Medical experts debate value of alcohol use_美文

Medical experts debate value of alcohol use

Dr. Kowalchuk says that to get the health benefits linked to alcohol, men and women should limit their drinking even more.

“Pretty much all the literature that I’ve seen really shows that when you go above about one drink on average per day for women and two drinks on average per day for men younger than sixty-five, you start negating all of those positive health benefits.”

She also says staying within those limits is considered safe or non-hazardous drinking.

“For misuse you’re drinking above those limits, but you haven’t had a lot of consequences from your drinking. Once you get to abuse you start having consequences and despite the consequences you keep using. So that’s the hallmark of abuse, to continue using for at least a year despite having maybe a DUI (drinking under the influence), a health consequence, a work consequence or a family consequence.”

And, she says, alcohol dependency is further marked by a complete loss of control over alcohol use.

Kim Dennis is medical director of the Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center in Illinois. She notes another consideration when talking about alcohol limits.

“When we talk about an alcoholic beverage, we need to be very clear about what we’re talking about because many of my patients at Timberline Knolls would consider a thirty-two ounce glass of beer one alcoholic beverage. And when we talk about having one alcoholic beverage, we’re referring specifically to twelve ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or one and a half ounces of hard liquor.”