What Is Your Relationship With Alcohol? The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Alcohol is one of those substances that can have both positive and negative effects on the body, with the latter manifesting much more often.

Yes, getting drunk can make you feel good for a couple of hours, but there are many things going on in the backend, which you simply can’t feel until it’s too late.

In this article, we’re going to give you insight on drinking, how much is too much, what the word “moderation” means, and even, when drinking in moderation can also be bad.

Why Do We Get Drunk?

When consuming alcoholic beverages, your liver starts breaking it down, utilizing a flurry of powerful enzymes.

Enzymes are basically molecules that speed up the rate of chemical reactions occurring in your body.

The state we refer to as “drunkenness” occurs when you consume alcohol faster than you can break it down.

Now, the body can break down one standard drink per hour and in most cases, people go way above that.

However, given that getting drunk is one of the purposes of drinking alcohol in the first place, an important question comes to mind...

How Much Is Too Much?

Whether we’re talking about alcohol, water, food, or anything else that you put in the body, moderation should be one of your main rules of thumb.

Specifically for alcohol, the dietary guidelines for Americans define drinking in moderation, as having 1 drink and 2 drinks per day, for females and males, respectively.

It is important to note here that a “drink” is usually defined as a 350 ml beer, not a big whiskey!

Certainly, consuming harsh alcohol on a daily basis will manifest alcohol’s side effects much quicker than a beer or two.

When Is Moderation Bad?

If you are generally healthy, and have good nutritional, sleeping and training habits, having alcohol in moderation will have little to no side effects.

However, in certain cases, even low alcohol consumption may have certain side effects.

Try and avoid alcohol, if you:

1. Are you about to participate in physical activities

2. Take medication that interacts with alcohol

3. Have a health condition that may worsen with alcohol consumption

4. Find it difficult to control your alcohol intake after you start drinking

5. Are trying to have kids (alcohol may worsen the function of your reproductive system)

Things to Remember

Alcohol consumption is often linked to binge drinking and a very prominent state of drunkenness.

And while getting piss drunk regularly will inevitably lead to certain side effects, the fact of the matter is that alcohol, in moderation can not do that much harm. If you are a generally healthy individual, you don’t really have to cut out alcohol altogether.

Just make sure to consume the right alcohol, in the right amounts and always, have it lay on top of some quality, nutritious food!