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First in the video: Abstaining from alcohol repairs the body - after a short time
Have you ever said to someone on their birthday: Let's celebrate with a cigarette? Certainly not. With alcohol, however, we are much more liberal. A team of researchers has now calculated why this is profoundly nonsensical.
Many people are currently committing this. In order to then go over the top again at Carnival at the latest. Why do we still find it so difficult to give up alcohol? Or better asked the other way around: Why is it so easy for us to consume alcohol?
When it comes to cigarettes, at least there seems to be some kind of rethinking taking place. Fewer young people are turning to cigarettes. The trend towards not smoking continues, as does theFederal Center for Health Educationwrites. The number of people who have never smoked in their life rose to 83 percent among 12 to 17 year olds and to 47 percent among 18 to 25 year olds.
Unfortunately, things are different when it comes to alcohol. You still have to justify or at least explain yourself if you don't drink beer, wine or cocktails at social events.
Unfortunately, both drugs, because they are both drugs, are treated completely differently in society. While smokers are increasingly stigmatized, this remains relatively unthinkable for people who consume alcohol. Unless someone overdoes it. Then of course there is a lot of uproar.
People say: “Good luck” and cheerfully toast each other. Something you would never say over a cigarette like the best-selling authorBass Kast, who wrote a book on the subject (Bas Kast, “Why I don’t drink alcohol anymore”, e.ghereavailable at Thalia*), once said in an interview. For good reason.
Read at Onmeda.de:Alcoholism: signs, causes and treatment
Researchers compare cancer risk of alcohol with that of cigarettes
For everyone who still has difficulty becoming aware of the harmfulness of alcohol, there is now a good, visual comparison. In order to make the public more vigilant, a British research team has...University Southampton, the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and Bangor University calculated how much cancer risk lies in alcohol - by converting the risk into cigarettes.
Because the cancer risk of alcohol is comparable to that of cigarettes. Therefore, the research team used the published figures on the cancer risks for alcohol and tobacco to calculate the following formula: Men who drink a bottle of wine a week would have a comparable cancer risk as if they had smoked five cigarettes a week. For women, this even means that they...one bottle of wine per week, have the same risk of cancer as if theyten cigarettes a weekwould smoke.
What do the experts recommend?
How harmful alcohol really is has only become clearer in recent years. Because only now has it been said: The myth of one healthy glass of wine does not exist. For a long time it was said that a moderate consumption of one or two small glasses of beer or wine per day was reasonably healthy or at least not harmful. The assessment has clearly changed.
DieGerman Society for Nutrition(DGE) clearly recommends abstinence today. If you don't want to give up alcohol completely, you should follow the DGE's assessment that one or two drinks per week are at least low-risk.
This new assessment is based on the “calculations ofCanadian Centre on Substance Use and Addictionfrom 2023 as well as data taken into accountGlobal Burden of Disease Studyfrom 2022″, like thatDGEwrites. For the Canadian authorities' report, research findings from recent years were reassessed and the new, stricter recommendations were arrived at. (-> you can read more about it here:)
Those tooWorld Health OrganizationWHO states clearly: “There is no form of alcohol consumption that is risk-free. Even low levels of alcohol consumption carry risks and can be harmful.”
Women in particular have an increased risk
And women in particular should be particularly strict here, because for them the limit of low-risk drinking is well below the limit for men. A woman who drinks three to six small glasses of wine or beer per week already has onemeasurably increased risk of breast cancerto get sick. At the same dose, there is also an increased risk of colon cancer in men and women. Abstinence ultimately helps the whole body, because all organs suffer from alcohol consumption.
If you find it difficult to go straight to zero alcohol, you should at least try to drink in a low-risk way. Because you can definitely drink a glass of alcohol every now and then - but you should be aware of the risks and keep consumption as low as possible.
Maybe the comparison with the less socially accepted cigarettes will help at the next social gathering and you can grab a non-alcoholic drink. And by the way: There are also very tasty non-alcoholic cocktails, types of beer and even white wine tastes quite acceptable with zero percent alcohol. -> Here for inspiration:The best alternatives:.
-> Book tip:Daniel Schreiber: Sober, for examplehereavailable from Thalia*.
Other health topics:
Help & Advice:If you feel like you're drinking too much, it may make sense to talk to your doctor. If this makes you uncomfortable, you can also contact themAddiction & drug hotlinethe federal government01806 313031(chargeable. €0.20 per call from landline and mobile networks) turn around.
