End of the debate: is drinking a little every day alcoholism?

After publication Vinegara book in which Jorge Matias tells his story with alcoholismthe author was invited this week Public mirror talk about your case. This might have been a wise and informative decision, if not for the fact that one of the commentators on the program decided to downplay Matthias’s words, insisting that his case would be something extreme, but that drinking three beers a day was even healthy. It is logical that the controversy on social networks did not take long to arise. Comments are divided between those who support this hypothesis and those who believe it is not. wrong and dangerous.

The question also arose about what exactly be an alcoholic. Do you need to drink a certain number of drinks per day to qualify as one? Is it an exaggeration to call a person who drinks only one glass of wine a day an alcoholic? What happens to three beers from the Espejo Público talk show host?

With science in hand, the quick answer to all of these questions is that there is no such thing as a healthy dose of alcohol. Obviously, drinking a liter at one time will be more dangerous than just beer. But drink a day not without risk. Therefore, messages like the one from the Espejo Público talk show host are very dangerous. Let’s leave the good: as a result of this discussion, everyone started talking about alcoholism. Now we just need to have a clear understanding of scientific concepts to put an end to the debate.

False myth about a glass of wine

There has long been talk that a glass of wine a day can be good for your health. Even doctors have recommended this in the past. There is actually a scientific basis for this.

Wine contains three substances with proven health benefits: procyanidins, tannins and resveratrol. The first two are connections. antioxidants. This means they prevent cellular oxidation, a natural process in our bodies in which some atoms tend to steal electrons from others, destabilizing them and preventing the molecules containing them from working properly. For example, it is very dangerous when the atoms that make up DNA are affected by oxidation. Compounds called antioxidants are naturally generated in our cells and help curb this dangerous process.

The problem is that as we age or are exposed to harmful processes such as sunlight, tobacco or alcohol (yes, alcohol), natural antioxidants no longer cope. External intake of antioxidants is of interest at this stage. Many foods contain them, from broccoli to peas. But it cannot be denied that they are also found in wine, especially red.

For resveratrol, This is a substance that appears to prevent cellular aging, cancer and cardiovascular disease. This has been proven in some studies of supplementation with this compound, although not all of them were conclusive.

One thing is clear: none of these substances are found in wine in sufficient quantities to provide adequate benefits. Moreover, even if they were, harm from alcohol significantly outweigh the benefits.

For this reason, it is now more than obvious that a glass of wine is generally useless.

There is no safe amount of alcohol

In recent years, many studies have been conducted showing that there is no safe amount of alcohol. One of them, published in 2018, stands out among Lancet led by an international team more than 500 researchers.

The study reviewed 694 databases and 592 studies, with information from 195 countries. between 1990 and 2016. From all this scientific literature, we can conclude that there is no safe dose of alcohol.

In fact, these scientists did something very innovative. They made no distinction between fermented drinks such as beer and wine and distilled drinks such as whiskey and rum. They were just testing the effects 10 grams of pure ethyl alcohol. They correspond to a glass of wine, a pint of beer or a glass of whiskey. In all cases, if this daily dose of alcohol is taken for a long time, the likelihood of developing cirrhosis of the liver, cardiovascular disease and cancer increases significantly.

It is not worth taking risks in search of any benefit, since in 2020 it was published in Spanish Journal of Public Health study which concluded that there is no scientific evidence that alcohol provides any protection against emergence of cancer and cardiometabolic or neurodegenerative diseases.

However, we already know that drinking even one beer a day is useless. But we still have a question. Can this be considered alcoholism?

Psychology of alcohol and alcoholism

There are those who believe that although alcohol does not benefit us physically, it can lead to psychological benefits. It can even be compared to eating cake. You’re eating that piece of cake for your mental health, even though you know it’s unhealthy.

The thing is, we’re not usually talking about one single glass per week. This is also not useful and does not bring anything but harm to the body, but if you do it consciously, understanding that this is an unhealthy decision, but meditated, there shouldn’t be a big problem. At least we can’t consider it alcoholism.

The problem with all this is that if we say we drink for mental health, no matter how small the dose, we may be suffering from alcoholism without realizing it. Definitions of alcoholism are usually They do not include the amount of alcohol consumed.

It is usually defined as an inability to control drinking habits. This habit of drinking alcohol is quite possible drink two glasses of wine daily or drink beer every day after work.

There is even a concept of weekend alcoholism. We are talking about periodic consumption, since these people They usually don’t drink anything from Monday to Friday.. On the other hand, when the weekend comes, they cannot refuse to drink the beer or drinks to which they are already accustomed.

Alcoholism is also considered a situation in which alcohol-oriented habits already exist. A glass of wine every night when you prepare dinner, or a beer when leaving the office.

“I couldn’t drink, and I don’t want to.” If someone says this, even if they only drink one glass of wine a day, by some definitions it could be considered alcoholism. Because you have decided that wine is a part of your life. To feel good in certain situations, you need alcohol. We may just like the taste of alcoholic drinks, but that’s usually not the point. This is something social, almost ritual.

A number that doesn’t exist

For him National Institute on Alcoholism In the United States, a person is considered at risk of abuse if he or she drinks more than three drinks per day. Four for men. And all this without taking into account the fact that each person’s tolerances can make the figure significantly lower. Let’s not forget that talk show host Espejo Público assured that drinking three bottles of beer a day is good for your health.

Making such statements can be very dangerous. The brave and informative work that Jorge Matias has done in his book is sullied by these hackneyed statements and lack of scientific evidence. Let’s hope that the next time a television program decides to choose their guests so well, they do the same with their talk show hosts.