Drinking can prevent frostbite and warm the body? Don’t believe these 6 drinking rumors!

When eating, you can't help but drink a few glasses of wine when your relatives and friends urge you to drink. Some people even say that drinking in moderation is good for cardiovascular health. Is this true? Let's take stock of some common rumors.

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Rumor 1: A glass of wine before bed is good for your health and beauty

Many people say that a glass of red wine before bed can soften blood vessels and improve skin color . However, this long-standing health-preserving method is actually unreliable.

Some people say that "drinking alcohol can invigorate blood circulation and remove blood stasis". In fact, alcohol dilates blood vessels and accelerates blood flow , which can speed up blood circulation to a certain extent; but at the same time it also increases the stress burden on the heart and even irritates blood vessels . For people who already have blood circulation disorders, such as coronary heart disease or hypertension, alcohol stimulation may induce blood pressure out of control, and even secondary cardiovascular and cerebrovascular hemorrhage or infarction.

So, is red wine healthier than white wine and beer? Not necessarily . Red wine fermented from grapes contains a certain amount of tannin , which has a certain protective effect on blood lipids and cardiovascular system . In this sense, red wine is indeed more suitable than white wine and beer. But the problem is that not all red wines contain tannin, and the content is also affected by the variety. In other words, the protective effect of tannin in red wine is difficult to offset the harmful effects of alcohol in red wine on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems .

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Therefore, no matter what kind of alcohol you drink, no matter what occasion you are in, you should control your drinking . The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016) clearly states that both men and women should quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption. Men should not drink more than 25 grams of alcohol per day, and women should not drink more than 15 grams. For example, men are advised to control their consumption of liquor to less than half a liang, and if they drink beer, they should not drink more than one bottle (500 ml). Of course, it is best not to drink at all.

Myth 2: Drinking before bed can help you sleep

Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant , and its effect on the entire brain gradually increases. Drinking a small amount of alcohol has a mild excitatory effect on the central nervous system. People often feel refreshed after drinking, which may be the reason why people often say "alcohol can relieve sorrow." If the amount of alcohol consumed increases further, it will inhibit the function of the cerebral cortex, weaken a person's judgment, memory, reasoning ability and self-control, make a person lose the ability to recognize and reason , and make a person 's movements slower and less responsive . As alcohol is metabolized and decomposed in the body, its inhibitory effect on the central nervous system gradually weakens, leading to insomnia . Therefore, drinking before bed not only fails to help you sleep, but will harm your sleep health .

Drinking alcohol can cause many harms to the human body. Excessive drinking can cause damage to brain nerve cells, leading to chronic cognitive damage, manifested as serious memory problems for recent events , loss of sense of direction, inability to learn new knowledge, etc. Excessive drinking can lead to alcohol poisoning and endanger life . Long-term and heavy drinking can cause gastrointestinal ulcers or edema and bleeding , and can directly damage the liver and even lead to cirrhosis , which is one of the important causes of death in alcoholics. Alcohol can also cause arrhythmias and increase the risk of diseases such as hypertension and stroke. In addition, alcohol has direct harm to the reproductive system and fetus. Alcohol can reduce fertility, and excessive drinking may cause amenorrhea in women. Drinking a lot during pregnancy can cause fetal malformations. After falling asleep after drinking, the symptoms of sleep apnea may be aggravated, and even suffocation may occur .

In general, drinking before bed does not increase the total sleep time , but instead reduces the overall sleep quality . Therefore, the claim that drinking alcohol improves sleep is completely wrong.

Rumor 3: Drinking alcohol can prevent frostbite

In response to this statement, we first need to understand how frostbite is formed.

China has a vast territory, and there are many types of frostbite. The so-called chilblain is a non-freezing frostbite , which is more common in the Yangtze River Basin than in the north. It is caused by long-term exposure of hands or feet to cold and humid conditions (generally more than 12 hours). The reason may be the effect of low temperature and humidity , which causes blood vessels to be in a state of contraction or spasm for a long time, followed by continuous expansion of blood vessels, blood stasis, extravasation of blood cells and body fluids, local oozing, congestion, edema, etc. Some capillaries and even small arteries and veins will develop thrombosis after being damaged, and in severe cases, blisters and skin necrosis may occur.

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After suffering from non-freezing frostbite, there will be cold and needle-like pain , pale skin, blisters, and after removing the blisters, the wound surface will be red and exudate, and erosion or ulcers will form after infection. The reason why it is easy to relapse may be related to the reduced resistance of the local skin after the disease.

In view of the formation mechanism of frostbite, in order to prevent it scientifically, we should follow the principle of cold and water protection . For those who have suffered from frostbite, especially children, they should pay attention to keeping their hands, feet, ears, etc. warm in cold seasons, and apply anti-frostbite cream . After frostbite occurs, if the local epidermis is not eroded, frostbite cream can be applied, and if there is erosion or ulcer, antibacterial and corticosteroid ointment should be used.

It seems that there is no scientific basis for drinking alcohol to prevent frostbite . Moreover, drinking alcohol will cause the human body's blood vessels to dilate, thereby increasing the body's heat loss. In addition, after drinking, people's sensitivity to temperature decreases , and they may even not pay attention to antifreeze, which will lead to serious consequences .

Myth 4: Moderate drinking is good for cardiovascular health

There has been a saying on the Internet that "moderate drinking is good for cardiovascular health", but is this statement correct?

In fact, as early as 2018, The Lancet published a study on drinking and disease, which analyzed 694 data sources on individual and group drinking from 195 countries and regions between 1990 and 2016, as well as 592 studies on the risks of alcohol intake. The results showed that the safest amount of alcohol is zero , that is, not drinking is the healthiest approach .

In addition, in the list of carcinogens published by the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol is classified as a "class 1 carcinogen" along with salted fish, moldy food, etc., which means substances that are certain to cause cancer . Therefore, the statement that "moderate drinking is good for cardiovascular health" is not credible.

Myth 5: Drinking alcohol can warm you up

I often hear that drinking alcohol can "warm up the body". Is this true?

In fact, alcohol stimulates the capillaries on the surface of the body , causing the blood vessels to expand and the blood to flow faster . The blood stored in organs such as the liver will also flow to the surface of the body, and people will naturally feel the surface of the body is hot.

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However, this is only a temporary phenomenon , because the body loses more heat than alcohol. Alcohol stimulates blood vessels to contract in time to prevent blood from transferring heat outward, and after losing a lot of body heat, people will feel colder .

Therefore, the idea that drinking alcohol can warm the body is just an illusion .

Rumor 6: Drinking a small amount of alcohol will not harm your body

The relationship between drinking and health is very clear: drinking has become one of the leading causes of death . In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a global report on alcohol and health, pointing out that about 3 million people die from drinking each year worldwide.

On the one hand, drinking alcohol increases the risk of cancer . According to the list of carcinogens released by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), alcohol is listed as a Class 1 carcinogen, which means it is a carcinogen with very clear evidence and can induce cancer in seven parts of the body, including the liver, breast, rectum, colon, oropharynx, larynx and esophagus.

On the other hand, drinking alcohol increases the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases . A study published in the top international medical journal "Lancet" in 2019 found that there is a significant correlation between drinking alcohol and all-cause mortality and the risk of various cardiovascular diseases through an 11-year follow-up study of 599,912 participants from 19 high-income countries, and there is no "safe dose". This means that it is not only long-term alcohol abuse that will cause adverse consequences. In other words, there are risks as long as you drink .

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For friends who love to drink, here are some health tips: Be sure to try not to drink on an empty stomach , drink plenty of warm water after drinking to help metabolize alcohol and reduce its harm to the body, and never "quench your thirst" with carbonated drinks, otherwise you will get drunk faster .

Although fine wine is good, don't drink too much. It is recommended that you drink according to your own situation and don't blindly follow the trend.

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