Eight facts about alcohol

It is a widespread misconception that one glass of red wine a day is good for your heart. The influence of alcohol on our health is actually well studied. One thing is clear: People who drink a glass of red wine for pleasure every now and again needn’t be worried about their health. But you're not doing your health any good.

Systematic reviews of studies involving millions of people show that people who drink a little alcohol do indeed suffer a heart attack somewhat less frequently. However, the opposite is true for all other cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure or arrhythmia. Even moderate alcohol consumption increases their risk.

The main thing to keep in mind is that alcohol can increase our risk of a number of different diseases, including various types of cancer. Accidents also occur more frequently because of alcohol. Overall, it is fair to say that the more alcohol that is involved, the more harmful it is.

It is prejudiced to think that mainly poor and uneducated people drink too much alcohol. In fact, the opposite is true for women. Studies by the Robert Koch Institute show that women with a university-level degree drink risky amounts of alcohol almost twice as often as women who only have a secondary school leaving certificate. A similar trend can be seen amongst men, although the differences between the various educational groups are smaller.

Incidentally, the same is true of age distribution. Drinking behavior in adults differs only slightly, regardless of whether they are 20, 40 or 60 years old.

Alcohol dependence can also be found in all levels of society and education.

Some people assume that drinks with lower alcohol content are less harmful. This is also reflected by the language we use, referring to spirits as “hard liquor.” But experts agree that the overall amount of alcohol consumed is what counts, not the form in which you drink it.

In other words, it doesn't matter whether you drink 300 ml of beer, 125 ml of wine or 40 ml of whiskey; all three drinks contain the same amount of pure alcohol.

Heavy alcohol consumption is sometimes viewed as mainly being a problem in young people. Studies by the Robert Koch Institute show that binge drinking occurs in all age groups, though.

Binge drinking is usually defined as drinking six or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion, such as at a party or during a visit to a bar. That is the equivalent of at least 60 ml of pure alcohol, which is how much is in three large bottles of beer (1.5 l in total) or three large glasses of wine (600 ml in total).

In surveys, 25% of women and over 40% of men in Germany said that they drink that much alcohol at least once a month.

It is a common belief that because alcohol makes you tired, it also helps with sleeping problems. That is not correct. In fact, the opposite is true. People who drink large amounts of alcohol before going to bed often do fall asleep more quickly, but their body doesn't get its nightly rest. Rather than recovering while asleep, the body is busy breaking down the alcohol. That shortens your phases of deep sleep, causing you to sleep restlessly and wake up frequently. Alcohol also makes you more likely to snore, which can be disruptive to your partner.

Not everybody with an alcohol problem gets drunk. Some people drink moderate amounts every day, but don’t manage to go for one day without alcohol. They need a certain amount of alcohol in their blood to prevent withdrawal symptoms. This is referred to as delta alcoholism.

Alcohol problems can come in all shapes and sizes. One decisive factor is whether somebody has lost control of their own drinking behavior or uses alcohol to ignore problems or to get through daily life.

Lots of people do indeed enjoy the taste and stimulating effect of alcohol. People often enough drink for quite different reasons though, for instance

• Because everybody else is drinking and they don't want to stand out, like if a toast is raised at a party. In addition to social pressure, self-image can also play a role among men. They might worry about not seeming manly if they don't drink alcohol. It is also not always easy to turn a drink down. Alcohol is so widespread in our society that it can become a chore to have to say no or explain why you aren't drinking time and again.
• To forget problems: It is not uncommon for people to drink alcohol to forget personal problems or trouble at work for a while. Some people try to calm themselves down that way to be able to get through daily life. Of course, the problems don't just disappear; and the alcohol itself can then become an additional problem. After all, alcohol makes both positive feelings and negative emotions more intense.

Most people know that alcohol is harmful to unborn babies during pregnancy. But it's recommended that breastfeeding mothers and parents of infants steer clear of alcohol for various reasons. The most important reason is that alcohol can be passed on to the baby through the mother’s milk. Alcohol is especially harmful for infants because they can barely break it down.

Studies have also found that consuming larger volumes of alcohol (more than two alcoholic drinks per day) can increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, for instance from falling asleep on the sofa together with the baby.

If parents don’t want to completely avoid alcohol, it makes sense for them to stick to a couple of rules:

• Preferably only drink alcohol on one or two days a week, and limit yourself to 10 grams of alcohol (e.g., 100 ml of wine).
• It is important to wait long enough before breastfeeding so that the alcohol in the breast milk can be broken down again: If a mother has drunk 100 ml of wine, she should wait two to three hours before breastfeeding or expressing milk again. Otherwise, there's a risk of alcohol still being in the breast milk.
• Put the child into the care of a sober person you trust if you do drink a little more alcohol on occasion, for instance the child's grandparents or your partner.