How to overcome the health hazards of drinking too much
WHILE alcohol is a legal and common way many societies stimulate social interaction, when consumed at high levels over long periods it can undermine physical health.
Most people know excessive drinking isn’t good for our health, but how do we know when we’re drinking too much?
Long-term health consequences include: alcohol-related diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver; stroke; high blood pressure; heart disease; and more than 60 cancers, including of the mouth, lips, throat, oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, bowel and breast.
Short-term health consequences include fatalities, physical injury or road accidents due to impaired cognitive performance and diminished reaction times.
How much is safe to drink?
It’s important to know the recommendations on drinking to ensure we’re not drinking too much for our own health and for the safety of others.
In 2009, the National Health and Medical Research Council updated the Australian drinking guidelines. The guidelines contain four recommendations to ensure our drinking is “low risk”. Low risk is defined as drinking at a level that reduces the chance an individual will suffer from short-term injury or long-term disease.
Healthy men and women are advised not to drink more than two standard drinks on any one day. If a person drinks less than that, the probability he or she will suffer from longterm alcohol-related disease is approximately one in 100.
For both men and women, drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury to one in 100. Who can drink? Pregnant women are advised to avoid alcohol because of the possibility of alcohol passing through the placenta into the embryo. This may affect brain and other developments of the child.
Evidence shows the brains of children under the age of 18 are still developing. Thus it is recommended children under the age of 18 should avoid consuming alcohol. Consuming alcohol before the age of 18 also increases the risk of numerous poor developmental and social outcomes.
Settings and their associated customs and norms can influence how much alcohol we consume. People will often consume more alcohol in settings like bars, nightclubs and sports clubs, for example.
People should be aware of this phenomenon and try to consciously consume moderate amounts in these types of settings.
Symptoms of drinking too much
While all drinking has elements of long- and short-term risk, consistent drinking can lead to dependence and other alcohol-related problems.
If you find it hard to stop drinking after you have started, you do things that are not normally expected of you because of your drinking, or you feel you sometimes need a drink in the morning, you may be showing signs of dependence and should consult your GP or a health practitioner.
If you feel guilty after drinking, have injured someone because of your drinking, or someone has suggested you reduce your drinking, you should also consider talking to someone about your alcohol consumption.
Steps to reduce alcohol consumption
While alcohol is part of our world, we can reduce the risk of short-term harm, disease and dependence. A good way to cut down is to start by ensuring you are having at least one to two alcohol-free days. On these days, you may want to substitute an alcoholic drink with something else.
Because of the long- and short-term risks, there should always be room to reduce your alcohol consumption. In the long term, you could try to avoid consumption during weekdays.
When going to functions where alcohol will be available, have a strategy rehearsed in your mind as to how and why you will not consume alcohol.
People are more health-conscious so tend to be more open about not drinking for health and well-being reasons. A non-alcoholic substitute drink will help you feel more socially integrated in these settings.
Rowland is a Senior Research Fellow, School of Psychology, Deakin University.
This story appeared in The Conversation