A few hours before the end of the year celebrations, often copiously watered, the British health authorities have drawn up the new guidelines for alcohol consumption. It is now recommended to our neighbors from across the Channel who wish to stay in good health, not to drink more than 3 halves of beer (i.e. a pint and a half) each day, whereas until now the tolerance was two. pints of 4% beer. These rules were developed on the initiative of Britain’s medical advisor, Prof. Dame Sally Davies.
“This means that tonight anyone who drinks a tall glass of wine, or a double gin and tonic or two bottles of 5% alcohol beer will instantly be ‘off limits’ and considered a person at risk.” the detractors reacted immediately.
These recommendations join those of the World Health Organization (WHO) which suggests, for alcohol consumption without physical or mental harm, not to exceed more than two drinks per day for a woman and not more than three for a man (women are more sensitive to alcohol than men) with at least one alcohol-free day per week. WHO has in fact listed more than 200 illnesses linked to alcohol consumption .
A few minutes after consumption, alcohol is carried by the blood throughout our body, especially in the brain. It is then mainly eliminated by the liver (95%) then by urine, sweat, saliva and exhaled air. But before being eliminated, it acts directly on the functioning of the brain (which can cause a black hole), the stomach (hence the vomiting), the liver (hence the migraine), and the sympathetic nervous system.
Before you let go on the bottle tonight, discover in infographic what can be hangover effects.
Read also :
New Year’s Eve: we are not all equal in the face of a hangover
Alcohol: a month of abstinence reduces the risk of serious illnesses
Binge drinking, a poison for the brain
