The holidays are upon us and it is time for festivities and families. Sometimes mixed in will include egg nog, orange juice and champagne, wine and beer. From a medical standpoint, caution should be practiced if alcohol can start to interfere with your health.
Liver damage, high blood pressure, increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, and diabetes can result from a long history of high intake of alcohol. So the question is, “What is too much?”
Both the National Institutes of Health, and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse, and Alcoholism (NIAAA) have definitions for what constitutes “at risk drinking.” From a medical standpoint, a drink is 14 grams of pure alcohol which is 1.5 oz of liquor, 5 oz of wine, or 12 oz of beer.
At risk drinking is more than 14 drinks a week for men or more than 2 drinks a day. For women more than 7 drinks per week and more than one per day.
At-risk drinking doesn’t necessarily cause health problems, but chronic and daily at-risk drinking can start to damage the organs.
If you think you have a problem check out www.niaaa.nih.gov
Some questions to ask yourself if you feel you may be at-risk include:
- Have you felt the need to cut down on your drinking?
- Have you ever felt annoyed when people criticize your drinking?
- Have you ever felt guilty about drinking?
- Do you need to drink in the morning for an eye-opener?
Answering yes to 2 or more questions should point you in the direction to seek medical help. If you have any questions please email runsinthewynd@gmail.com
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