What to Avoid
Bottom’s Up!
As far as health is concerned it’s often perceived that ‘a little bit of everything is good for you’, but surely there are limits to the meaning of ‘everything’? Can you go as far as to say that junk food, alcohol and even drugs are good for you so long as you have just the right amount?
Alcohol is the most widely used drug in our society. It is easily available, most people never think of it as a drug and if it is consumed to excess it can have a very damaging effect on the human body. Alcohol plays a large part in modern society, being considered the best ‘ice-breaker’ around. Alcohol boosts your confidence, your ego. Alcohol allows you to do things you wouldn’t dream of doing normally, alcohol takes rationality right out of the equation. But surely diminishing rationality is risky business?
Alcohol is a sedative-depressant of the central nervous system, meaning it succeeds in slowing down your reactions and making things ‘a little hazy’ so to speak. Alcohol obstructs the livers ability to process fat leading to liver toxicity and disease and drinking alcohol on a regular basis can result in alcohol dependence and abuse. So how can you tell when you’re drinking too much?
The NHS has come up with a ‘tool’ which allows you to calculate how much alcohol you are consuming and whether it is too much. You just answer a number of questions concerning your relationship with alcohol and you are given an immediate result, as well as advice on what to do if you are consuming too much alcohol.
The NHS ‘tool’ can be found at: www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Alcoholcalculator.aspx
Some facts about alcohol:
- Alcohol features in almost a third of all UK divorce proceedings, which means one or both partner's drinking habits have contributed to the break up.
- 13,000 violent incidents take place outside UK bars, pubs or licensed premises, every week. Most are alcohol-related.
- An average 12% of males and 7% of females in the 16-19 age group show signs of alcohol dependency.
- Alcohol related reasons and excuses are responsible for roughly 14 million lost working days in the UK every year.
- Booze features in almost 40% of all domestic violence incidents in the UK.
Worried about more than alcohol abuse?
The NHS also provides information on stopping smoking, see:
- www.nhs.uk/smokefree
If you’re concerned about drug abuse or drug addiction, there are websites designed to give advice and help your circumstances. Try:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/drug-misuse
Or:
www.talktofrank.com