Health and safe Drinking

Health Topics on this Page

What is a Safe Level of alcohol?
Are you addicted to caffiene?
Drinking Cow's Milk

How does alcohol affect our health? We all tend to drink alcohol and it is an innate part of our culture to have a drink to celebrate, to “drown our sorrows” or to unwind after a stressful day.

In moderation, drinking alcohol does us no lasting harm. A glass or two of red wine with a meal can actually be good for you due to the flavanoids it contains that protects against free radicals.

But there is no doubt about the health effects that too much alcohol can have on our bodies. The liver is not the only organ damaged by too much drinking. Stomach ulcers, muscle wastage, cancer and brain disease all occur in alcoholics.

The incidence is going up all the time, especially as more and more women are drinking to excess. Early physical symptoms of drinking too much alcohol include hand tremors, indigestion, poor appetite, impotence, blackouts and fits, memory lapses and frequent accidents.

Anxiety, depression and restlessness at night are also common effects. Alcoholism is an addiction but it can be treated. The most worrying aspect of the rise in alcohol consumption is that more women are drinking to excess.

Women have a different physiology than men and research shows that the patterns of drinking a lot of alcohol in a short space of time (so-called “binge” drinking) can more than double the chances of getting breast cancer.

Alcohol is believed to raise oestrogen levels, which has a direct effect on breast cancer incidence. More than one in five young women has this drinking pattern according to official UK figures. It was found that 22 percent of those between the ages of 16 to 24 had drunk heavily on at least one occasion during the previous week.
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So what is a safe level?

A pint of beer or lager of ordinary strength contains 2 units of alcohol whilst a pint of export beer or lager contains 2.5 units. Strong beer or lager can contain 4 units. A pint of cider contains 3 units and an average glass of wine contains 1 unit (pub measure).

A pub measure of sherry, port or vermouth is one unit and a single measure of spirits or liqueur also contains 1 unit (pub measure) The medical consensus is that for men the weekly safe limit is around 21 units spread throughout the week.

For women this limit is around 14 units. Of course, this is an arbitrary amount - people often drink more or less than this average figure. People are all different and are all shapes and sizes, so the amount of alcohol needed to intoxicate varies a great deal from person to person.

However, it is definitely NOT a good idea for your health to get intoxicated on a regular basis as this can lead to alcohol tolerance and if not curtailed, to addiction.

The danger is that people who drink their entire safe level of alcohol in one day are running far more risks with their health than a few drinks occasionally throughout the week. The danger is also becoming psychologically dependent on alcohol to relax, or to relieve stress.

If you feel you are becoming dependent too much on alcohol to help you “unwind” or you can’t relax without alcohol, then you may be drinking far more than your own personal safety levels. Try to cut down and alleviate the stress in your life in other ways, like taking vigorous exercise or going to the gym.
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Are you addicted to caffeine?

Do you suffer regularly from headaches, indigestion or palpitations?
Do you get edgy, irritable and nervous?
Do you have difficulty sleeping at night?
Do you ever feel tired and washed out?

If you have answered YES to any of these questions then there could be a simple explanation. For if, in addition to these symptoms you also drink cups of coffee and/or tea regularly throughout the day then you could have a caffeine addiction.

Caffeine is one of the most powerful stimulants in the world. Taken regularly or in high doses will send your blood pressure sky high and make your heart beat faster.

Caffeine can cause health troubles when your daily intake exceeds 250mg. Since a cup of ordinary tea contains between 50-100 mg (according to strength) and a cup of coffee between 75 and 150 mg, just three of four cups a day is all you may need to produce symptoms.

But if you are thinking of cutting down, do take care. If you cut down too quickly then you could get withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, depression, anxiety or irritability.

To avoid this, cut down slowly either by drinking fewer cups or by making your tea and coffee weaker. An alternative solution is to try decaffeinated coffee or herbal tea.
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Drinking cow's milk

Milk has a tremendous reputation as a healthy food and milk consumption has been rising steadily for years. However, that reputation is not deserved. Here are three health reasons why I no longer drink cow’s milk – a drink that is only suitable for calves.

Milk contains fat which can clog up your arteries and increase your chances of having a heart attack. Surprisingly, a lot of people still drink full fat milk instead of the much healthier low fat skimmed and semi skimmed varieties.

Cow’s milk can cause allergies and digestive troubles. Eczema, asthma, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome and sinus problems are just five common health disorders believed to be associated with drinking milk.

Most worrying is the fact that some farmers give their cows hormones to increase their milk production. What affect will these hormones have on you and your family?

Some studies have concluded that the effect could be the rise in breast cancer incidence with those that drink milk. Japanese and Chinese women have far less breast cancer incidence in their societies and they do not drink milk at all.

A good alternative is Soya milk. Soya milk contains no cholesterol, very little sugar and plenty of protein. The fats in Soya milk are of the polyunsaturated kind (in cow’s milk it is saturated).

You would probably tell the difference if you drank soya milk by the glass but you probably won’t be able to tell the difference if you used it in cereal like porridge or in cooking.
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How much water do we need to drink each day?
Find out here

How smoking causes far more disease that was at first thought
Smoking is associated with lung cancer but there are other illnesses and diseases caused by smoking that you may not realise.

What are the effects on our wellbeing by Smoking and ingesting cannabis?Find out here

Hormones added to animal feeds can endanger health.
By eating meat and drinking milk from animals fed on hormones, how can this affect us?

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