WELLNESS To hell and BAC.

Too much of a good thing is wonderful... unless it raises your cholesterol, causes accidents and makes you look stupid. Easy on the binge drinking, cautions Dr Cody.

Weekends are the perfect time to kick back, celebrate a birthday or anything for that matter, and go out and have a great time. Usually this great time is accompanied copious amounts of alcohol. However, you may want to think twice about binge drinking after what a University of Rochester study recently found.

For one month, researchers fed mice the human equivalent of two drinks each day to simulate moderate drinking and another group of mice seven drinks in two days to simulate weekend binge drinking. Now let’s face it, most binge drinkers perhaps wouldn’t do this every weekend but certainly some do. Also, I would guess that humans do a lot more bring drinking than just over a one-month period. The results are quite astonishing with what they found in such a short period of time.

At the end of the month, levels of LDL cholesterol were 19 per cent higher among the binge-drinking mice. LDL cholesterol is the bad cholesterol that clogs arteries throughout the body. What they also found was that the moderate drinking mice actually had lower levels of LDL cholesterol than the control (sober) mice, which were given no alcohol during the same period. This would suggest that moderate drinking even on a daily basis can even help lower your LDL cholesterol levels. However, as a health and wellness expert, I still say that no alcohol is the best thing for your body. In saying that, I do have a drink or two from time to time.

Australia’s Department Of Veteran’s Affairs, shows that:

* Binge patterns of drinking and BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) above .05 are associated with greater risk of injury and death, especially amongst younger men (ages 15 to 29).

* Drinking above two standard drinks on any day is associated with significantly greater risk of harm in the long-term and drinking above four drinks on any one occasion is associated with a greater risk of injury during or soon after drinking.

* The greater the amount of alcohol consumed, the greater the risk of injury.

* Maximum health benefits for the heart may be possibly gained from about one standard drink every second day for men aged over 40.

These stats may not be a huge surprise to most of you. Almost all of this information has been around for a long time. What this does point toward though is an epidemic; a culture around binge drinking that has been going on for quite some time.

When people become intoxicated due to overconsumption of alcohol, some do very dumb things. Here are some more stats from the DVA:

* Alcohol is a major cause of road injury and males are about four times more likely to be involved in an alcohol-related fatality in single driver accidents than females. Those men are usually under the age of 25 and live in country regions.

* Alcohol is an added risk factor for injury and death during activities such as swimming, diving, surfing, boating, waterskiing and fishing.

* Alcohol is a major contributing cause of violence.

* Heavy drinking is a major risk factor for suicide.

I am going to safely assume that most people reading this have, and will have, a lot more alcohol in their lifetime. According to alcohol. gov.au, 90 per cent of all Australians will have had at least one standard drink of alcohol by the time they reach 14 years of age. So instead of fighting the battle, I might just as well join it! Here are some tips on how to drink responsibly:

* Keep an eye on what you’re drinking and set limits for yourself and stick to them.

* Start with non-alcoholic drinks (water) and alternate with alcoholic drinks, or try drinks with lower alcohol content altogether. * Eat before and while you drink. * Don’t drink and drive. (I cannot stress this one enough!)

* If you are going out in a group, work out who will drive everyone home. If you cannot designate a driver, take a cab.

* Avoid mixing alcohol with other drugs and medications.

* Understand that your BAC will continue to rise after you have consumed your last drink. You generally won’t reach your maximum BAC until 45 to 90 minutes after cessation.

With these tips and the above information, turn to the whisky feature on page 84, enjoy responsibly and have fun.