About 111 million American adults, almost half of the nation's adult population, were "current regular drinkers" in 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's December 2009 "Health Statistics for U.S. Adults" report. Regular drinkers had 12 or more drinks in the 12 months before they were surveyed. About 85 percent of Americans drink responsibly, but you should know a few crucial alcohol-related facts before drinking, according to "Essentials for Health and Wellness" and The Merck Manual of Medical Information.
Explanation
Abstaining from alcohol doesn't improve your health, but excess alcohol could harm it, according to the "Essentials" book. Your liver sends less sugar into your blood when it is breaking down a lot of alcohol. Low blood sugar levels cause fatigue, headaches, irritability and sleeping problems. Alcohol also "immediately depresses brain functions," according to The Merck Manual.
Impact
A reduced brain function is not noticeable if the amount of alcohol in your body is small, says "Essentials." The key statistic is blood alcohol content. If it's 0.02 grams of alcohol per deciliter of blood, you should feel relaxed. One glass of beer, wine or a mixed drink causes a blood alcohol content of about 0.02, depending on your weight. Five glasses of liquor causes a blood alcohol content of 0.10, impairs your memory, slurs your speech and reduces your muscular coordination.
Consideration
You are not allowed to drive a car in most states if your blood alcohol content is 0.10 because your reduced coordination makes you a danger to others. You become more of a danger to yourself and others if you drink more than five glasses of liquor. Ten glasses could make you behave so erratically that you become violent, 15 glasses can cause you to go into shock, 20 glasses could cause a coma and 25 to 30 glasses is a "fatal amount for most people," according to "Essentials."
Warning
Moderate drinking, one daily drink for women and older men and two daily drinks for young and middle-aged men, generally "causes few if any problems," according to the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. However, you should not drink at all if you're pregnant or planning to be pregnant, you have a medical condition that your doctor said is worsened by drinking, you're an alcoholic or you're taking antihistamines, aspirin, barbiturates, painkillers or sedatives. Alcohol-drug interactions are dangerous; the barbiturates-alcohol combination is "potentially fatal," according to "Essentials."
Expert Advice
You can do several things to make sure you drink responsibly, according to "Essentials." They include drinking slowly so your blood alcohol content does not increase rapidly, eating when you drink to minimize alcohol's potentially harmful effect, making sure that at least one person per car in a group outing doesn't drink at all and monitoring your behavior over time so you know how much liquor has a negative effect on your personality.
References
- "Essentials for Health and Wellness;" Gordon Edlin, Eric Golanty, Kelli McCormack Brown; 2000
- The Merck Manual of Medical Information; 1999
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Alcohol Use
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: FAQ for the General Public
