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Alcohol Over-indulgence

When doing some background research on this article, my initial thoughts were that it was going to sound a bit like Ebenezer Scrooge who described those who celebrated Christmas thus: “Every idiot who goes about with Merry Christmas on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart”. Because throughout so many parts of the world, people and families will be “raising their glasses” over lunch on the 25th December and giving a toast to a “Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year”. And the vast majority of those glasses will contain alcohol!

So before I refresh your minds with the sobering facts on the dangers of over-indulgence, I think we should pause for a moment and reflect on how history has recorded it’s thoughts on “spiritous drinks”.

• Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness. - Seneca
• O thou invisible spirit of wine! If thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil! ~Shakespeare Othello: act 2, scene 3
• But Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the German philosopher wrote:  Wine rejoices the heart of man and joy is the mother of all virtues.
• And Martin Luther the German theologian observed, “He who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long.”

And the list of creative people who have written poetry, books and music of all genres have in the main, not been teetotalers! What perhaps we should be aiming for is more in the line of what DH Lawrence was alluding to when he wrote, “If we sip the wine, we find dreams coming upon us out of the imminent night”.

But the sad fact is that in our current culture, too many people drink to get drunk. I wrote recently of a new arrival to England who was relating to his relations abroad about how the English celebrate their Christmas: “Many of them get in their cars and travel to France where they go straight to the Duty Free Shops to fill up the boots of their cars with cheap alcohol. They then return to England where they then have lots of parties and get drunk”. Here in Australia, at this time of year there are many “Specials” in the Bottle shops for alcohol in all its forms with 15, 20 or 30% off if you buy “by the dozen”. Stories abound of “kids” who actually get drunk before going to the Pub to meet their mates because it’s cheaper, and most young men seem to think that getting sick and having a hangover is a mark of manhood!

The cold hard facts are that about 8 people will die on our West Australian roads this Christmas and alcohol will play a part in some of those tragedies. Depression is an unwanted guest in many homes at this time of year, and one of the dangers for those with severe depression is easy access to alcohol - the consequences can be fatal. Domestic abuse, unplanned pregnancies and sexual violence are all fueled by alcohol.

Public health campaigns have highlighted the association between chronic alcohol use and heart disease, brain disease and certain forms of cancer, and even more concerning is the link between alcohol consumption during pregnancy and a condition known as Foetal Alcohol Syndrome: highlighting yet again the fact that alcohol can be downright dangerous.

And if we look at it from a Pharmaceutical point of view, we’d have to say that as a “drug”, it has a very narrow “Therapeutic Range”, and what I mean by that is the “Safe Dose” is small and varies from one person to another depending on body size and how much fat there is in the system. Two standard drinks will have a far greater impact on a 50kg women than it will have on a 90kg male!

Pure alcohol is actually a really foul tasting substance and no-one in their right mind would ever consider drinking it, but today it is “packaged” in so many different flavors, that there’s usually one style to suit someone. So my suggestion for “drinkies” this Christmas is to slow down and actually taste what you are drinking: and if you don’t like it, don’t drink it - and that’s something that all young people should be taught when being offered an alcoholic drink. Secondly: it only takes one to two standard drinks to achieve the maximum “neuro-centric” effect - feeling relaxed and at ease with the company. More than that and you immediately get the depressant effects at all levels of the central nervous system, such as slurred speech, nausea, slowed reaction time, incoordination and that can prove fatal if taken to extremes.

If you choose to celebrate Christmas with a drink, then make sure you let yourself taste the first one, sip the second one and skip the rest!

The content of these articles is not tailored for any particular individual's circumstances. The author does not take into account your physical condition, medical history or any medication you may be taking. Any advice or information provided by the author cannot replace the advice of your health care professional. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent those of HBF unless clearly indicated.