“Old Zhang! Are you secretly drinking behind my back again!” Lao Zhang’s wife questioned Lao Zhang with the liquor she had dug out from under the closet. Since Lao Zhang was found to have high blood pressure last year, his wife has been persuading him to quit drinking and not let him drink again, but Lao Zhang still secretly drinks behind her back.

“I just had a small drink at the end of my meal! And what about my drinking, Experts say moderate drinking can help Cardiovascular health, why don’t you believe it?”

“Old Huang next door died of liver cancer last year because of drinking alcohol. I asked you to quit drinking for your own good, when can you listen to me…”

Many people love to drink and think that drinking can help health, but in fact, ” It has long been proven that drinking alcohol hurts the body.

1. No drink is innocent! How does alcohol cause cancer?

Recently, a new study in The Lancet Oncology found that about 740,000 new cancer cases worldwide in 2020. Caused by drinking, of which there are about 280,000 cases in China.

In terms of cancer types, among the new alcohol-related cancers, the absolute number of new cancers was esophageal cancer (189,700), liver cancer (154,700), followed by Breast cancer (98,300 cases), colon cancer (91,500 cases), lip and oral cavity cancer (74,900 cases), rectal cancer (65,100 cases), pharyngeal cancer (39,400 cases), larynx cancer (27,600 cases).

How does drinking alcohol cause cancer?

In fact, alcohol itself is not carcinogenic. What really causes gene mutation and causes cell death in the body is its metabolite in the human body – alcohol (ethanol).

After alcohol enters the body, it is metabolized to acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase, and then metabolized to acetic acid by acetaldehyde dehydrogenase and excreted. Acetaldehyde is a clear carcinogen. Acetaldehyde can directly bind to DNA, causing DNA mutation and even chromosomal mutation. It can also cause cell death in the body, induce chronic inflammation and cell replication, and increase the probability of cancer.

Second, is moderate drinking good for health? Believe it no more

The World Heart Federation (WHF) issued a briefing report, “The Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Cardiovascular Health: Myths and Measures,” stating that any level of alcohol consumption is harmful to the body. In 2019 alone, 2.4 million people died from alcohol, accounting for 4.3% of global deaths.

Data from a study involving drinking habits and brain MRIs of 36,678 middle-aged and elderly people found that even a small drink a day may lead to reduced brain volume and alcohol consumption. The more, the greater the reduction in brain volume, gray matter volume, and white matter volume.

In addition, the damage to the body from drinking alcohol is systemic and may cause the following diseases:

< span>1. Kidney disease

Drinking alcohol will bring many adverse effects on the kidneys, namely “alcoholic kidney damage”. When drinking a lot of alcohol, the body will produce some by-products, such as free radicals. If the body cannot remove these free radicals, oxidative stress will occur and the kidneys will be damaged.

Excessive drinking can also lead to higher levels of endotoxins in the blood circulation, triggering a “cytokine storm” that damages the kidneys and reduces kidney function.

2, liver disease

After alcohol enters the human body, it is metabolized by the liver. During the metabolic process, many substances that are very toxic to the human body will be produced, which will eventually lead to the occurrence of fatty liver, liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and other diseases.

3. Increased risk of cardiovascular disease

Sun Yingxian, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University The team’s research among more than 10,000 villagers found that heavy drinking can significantly increase the risk of coronary heart disease and hypertension, and moderate drinking did not show cardiovascular protection benefits.

In addition, a study of more than 350,000 people in the United Kingdom also found that every increase of about 852 ml of beer with an alcohol content of 4% will increase the cardiovascular risk by 23%. event risk.

4. Increased risk of all-cause mortality

The Lancet published a report The article included a sample size of 600,000 people, and a study involving multi-country results found that drinking more than 350g per week reduced life expectancy by nearly 5 years, and even weekly intake of 100-200g would still have an impact on life expectancy.

Therefore, there is no benefit to drinking alcohol. The so-called “moderate amount” is just psychological comfort. The best amount of alcohol to drink is not to drink a drop!

Third, who can drink more if he blushes after drinking or his face is pale after drinking?

At the dinner table, some people drink easily, and they blush after one or two glasses of wine, but there are also some people, no matter whatNo matter how much wine you drink, your face turns pale. Who can drink more, the person who blushes after drinking or the person who blushes after drinking?

Actually, whether a person can drink is determined by genetics, Whether the skin changes after drinking alcohol is also related to the speed of metabolism in the body.

For people who blush when they drink alcohol, the activity of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase-2 in their body is very low, so that acetaldehyde cannot be well metabolized out of the body, resulting in accumulation, Coupled with acetaldehyde, it dilates blood vessels, causing flushing, headaches, and rapid heartbeat.

For people who drink alcohol and turn pale, it is also related to acetaldehyde dehydrogenase-2, a large amount of alcohol enters the blood, stimulates sympathetic nerve excitation, and releases catecholamines and other neurotransmitters It causes a lot of constriction of blood vessels in the skin, resulting in a pale complexion.

Moreover, compared with people who blush, drinking with a pale face will cause the body to dissipate heat too quickly if the outside temperature is low. Causes hyperthermia, which is likely to be life-threatening.

Fourth, honey water and strong tea will not hangover! 4 ways to reduce alcohol damage

In daily life, many people drink honey water or strong tea to get rid of alcohol after drinking a lot. In practice, however, these methods are unreliable.

Drinking honey water after drinking alcohol does make the body feel good, just because warm water gives a feeling of comfort. In addition, drinking tea to hangover, theophylline in tea can fight alcohol-induced confusion to a certain extent, but it has no effect on the decomposition of alcohol and the protection of the liver.

If you have to drink regularly, Xiaojiu recommends several methods that can effectively reduce the harm of alcohol to the body:

• Don’t drink on an empty stomach

Alcohol is more likely to be absorbed more quickly when you are on an empty stomach, resulting in people getting drunk easily . Therefore, before drinking, you can eat some high-fat, high-protein, high-carbohydrate foods, such as rice, bread, biscuits, etc., etc., delay The stomach empties, reducing the rate at which alcohol is absorbed.

• Drink in moderation

According to the “Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents”, it is recommended that men drink no more than 25 grams of alcohol a day and women no more than 15 grams, otherwise it will be regarded as excessive drinking.

• Drink slowly

Ethanol after drinking It can enter the bloodstream within minutes, the faster you drink, the faster the ethanol concentration will rise, and you will soon be drunk , so drink as much as possible and drink slowly.

• Drink more water

Drink more water when drinking , which is beneficial to promote the dilution and metabolism of alcohol, and accelerate the excretion of alcohol in the body.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology has clearly pointed out that alcohol is an important carcinogen. There is no so-called “small drink and happiness”. If you want to be healthy, we still hope that everyone should try not to drink alcohol.

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