Rethinking Alcohol: Can Heavy Drinkers Learn To Cut Back? : Shots Health News : NPR - Daddy Tv

Find a health center near you and ask about alcohol misuse screening and counseling. Planning ahead can help you manage situations when you might be tempted to drink too much. Think ahead about how to say “no” if someone offers you a drink. Here are some strategies to help you cut back or stop drinking.

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Keep in mind that the size of the drink and the percent of alcohol makes a difference. For example, many beers are about 5% alcohol, but some have higher percentages of alcohol. And some beers are sold in bigger sizes than the standard 12 ounces. If drinking less or less often than you typically do is something you’re committed to, pull out a pen and paper and write down some concrete goals for yourself. This provides you with the opportunity to create a plan that feels good to you and increases your accountability to those goals.

Adults who choose to drink, and are not among the individuals listed below who should not drink, are encouraged to limit daily intakes to align with the Dietary Guidelines. People who do not drink should not start drinking for any reason. Overall, obesity is a multi-factorial condition and it is difficult to truly assess the independent influence of alcohol intake on obesity risk. The slow development of obesity and multi-faceted nature of this condition really complicates the possibility to show a cause-and-effect association between alcohol consumption and weight gain.

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For example, it may be used to define the risk of illness or injury based on the number of drinks a person has in a week. Consuming moderate amounts of certain types of alcohol, such as wine, has shown some benefits. However, it is important to note that many studies making these claims are inconclusive.

Is moderate drinking good or bad for you?

Drinking in moderation means you’ll likely need to turn down a drink now and again. Planning exactly how you’ll say no—in a quick, polite, and convincing way—can make it easier for you to stick with your convictions and avoid a spiral of uncomfortable excuses. And the same goes for driving or if you need to be alert and able to react to changing situations. A monthly update filled with nutrition news and tips from Harvard experts—all designed to help you eat healthier. Create healthy, balanced meals using this visual guide as a blueprint.

1. This provides you with the opportunity to create a plan that feels good to you and increases your accountability to those goals.
2. It’s fun for some people, but there is no medical reason to do it or health benefit from it.
3. Finally, recommendations for future research are provided to promote a better understanding of the possible obesity-promoting effects of energy intake from alcohol.

Myth: Being able to “hold your liquor” means alcohol is not damaging your body as much.

In the Nurses’ Health Study, the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, and other studies, gallstones 40, 41 and type 2 diabetes 32, 42, 43 were less likely to occur in moderate drinkers than in non-drinkers. A JAMA review of 107 studies published from 1980 to 2021 found that occasional or low-volume drinkers did not have a lower risk of all-cause mortality than lifetime nondrinkers did. But there was a significantly increased risk of mortality among those who had a few drinks per day or more.

Finally, more recently, Cresci et al. 55 found that self-reported alcohol intake was not a significant predictor of success or failure in losing 5% of body weight during a 6-month weight loss intervention. It has also been suggested that individuals who frequently drink moderate amounts of alcohol may enjoy a moderate lifestyle in which exercise and food intake are modulated over the long term to accommodate for alcohol intake 15. While cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have controlled for a number of important lifestyle factors, there are many to consider when examining body weight regulation. It is highly likely that the paradoxical results seen in studies examining the effect of alcohol on weight gain sud counselor meaning and obesity are also the product of a multitude of factors beyond the individual’s ingestion habits. Future research must consider the other important factors that may influence the link between alcohol and obesity, some of which are discussed below. January 26, 2023—Evidence suggests that moderate alcohol consumption may provide some health benefits, including lower risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.