I do to avoid binge drinking?

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Personal steps can also be taken to avoid binge drinking:

  1. Be aware of the health consequences of binge drinking.Being aware of the problems associated with binge drinking is an important part of making a clear decision to overcome binge drinking.
  2. Avoid situations and possible triggers for binge drinking.Try to stay away from parties where drinking alcohol is the main focus of the event. Avoid participating in drinking competitions or games.
  3. Understand what a standard drink is.Be aware that most often the size served is larger than a recommended serving size.
  4. Consume slowly.Only take a few sips of your beverage at a time. Do not drink multiple drinks in an hour. Your body absorbs alcohol more than 90 minutes after your last sip, and you may not realize how your body is affected right away.
  5. Choose to drink soda or other non-alcoholic beverages.
  6. Go out with friends who have similar consumption limits in mind.Friends bring a lot of peer pressure to the situation. Choose friends who respect your limits and choose to not binge drink.
  7. Stay away from alcopops.Alcopops contain a lot of sugar so they taste and drink like traditional soda beverages. It is all too easy to drink large amounts of these in a short amount of time.
  8. Remember that alcohol, while socially condoned as a recreational drug, is not a competition, nor is it a way to look cool.

Ultimately increased awareness and understanding of the effects of binge drinking will help sway society to healthier behaviours. Parents and adults are encouraged to talk with kids and their community about the negative effects of binge drinking.

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