10 myths about alcohol, debunked

Humans have been consuming alcohol for a veritably long time. It has been continuously employed and consumed for artistic, religious, and medical purposes since its commencement. 

All celebration occasions are accompanied by beverages and toasts since, for most people, consuming alcohol is an essential component of leisure. These are only many exemplifications of how this drug affects every aspect of our daily lives, the beer after work, the wine with lunch, and the champagne at night. 

Although its use is widely extended and standardized, the reality is that alcohol is a drug. However, it is a legal drug, so obtaining it is very simple. Just go to a supermarket, gas station, or bar/restaurant to do this.

Although society’s awareness of the harmful effects of alcohol has grown in recent years, its presence in social events continues to be a constant, and most people still do not know how alcohol affects health. Therefore, the consumption pattern has not undergone significant changes.

 

The social problem of alcohol

One of the big problems preventing the population from adopting a more responsible use of alcohol is that many of its adverse effects become visible in the medium and long term. In other words, its harmful nature is not always evident in a short time, and this minimizes the risks associated with consumption.

Many people who have developed health problems after years of drinking alcohol regularly do not even establish a relationship between that habit and the deterioration of their bodies. And it is that, in a certain way, we all fall into certain erroneous beliefs and self-deceptions to justify our alcohol abuse without feeling bad about it. However, a responsible attitude is a key to taking care of our well-being and avoiding future damage.

You have presumably heard a lot of views about alcohol that will indeed impact how you use it. Their maturity of them is false, which may dumbfound you. As a result, we will disband some of the most popular myths about alcohol in this post because being duly informed is the first step in taking care of our health. 

 

What happens when we drink alcohol?

Alcohol is a depressant substance of the central nervous system, categorized in the group of sedatives and other substances such as barbiturates and benzodiazepines. Ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol, is a psychoactive substance in alcoholic beverages.

It is a compound with addictive potential that can be obtained by fermentation (wines, beers…) or distillation (gin, vodka, cognac…). When we consume alcohol, it reaches our brain in a few minutes, which is the organ most affected by this drug. Thus, mood changes occur when we drink, reflexes and ability to concentrate are lost, the average sleep process is altered, reality distortions are produced, and the assimilation of memories is changed.

Coordination problems, loss of vision sharpness, and, in the most severe cases, loss of consciousness can also occur. Added to this, alcohol affects our digestive system, mainly the stomach and liver, and can cause cirrhosis if the abusive consumption of alcohol is prolonged over time. Continued use also impairs cognitive functioning, although prolonged abstinence can reverse the effects.

Even when alcohol intake is moderate, effects such as loss of sexual desire, decreased blood sugar, increased uric acid, skin deterioration, or vitamin reduction can be observed since alcohol only provides empty calories with no nutritional value.

 

Debunking myths about alcohol consumption

We’ll then go over some of the most widespread misconceptions regarding alcohol.

1. If you drink alcohol only on the weekend, it does not harm the body.

The fact that it is drunk only on weekends does not at all rule out the presence of damage to the body. The harm alcohol causes to our bodies varies depending on each person’s usage habits. Thus, the quantity influences because the more doses we ingest, the greater the damage.

In addition, intensity is also essential; the same amount concentrated in a shorter period will be more damaging. Added to this, the psychological aspects that influence consumption can contribute to establishing a habit whereby the person needs to drink to have fun. Thus, this consumption pattern can be generalized to other contexts and moments beyond weekends.

1. Alcohol allows you to be more lively and energetic.

Drinking alcohol does not make us more animated. In fact, it leads us to lose control of our emotions, which can exacerbate what we felt before consuming.

For example, if we find ourselves sad, drinking will only intensify that sadness. On the other hand, alcohol is not energizing but produces more significant fatigue and sleep and makes us lose strength and motor coordination.

1. Alcohol helps us to get warm.

It is true that in the first moments, alcohol can produce a temporary sensation of heat since it has a vasodilator effect. However, the body temperature drops after a short time, and the sense of cold increases. For this reason, when someone has drunk a lot, it is preferable to give them warm clothes.

1. Alcohol feeds

Although alcohol provides many calories, these are empty since there is no nutritional contribution. For this reason, alcohol should not be considered a food since it only favors the increase in fat production in the body.

1. Alcohol is good for the heart.

Although some studies suggest that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of heart disease in adults, this benefit has not been observed in all cases.

1. Alcohol is a facilitator in sexual relations.

Contrary to popular belief, alcohol is not a facilitator in sexual relations. On the contrary, abusing this substance hinders and even prevents sexual relations, as it can lead to impotence problems and other dysfunctions.

1. Those who hold large doses of alcohol are stronger.

There’s a broad notion that heavy alkies.

 Especially men are significantly more robust and further maligned. But this notion is entirely ludicrous. 

 A person’s body can still be harmed if they can consume significant amounts of alcohol without recoiling. In actuality, this is because your threat of alcohol dependence is much increased. After all, you have likely erected up a forbearance to alcohol. 

1. There is a safe dose of alcohol.

It is always said that there is a threshold below which it is safe to consume alcohol. However, this is totally false. There’s no secure quantum of alcohol consumption; thus, the ideal isn’t to consume this substance. 

1. Some alcoholic beverages are better than others.

Although it is often said that some alcoholic beverages are better than others, nothing is further from the truth. Scientific studies have not shown differences between the different types of alcoholic drinks, so none is more recommended than the rest.

1. Alcohol helps mild chronic pain.

People with chronic pain sometimes use alcohol to manage their pain. However, this is not at all a good idea. First of all, alcohol should never be combined with painkillers.

Since patients with chronic pain consume these types of drugs, resorting to alcohol in their case can lead to significant liver problems. Second, continued alcohol use causes tolerance to develop so that more substantial amounts of alcohol will need to be consumed each time to feel the same pain-relieving effects.

Therefore, it is easy to develop an addiction to this substance. Lastly, chronic alcohol consumption can give rise to the opposite effect to that desired and increase pain, especially when suffering from withdrawal symptoms.

Conclusions

Here, we’ve discussed a few widespread misconceptions concerning alcohol. The consumption of alcoholic beverages is very normalized in our society and is present in practically all social events.

Although awareness of the risks of alcohol has increased in recent years, consumption patterns in practice have hardly changed. Thus, many people do not know what specific effects alcohol has on their bodies.

This is partly because many of the damages that this substance produces in our body are not immediate but appear long-term. In addition, numerous erroneous beliefs about alcohol are still assumed to be accurate and condition how it is consumed in all age groups.