Alcoholic beverages are far from being the last among food products. Friends, important dates, happy and sad, even just to increase the appetite, it all goes with the use of alcohol. However, intoxicating drinks differ in strength content, which does not produce a positive effect on a person. Therefore, you need to know which alcohol is least harmful to the body.
Classification of hazards related to alcohol
Any food that contains at least 1. 5% ethyl alcohol is alcoholic. Ethanol drinks are systematized by the level of C₂H₅OH, the type of raw materials used, the type of production and the aging criteria.
Alcohol:
- low content - beer, wine;
- high: vodka, sugarcane rum, gin, grain whiskey, grape brandy and more.
All drinks are made from different kinds of raw materials.
The first can be divided into the following categories:
- made from grapes: cognac, wine, Italian grappa;
- grains: whiskey, beer groups, vodka;
- fruits and berries - apple calvados, liquor, liquor;
- herbal - balsam, rum, Mexican tequila, absinthe.
Each alcoholic beverage has its own ethanol content.
The presence of the latter can be divided like this:
- high - from 67 to 96% of the container volume;
- normal - from 31 to 66;
- average - from 9 to 30;
- low: from 1, 5 to 9.
The last line includes everyone's favorite beer, national products with low alcohol content, kvass, palm toddy, shandy.
Medium ethanol drinks are represented by wine, mulled wine, punch, mead.
The upper echelon is occupied by vodka, armagnac, tequila, rum, absinthe and other intoxicating liquids. Drinking ethyl alcohol is the leader. The volume of alcohol reaches 95%.
It is believed that the main harm to health is caused by the degree of the drink, however, using weak products containing alcohol, it can cause no less harm than strong ones.
Characteristics of less harmful alcohol
Judgments about intoxicating liquids vary considerably. Some nutritionists argue that drinking beverages is healthy, while others are unhealthy.
The criteria for least harmful alcohol include the following factors:
- The quality grade.
- The amount of ethanol.
- Flavor additions.
- Performance.
According to medical experts, vodka is considered less harmful to health. Of course, this condition is met with minimal use.
This conclusion is conditioned by the following factors:
- low calorie content;
- absence of a harmful carbonyl group;
- for the simplicity of an alcoholic liquid: water with alcohol.
A good quality product almost never causes a hangover. But this does not mean that you can drink vodka without measure. To avoid poisoning, fatty foods should be a snack.
However, experts characterize authentic grape wines as the least safe alcohol in relation to the liver. The fruit of the bush has no harmful residues. If you do not separate the skin from the berries, you get a red wine, recognized as the most beneficial for health.
This is due to the fact that the vitamins in the shell pass into a liquid alcoholic medium, they saturate the body with microelements, nitrogenous organic compounds.
Antioxidants improve the functioning of the circulatory system and rejuvenate cells. Wine is successfully used to isolate its extract, which is used for the manufacture of injections and various cosmetics.
The effect of alcohol on the body
Alcohol is considered one of the most powerful and harmful poisons and is equated to a drug. In addition to addiction, an intoxicating drink adversely affects the work of external and internal human organs. By gradually killing cells, alcohol contributes to the development of many chronic pathologies.
Table of the negative effects of alcohol on the main human organs:
| Internal organs and systems | Effect of alcoholic beverages |
|---|---|
| GIT | • destruction of the small intestine; • doctors often heal a laryngeal burn; • development of duodenal ulcers; • chronic gastritis; • the work of the digestive tract is interrupted; • Food is deposited as toxins and begins to break down. |
| Liver | The cells of this organ are the most susceptible to the influence of alcohol, as it participates in processing and division at the molecular level. However, this is not the main function of the liver. After a short time, their wear occurs, their size decreases. In the end, the body will not be able to eliminate toxins. Diseases of this organ cause brain pathologies and death. |
| Vessels and heart | • an increase in the size of the heart muscle; • scars; • myocardial infarction; • death. |
| Nervous system | Alcohol quickly dissolves fat, which is 60% found in nerve cells. Thus, C₂H₅OH molecules are actively absorbed, deposited, which leads to excitation of the central nervous system, and the body relaxes. As a result, intoxication occurs. Over time, alcohol builds up and slows down nerve endings. |
| Reproductive function | The effect of alcohol on the male body: • decreased sperm motility; • sexual impotence; • infertility. Risks of alcohol use in women: • failure of the menstrual cycle; • narrowing of the fallopian tubes; • reduction of the uterus; • the egg does not have time to mature; • infertility. |
| Brain activity | Even a supposedly permissible dose of alcohol (50 grams per day) kills several 1000 neurons in the brain. This impact cannot be reversed. Ethanol causes red blood cells to stick, as a result of which capillary blockage develops. Also, cells die and oxygen starvation occurs. |
| Respiratory system | Alcohol use is associated with the following lung diseases: • arrhythmia; • chronic diseases; • hypertension; • tuberculosis; • Swelling. |
| Kidneys | The kidneys suffer the most damage from drinking alcohol, because under the influence of alcohol they are forced to work several times harder to eliminate toxins. |
| Immune system | The damage to the immunity of alcohol lies in the deficiency of essential vitamins, macro and microelements. Also, dehydration, increased work of other organs and systems do not allow protective forces to restore human health. |
Liver and alcohol
The most susceptible to alcoholic beverages is the liver. It processes 90% of the fluids used by humans, including harmful ones. The cells of the organ die rapidly, are replaced by fat, the ducts contract, and the body is significantly reduced in size.
The condition leads to the formation of an incurable disease: alcoholic cirrhosis. The internal organ does not perform an antitoxic function, which leads to the slow death of a person. Any drink that contains alcohol is harmful as it includes additional harmful components.
The following table summarizes some of them:
| Beer | The most harmful alcoholic drink. There is a diuretic effect that increases the content of poison in the blood. |
| Cocktails and energy |
These foods include many food additives, colorings that have a negative effect on the liver. |
| Shiny wine |
Carbon dioxide increases the absorption of alcohol in the digestive tract, exceeding the permissible norm. |
| Sweet liquor drinks |
Contains a lot of sucrose, which increases the load on the liver. |
Considering the application, we can say that absent alcoholic beverages do not have a strong effect on the liver, regardless of their potency or production characteristics.
The effect of alcohol on the stomach
Alcohol is a chemical that is almost completely absorbed by the body, but intensifies the production of harmful active oxygen groups. The element oxidizes cell tissue, organs of the digestive tract.
Even a small amount of alcohol consumed causes the stomach to produce high levels of acid, which later develops into gastritis, causing vomiting, diarrhea and internal bleeding. A similar condition can lead to cancers of the oral cavity, nasopharynx, tongue, and pancreas.
The least harmful result of drinking is reflux, which burns the mucous membrane of the larynx produced by acid. The appearance of an ulcer, a painful open wound on the inner walls of the stomach, is another fact of excessive consumption of an intoxicated drink.
The condition makes it difficult to digest food, disrupts the metabolic process. Alcohol reduces the amount of digestive enzymes that the pancreas produces for the breakdown of fats and carbohydrates.
Alcohol and the brain
The described central part of the nervous system is the most efficient consumer of oxygen. Excessive alcohol consumption interferes with O2access to gray matter nerve cells due to poisoning.
The result is dementia, which causes massive neuronal death. Heavy consumption of the intoxicated drink affects the cells of the cerebral cortex, resulting in brain depletion.
The effect of alcohol on the pancreas
This organ does not contain enzymes that break down alcohol, so harmful drinks directly affect the pancreas. Here, protein plugs are formed, which retain calcium, which is expressed through stone formation and leads to pancreatitis.
Molecules from the alcoholic environment contribute to damage to gland cells. Preceding the chronic alcoholic disease, an increasing number of proteins in the food juice. The latter obstructs the small excretory channels of the organ, which promotes the proliferation of connective tissue with scars - fibrosis.
Kidney and alcohol
A person who drinks has an altered excretory process of the kidneys, which regulates their activity. The adrenal system constantly malfunctions, the protective tissue of the hollow organ, which covers its inner layer, is disturbed.
Dysbacteriosis as a result of alcohol intake
The presence of the described pathology completely prohibits the use of alcoholic beverages. The latter and carbonated, lead to inflammatory processes on the intestinal surface. The use of alcoholic beverages is also not recommended in the treatment of dysbiosis, which is due to the lack of results of therapy.
Alcohol accelerates the passage of biological barriers, which explains the passage of toxins from the intestines, digested proteins that are true allergens.
Additional properties of less harmful alcoholic beverages
Various food additives present in the intoxicating drink aggravate the effect of alcohol. To make alcohol less harmful to the liver and other internal organs, it should be consumed with natural ingredients, not synthetic.
Sugar
The sweet substance is found in many alcoholic products: liquor, sparkling wines, intoxicating cocktails. Products are characterized by a high caloric content, which increases the load on the human body.
Harmful viscous alcohol is not recommended for people who have:
- overweight;
- removed the gallbladder;
- pathology of the pancreas.
People who have liver disease, hepatitis, should not drink like this.
Pressure increase
The effects of wine drinks are not yet fully understood. Contains organic substances, amino acids, various tannins. Red wine increases the nitrogen content, causing vasodilation and increased blood flow. Therefore, after using it, the pressure decreases.
However, the alcoholic effect lasts quickly, the heart muscle begins to increase contractions, expelling new portions of blood, leading to increased pressure.
Rules of use
A person has the right to calculate the highest daily dose of alcohol that will not have a strong negative effect on the body. The formula looks like this:
20: 0. 966: by drink grade × 100.
Based on calculations, you can indicate the allowed volume of alcohol consumed in ml:
- vodka - 51;
- enriched wine - 103;
- dry, normal - 172;
- beer - 415.
If a person does not want to give up her addictions, she can drink 20 grams a day. pure alcohol, which does not have a pronounced effect on the liver. However, it is recommended to adhere to the following rule: you should not drink alcohol more than twice a week.
The only exception is real dry red wines. A man can drink 50 g of the drink a day, a woman 30.
Alcohol Evaluation
The harmful effects of alcohol have been known to mankind for hundreds of years. Once in the body, ethanol breaks it down. The strength of the poisoning depends on both the amount of poisoning and its type. Below are the most harmful alcoholic beverages in the ranking.
Vodka
The familiar male drink is in the last step. There are no colorants, flavorings or other harmful additives here. Vodka can be called the best dietary alcoholic product. But this does not mean drinking without measure or mixing with cocktails.
However, vodka has drawbacks:
- frequent poisoning;
- higher usage;
- commercial companies often sell a substitute, a fake.
Hangover is rated three out of 10.
Wine
The described drink can be attributed to a drug.
The benefits of red wine include:
- prevents the formation of blood clots, all kinds of inflammation;
- reduces the concentration of harmful cholesterol;
- resveratrol- natural phytoalexin, antioxidant that resists aging of the body.
Disadvantages are the presence of harmful methanol. Overuse causes severe hangovers.
White wine is less healthy, but it reduces cholesterol concentration due to chemical compounds. The liquid grape medium is saturated with harmful sulphites, which are added by the manufacturer of the product, which causes serious toxic symptoms that appear after 3 glasses of alcohol. It causes allergic reactions, asthma, migraines, dental diseases.
Alcoholic signs of intoxication are scored with 6 points.
Liquor
These products are medium and strong. The great presence of sugar leads to its use in the preparation of cocktails.
Typically denotes the following types:
- Fortified: up to 45% alcohol, 50% sugar.
- Dessert - 30-30%, respectively.
- Creams - 15-23-60%.
The advantages of this type of hops are sweetness, the content of useful ingredients of herbs, plant roots, flowers.
The downside is high sugar, high calorie content, sometimes causing allergies, an unpleasant feeling in the stomach.
Cognac
The intoxicated drink contains a minimum amount of harmful food additives, has a vasodilatory effect and causes the death of some pathogenic microbes. The daily intake should not exceed 50 ml, women - 30.
Advantages:
- elimination of gastric spasms;
- without additives;
- appetite stimulation;
- normalization of blood pressure;
- humility of headaches.
The disadvantages are inherent in a large number of restrictions: hypertension, addiction, diabetes, high calorie content. Increased use leads to acute vascular insufficiency.
Alcohol syndrome - 8 units.
Beer
Alcohol is made from barley with additives (hops, yeast).
Positive indicator: low harmful ethanol 3-8 °, as well as the following factors:
- prevents the development of coronary heart disease;
- silicon restores bones;
- removes aluminum salts, other metals, carcinogens;
- helps hair growth;
- low calorie content;
- thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic, nicotinic acid.
A mug of beer with alcohol contains a quarter of the daily value of vitamins B.
Negative factors:
- increased uric acid leads to the development of gout;
- inhibits digestion due to its easy absorption;
- cobalt causes inflammation of the esophagus and stomach.
Frequent use of this type of alcoholic beverage causes obesity and heart disease.
Sparkling wines
Champagne is next. The antioxidants present restore nerve fibers, the chemical composition has a bactericidal effect, promotes blood circulation, reduces harmful cholesterol and dilates blood vessels.
However, there is rapid intoxication, due to the presence of carbon dioxide bubbles, contributes to the appearance of liver pathologies, slows down digestion.
Alcohol Hangover - 7.
Whiskey
There is a medical opinion that the product slows the development of malignant tumors. However, excessive use leads to mental disorders, rage, delirium tremens.
The totality of alcohol symptoms - 8 units.
Brandy
Continue the list with brandy. The intoxicating vibe of the drink contains a host of aging-slowing antioxidants, ascorbic acid. Due to the numerous impurities, the most serious alcohol poisoning is observed: 9.
Alcoholic cocktails
The presence of alcohol, gas, sugar creates a mixture dangerous to health. The latter provokes rapid intoxication, saturates the blood, as a result of which there is a dynamic absorption of glucose.
Energy
The most harmful alcohol is energy drinks that contain C₂H₅OH. A strong alcoholic liquid together with them causes tangible damage to internal organs. Aggression increases, suicidal tendencies, loss of consciousness is observed.
The choice of alcoholic beverages is recommended those in which the alcoholic content is less harmful to health. These are natural red and white wines.