Alcohol and Health

 
The consumption of alcohol can have a significant effect on our health and wellbeing. Listed here are just some of the issues to consider when evaluating your own pattern of drinking and level of alcohol consumption.

Physical Health
The effects of drinking on your physical health can range from relatively minor symptoms to severe and chronic ill health. Headache, nausea, vomiting and dehydration are all common ailments associated with hangovers. For most people hangovers represent the milder physical effects of alcohol and they are often associated with the morning after a good night out. In comparison, obesity, stomach ulcers, liver disease and alcohol dependency are some of the more severe health problems associated with drinking alcohol.

What are the recommended limits ?

Recommended limits for weekly alcohol intake

        Women       -        14 Units        
        Men            -        21 Units

If you drink within these limits you are less likely to develop liver damage or become addicted to alcohol.
It is also recommended that you space your drinking and do not consume the total number of units within one or two sessions of drinking.

How to calculate your own alcohol intake 

                                     1 bottle          2 bottles         5 bottles

Heiniken                    1.5                   3.0                   7.5

Budweiser                   1.55                 3.1                   7.75

Separate beers from other drinks per bottle per 2 bottles, 5 bottles

*Spirits per pub measure, per bottle

*Wine per glass, per bottle, per litre

Calculating your alcohol intake

Most people think half pint = 1 unit therefore 2 pints = 4 units of alcohol but it depends on what you are drinking, a half pint of what,
Two pints of Premium beer or lager, like Heineken or Budweiser which is 5% volume of alcohol would work out as 5.7 units of alcohol, almost a third more than expected. The more you drink the greater the difference between what you thought you have drank and how many units of alcohol you have actually consumed

Similar situation occurs with wine and most other alcoholic drinks. It pays to read the label if you are trying to monitor or limit your alcohol intake.

Alcohol Calories Calculator
Calories = bottled beers/lagers about 120-140 calories per bottle 5 bottles = 600-700 calories

Vodka or other spirits about 55 calories per measure

Wine table or sweet wine about 75 – 110 per glass    per bottle  = 525 – 770 calories

Do you know how much alcohol you actually drink in a week ?
Do you have any concerns about alcohol and your health  ?
Is there anything you can do to limit the effects of alcohol on your health ?
Drink diary, use ready reckoner provided or contact KEMH for a more detailed one,
Talk to your GP if you have a specific concern
Many ways to reduce drinking

Alcohol and the Law 

Legal Limit   Breathe Alcohol is 35

Although the legal limit for drinking and driving is clear, how we consume alcohol and manage to reach or not reach that limit, if we plan on driving home, is not clear. The effects of alcohol will vary from person to person.

Liver takes 2 hours to burn up 2 units of alcohol.

The amount of alcohol in your blood does not just depend on how much you drink but your weight, your sex, the length of time you have been drinking and whether you have been eating all effect the rate at which alcohol enters your blood stream.

Example a man weighing 12 stone who has drank 5 bottles of beer while enjoying a meal will show a different BAC and breath alcohol level from a woman weighing 8 stone who has been drinking 5 bottles of beer when she has been out with her friends to the pub straight after work.

Do you take risks with drinking and driving ?
If you do take risks, are you underestimating the effects of your drinking ?
Is there anything you can do to limit risk taking ?
Safest option is don’t drink and drive

Order me a taxi
Don’t drink and drive… full stop
Arrange to have a designated driver

Guestimate not reliable as the alcometer is an accurate measure, saying I guessed wrong isn’t going to help how alcohol affects you or keep you within the limit.
Safest plan is to not drink alcohol at all.

Alcohol and our social and personal relationships

Does alcohol enhance or hinder our relationships with others.
lead to arguments at home or with others.
Mood changes while drinking ,or  ‘wouldn’t have said it, if wasn’t drunk’
pattern of drinking that is causing the problem, too much time drinking or recovering from drinking, leading to miss meals, let others down not have time to spend with
no money, accumulating debt,
Last Christmas did alcohol feature in my celebrations.
If it did,am I happy with role alcohol played ?
If not, what can you do about it,

not have one for the road
listen to what others would like from you New Year resolutions, maybe alcohol a feature, if not stuck to it, why not end the year on a high rather than a low and do something about it now
Have a Happy Christmas and a Health New Year

A quick guide to alcohol to help you through the Festive Season with Karen Chenery, Mental Welfare Officer, KEMH

Having a ‘Merry Christmas’, for most people over the festive season is a chance to take some time off to have a break from the normal routine, to relax and enjoy life a bit more. This often involves treating yourself or treating others to life’s luxuries. Alcohol will have a role to play in many types of celebrations over the festive period, be it Christmas nights out with your work mates, various social gatherings with friends or, family dinners or parties. The aim of this guide is not to take the ‘merry’ out of your Merry Christmas, but to help you consider the role that alcohol plays in your life at this time of year and whether you are happy with your current pattern and level of drinking.

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