Aug 17, 2023 21:00:00

What effect does stopping drinking have on the human body?

Alcohol consumption in Japan is on the decline , with the number of habitual drinkers declining, especially among young men. There is also an increase in demand for non-alcoholic beverages , and the number of people who cut off alcohol is also increasing, but the science media Live Science summarizes what kind of changes will occur in the body when you actually stop drinking alcohol.

What happens to your body when you stop drinking alcohol?
https://www.livescience.com/health/alcohol/what-happens-to-your-body-when-you-stop-drinking-alcohol

The number of American college students reporting abstinence from alcohol has increased by 8% over the past 20 years. Also, according to survey data published in the UK in 2019, 26% of young people aged 16 to 24 who have just grown up answered that they do not drink at all. People stop drinking for a variety of reasons. Some people stop drinking because they are conscious of calories, while others stop drinking to reduce the risk of developing diseases such as liver damage, elevated blood pressure, and cancer.

The 'general drinker' is difficult to define, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men is a ' moderate drink.' defined as 'drinking '. In addition, one cup of alcohol in the definition of CDC seems to refer to `` 350 ml of beer with 5% alcohol content '' or `` 140 ml of wine with 12% alcohol content ''.

In addition, the CDC defines ``heavy drinking in a short time'' as at least 4 drinks in 2-3 hours for women and at least 5 drinks in 2-3 hours for men. In addition, 8 or more drinks per week for women and 15 or more drinks per week for men are defined as 'overdrinking'.

However, a 2014 study found that two-thirds of adult drinkers drink more than 'moderate' at least once a month.

In 2018, the British Medical Journal published

the results of a survey that said, ``People with no history of alcoholism should quit drinking for one month.'' The survey recruited 94 subjects with an average age of 45 and asked them to abstain from alcohol for a month. The subjects were 'moderate to heavy drinkers' who drink about 258g of alcohol per week, which is 18 drinks per week (about 2.6 cups) It seems that it will be calculated that alcohol is ingested.

After a month of abstinence, subjects responded that they experienced a variety of positive health effects, and on average, abstinence lowered blood pressure by 6% and lost weight by about 2.2 pounds (about 1.5 kg). A 25% reduction in insulin resistance, which reflects the risk of developing diabetes, was reported.

Kevin Moore, author of the study and professor of hepatology at the University of London, said: ``Although it wasn't documented in the findings, the participants felt better, were more focused, and slept better. It has been reported that it became, ”he told Live Science.

In addition, it was also revealed that the levels of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which are circulating proteins that promote cancer growth, decreased by about 73% for EGF and about 41% for VEGF. I'm here. About this, Mr. Moore hypothesizes, ``It suggests that alcohol does not cause cancer from the beginning, but once it is established in the body, it promotes the growth of cancer.'' . However, the research team argues that long-term studies in moderate drinkers are needed to test this hypothesis.

Also, it is unknown at the time of writing whether the positive effect of abstinence will persist beyond one month. However, Mr. Moore said, ``It is clear that alcohol has a physiological effect on the body, so it would be surprising if all those effects disappeared,'' saying that the positive effects of abstinence are 1 from the start of abstinence. I'm assuming it will show up in a month or more.

Moore emphasizes that abstinence can help you feel better, sleep better, and improve your physical health, but some drinkers see the downsides of abstinence outweighing these positives. It has been pointed out that there are cases where people are unable to abstain from drinking due to concern (e.g., being unable to perform so-called drinking cations).

The survey by Mr. Moore et al. was targeted at ``drinkers with no history of alcoholism'', but if a person suffering from alcoholism suddenly abstained from drinking one day or drastically reduced the amount of drinking, It should be noted that you may experience withdrawal symptoms.

Because the central nervous system relies heavily on the depressive effects of alcohol, when alcoholic withdrawal symptoms occur, the brain remains in an 'overactive' state, causing anxiety, insomnia, irritability, etc. symptoms, and in some cases hallucinations, seizures, and even death.