‘It was somewhat surprising that frequent binge drinking (more than 2 binge drinking days per week, on average), but not occasional binge drinking (more than zero, but less than 2 binge drinking days per week, on average) had a significant association with self-reported insomnia symptoms,’ lead author Sarah Canham, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in Drug Dependence Epidemiology, John Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Mental Health in Baltimore, Md said.

 The research is published in an online supplement of the journal SLEEP.

Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis tracked the long-term drinking behaviour of more than 39,000 people who began consuming alcohol in the 1970s when some US states had legal drinking ages as low as 18.

‘It wasn’t just that lower minimum drinking ages had a negative impact on people when they were young,’ says study co-author Andrew D. Plunk, post-doctoral research fellow in psychiatry, the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research reports. ‘Even decades later, the ability to legally purchase alcohol before age 21 was associated with more frequent binge drinking,’ adds Plunk, according to a Washington statement.

The effect was most pronounced among men who did not attend college. And the researchers say the findings should be a warning to those who advocate lowering the minimum drinking age. ‘Binge drinking on college campuses is a very serious problem,’ Plunk says. ‘But it’s also important not to completely forget about young people who aren’t on college campuses. In our study, they had the greatest risk of suffering the long-term consequences linked to lower drinking ages.’

Source: IANS

‘Insulin resistance has emerged as a key metabolic defect leading to Type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD),’ said Christoph Buettner, senior study author and associate professor of medicine (endocrinology, diabetes and bone disease). ‘Someone who regularly binge drinks even once a week, over many years, may remain in an insulin resistant state for an extended period of time, potentially years,’ said Buettner, according to Icahn School statement.  Researchers treated rats with alcohol for three consecutive days to simulate human binge drinking. A control group received the same amount of calories. 

Once alcohol was no longer detectable in blood, glucose metabolism was studied through either glucose-tolerance tests or through controlled-insulin infusions. The rats treated with alcohol were found to have higher concentrations of plasma insulin than the control group, suggesting that insulin resistance may have been the cause of the impaired glucose tolerance. High plasma insulin levels are a major component of the metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that occur together and increase the risk for Type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, and stroke.

Source: IANS

What causes hangovers?

The booze that you drink has to be converted by the liver from ethanol to acetic acid to acetate so we can release it in urine. This is done by the liver, which means it’s diverted from its primary functions like providing glucose. The effects of hangovers like nausea, vomiting, headaches and fatigue is due to this – the lack of glucose or hypoglycaemia. Glucose is also very important for our brain functions and this explains why we are lethargic and have slower cognitive function during hangovers.

Here are some things you can do before, during and after drinking to keep hangovers away.

Before drinking

It’s a very bad habit to drink on an empty stomach.  Always eat something, anything. This is because the food tends to line your stomach and absorbs the booze. Some people recommend multi-vitamins because drinking saps your body of natural vitamins. In fact, a company even launched a ‘multivitamin hangover prevention patch’ which claimed to prevent hangovers before they started.

While drinking

The first thing you should keep in mind is that alcohol dehydrates you and that means you should drink copious amounts of water with your booze. Another tip you should keep in mind is how you drink. Don’t gulp down your booze and don’t get sucked into countless bottoms-ups.  Never mix drinks and keep having some light snacks to soak up the booze. Have some class and nurse your drink. Also keep in mind the amount you consume, under no circumstances should you drink more than 4 units* (3 units for women).   Remember that you’re drinking to celebrate, not to get wasted or stone drunk. We Indians despite not being habitual drinkers have the tendency to binge-drink.

*Alcohol-unit comparison chart

After drinking

The first thing you should do is drink a huge glass of water and eat something preferably starchy and fatty which seems to help soak up the booze. It’s very important to do these things before dozing off.

The next day

 There’s that possibility that you didn’t follow the aforementioned instructions and will feel like something the cat dragged in the next morning. The only way to get over a hangover is to re-hydrate your body.  The most popular remedy by far is fluids like water, they’re necessary to rehydrate you. You could also try some other liquids like juice, sports drinks or lime juice which along with water will help replenish some of the lost nutrients.

For some people, greasy food items like burgers and pizzas work. Others swear by the good old scrambled eggs. Closer home I’ve found samosa and chutney or vada pav to be very effective.

All in all you should remember that while alcohol does lower your inhibitions and lets you enjoy your new year’s eve better, it doesn’t feel good starting the new year with an epic hangover. So, follow these tips and beat hangovers like a pro!

‘Moderate drinking can become binge drinking without the person realizing it,’ said Anderson. In the short term there may not be any noticeable motor skills or overall functioning problems, but in the long term this type of behaviour could have an adverse effect on learning and memory, the journal Neuroscience reported. Tracey Shors and Anderson worked with postdoctoral fellow Miriam Nokia from the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland to model moderate to heavy drinking in humans using rodents that reached a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent – the legal driving limit in the US and many other countries – and found that brain cell production was affected negatively, according to a Rutgers statement.

Researchers discovered that at this level of intoxication in rats – comparable to about 3-4 drinks for women and five drinks for men – the number of nerve cells in the hippocampus of the brain were reduced by nearly 40 percent compared to those in the abstinent group of rodents. The hippocampus is a part of the brain where the new neurons are made and is also known to be necessary for some types of new learning.

‘If this area of your brain was affected every day over many months and years, eventually you might not be able to learn how to get somewhere new or to learn something new about your life,’ said Anderson.  ‘It’s something that you might not even be aware is occurring.’ 

According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, men who drink 14 drinks a week and women who drink seven are considered at-risk drinkers. Although college students commonly binge drink, according to the institute, 70 percent of binge drinking episodes involved adults age 26 and older.  ‘This research indicates that social or daily drinking may be more harmful to brain health than what is now believed by the general public,’ Anderson said.

Source: IANS

The study found that at 16 years, teens were mainly influenced by their peers in how much they drank, while their parents’ attitudes towards alcohol appeared to show little impact. Yet by the age of 34, the likelihood that they were “binge drinking” rose in line with how much they had thought, as a child, that their mother drank. As teenagers, the group was asked to assess whether their parents drank ‘never’, ‘sometimes’, ‘often’ or ‘always’, the Telegraph reports.

Researchers found that with each step that mothers rose on the four-point scale, the chance that their adult children were drinking above recommended limits rose 1.3 times. The research found that “tough love” parenting was the best way to reduce the propensity of alcohol problems. The findings are set to be presented Tuesday at a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester. 

Source: IANS

Moderate drinking may help your health, but heavy boozing only hurts it. Here are the pros and cons of how alcohol affects your body:

•  Alcohol dehydrates you. It depresses the production of antidiuretic hormone (ADH).Dehydration leads to you feeling dizzy, nauseous and leaves you with a splitting headache.
• It causes your stomach cells to form excessive amounts of gastric acid, which can irritate the lining of the stomach. You may suffer from diarrhoea after binge drinking.
• Heavy alcohol use is the most common cause of pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas and a major risk factor for pancreatic cancer.
• Drinking excessively causes the liver to accumulate fat (fatty liver) and become inflamed (hepatitis). It also leads to cirrhosis, a condition in which liver cells are so damaged they can’t regenerate, and liver failure.
• Moderate alcohol consumption may ward off dementia and Alzheimer’s disease but in high doses, alcohol kills brain cells, leading to brain damage that may manifest itself as permanent memory loss. Heavy drinking may even change the brain in ways that may permanently alter your behaviour.
• Drinking even in moderate amounts (particularly on an empty stomach) has been linked to high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

There are some pros of drinking though. When consumed in moderation alcohol may protect the heart by raising “good” HDL cholesterol, decreasing inflammation and “thinning the blood” (preventing clots that can cause heart attack and stroke). Moderate drinking also increases estrogen, which protects the heart—a benefit particularly helpful to postmenopausal women whose reduced estrogen levels increase their risk of heart disease.

The recent Satyamev Jayate episode brought forward some questions that we tend to ignore about alcoholism. Addictions are dependent on external factors to feel a misplaced sense of control. It doesn’t matter what form the addiction is in.

Each addiction that takes you away from yourself is equally bad. Let that be gaming, sniffing glue, narcotics, smoking or drinking. The addiction begins in the first place because you want to escape your reality. What you get in return is a temporary sense of relief. What it takes from you is your life. Only you don’t realise it. Chronic alcoholism is a disease. However, unlike other diseases, it cannot be easily fixed by popping a pill. It can happen suddenly and doesn’t give you the impression that you’re out of control.

Adverse health effects of over-consumption

It’s not considered a disease by many.

Ill effects

The effects of alcoholism are far-reaching. Because of alcoholism, the alcoholic can suffer lot of health issues. It includes:

• poor nutrition,
• memory disorders,
• difficulty with balance and walking,
• liver disease (including cirrhosis and hepatitis),
• high blood pressure,
• muscle weakness (including the heart),
• heart rhythm disturbances,
• anaemia,
• clotting disorders,
•  decreased immunity to infections,
• gastrointestinal inflammation and irritation,
• acute and chronic problems with the pancreas,
• low blood sugar,
•  high blood fat content,
• interference with reproductive fertility, erectile dysfunction in men
• increased risk of cancer of the liver, oesophagus, and breast,
• weakened bones,
• Sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression.

In other words, the overall nervous systems, gastrointestinal system, brain, heart and liver as well as the reproductive system get affected.

Social effects

Alcoholics have problems in their personal lives as well. They often have difficulties in marital and other relationships. Alcoholics can have anger issues which lead to domestic violence. There are also chances of child abuse or neglect. Alcoholics also have difficulty finding or keeping a job, show impaired school or work performance and are involved in legal problems such as driving while intoxicated causing destruction of life and property. An impaired sense of judgment can lead to breaking the law or stealing to support the habit. They lose the ability to judge between right and wrong. This affects the society at large.

Drug like effects

Alcohol is not a stimulant. It actually has a sedative outcome. It has narcotic effect on the controlling centres of the brain. Hence the words “alcohol helps you loosen your inhibitions”. Speech, thoughts, actions flow freely. It kind of helps one relax. This is the reason why most people drink. But for many, this effect is an escape. Alcohol allows them to forget about what problems they may be facing. It dulls their pain centre.

The composition of the brain chemistry has a part to play in turning someone into chronic alcoholics. Because of constant drinking, the composition gets altered to a great extent. Drinking becomes a necessity for alcoholics to feel in control. Alcoholics crave for their next drink just like drug addicts crave for their next fix.

In today’s world, social drinking is an acceptable norm. Alcoholic beverages served in parties act as an aid to conversations. It is often the individuals who use alcohol as a crutch.

Teenagers, for instance, experiment with alcohol without a second thought. The adverse effects of alcohol, like cigarettes, cannot be seen immediately. It adds to the “coolness” factor and they are accepted in their circles. But for troubled teenagers, alcohol can become a lifeline. Similarly, for adults, those who consume drinks to de-stress themselves, would often be seen drinking more alcohol to feel relaxed. This is one of the symptoms of an alcoholic – tolerance for alcohol increases and hence consumption increases to achieve the desired effect.

Why some people drink more than others

Interestingly, all who consume alcohol do not become alcoholics. Their individual environmental factors as well as their genetic make-up play a major role in this. If an individual already has unresolved issues relating to childhood, family or has experienced traumatic events, they may have a greater tendency to get hooked onto drinking as alcohol eases away the sense of self. Also, if they come from a background of alcohol abuse, chances of falling into similar pattern is high.

Binge drinking

At the same time, there are individuals who indulge in binge drinking; they drink till they pass out. They do it for fun and live under the impression that this once in a while indulgence won’t harm them. But their system starts getting used to the alcohol. And the next time you’d require more alcohol to have fun. Binge drinking leads to higher tolerance levels which takes a toll on their health.

Like mentioned before, chronic alcoholics do not think they have a problem. But if you have tried to cut down on drinking unsuccessfully, or get annoyed when someone comments on your drinking habits, or you feel guilty about drinking or require to have another drink to “wake up” the next morning, you are on your way to becoming an alcoholic.

Kicking the bottle -

• Detoxification. Stop your alcohol drinking abruptly. But this requires assistance of medications to prevent effects of alcohol withdrawal. Detoxification has to be a monitored process for better results. One may get themselves enrolled to a detoxification centre. Chronic alcoholics shouldn’t be under the impression that they can start out by slowly reducing their intake. A gradual withdrawal from alcohol. If they could manage this on their own, they wouldn’t be alcoholics in the first place.
• Joining support groups. Detoxification is only the first step towards recovery. Temptations are available everywhere. The patient must have support to get through this addiction and stay away from the same. Support groups let the patient know that they are not alone in this. Sharing experiences help the patient to gain a better insight to their problem and how to fight it. Alcoholics Anonyms (AA) is one such group with its 12 step recovery program.
• Ask your loved ones to support you. If you are on the road to recovery, request your friends and family to help you stay away from alcohol. This would probably mean hosting get-togethers without alcoholic drinks. There is no need to test your will power when you have just started recovery. Avoiding a relapse is very important.
• Other methods to manage stress. If you had used alcohol to manage your stress, it is time to move on to other methods of managing stress. Some therapies include massage, meditation, hypnotherapy, yoga, and acupuncture.
• Psychotherapy is another medium to manage your problems. To use your life experiences as a reason for drinking alcohol, is not a reason good enough. You are only creating new problems for yourself. Recognise this and get the required help.

There’s nothing wrong in relaxing with a drink after a long day at work. But when that drink becomes the highlight of the day, you have a problem. So the next time you take a sip of that drink, ask yourself “Who’s in charge? You or the bottle?”

Top journalist Vijay Simha shared his battle with the bottle for the public. He went through a phase where drinking became everything. He started during his college day and it reached a phase where drinking became his raison d’etre. He lost everything – his job, his family, his home – to the bottle. He started living on the roads of Delhi, squatting in a train station. Finally a person forced him into rehab, an addiction clinic which changed his life. He managed to kick the bottle and find his life again.  It wasn’t easy. Whenever one tries to give up any sort of addiction the body reacts with nausea. There was diarrhoea, vomiting and other physical symptoms. Now he is a sobriety campaigner and top journo with Tehelka. He thanked Oswald Pereira for helping him beat alcoholism.

Why people drink

Dr Ashish Pande, a psychiatrist tried to explain the cause of addiction. Why some get addicted and others don’t. Our brains have receptors and some people’s receptors are genetically more inclined to love alcohol and thus switch off the normal decision making mechanism. According to him it’s a lifestyle disease similar to diabetes. For alcoholics everything becomes secondary to addiction. Though there is no way to diagnose alcoholismyou can ask yourself  these questions- 

1.  Do others tell you to quit or reduce drinking?
2.  Do you get angry at people who talk about your drinking?     
3. Have you ever started your day by drinking?
4. After an episode of drinking do you ever feel guilt?

If the answer is yes, then there’s a possibility that you are an  alcoholic. And here’s a group of people who can help you…

Alcoholics Anonymous India (AA-India)

Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Ohio in 1935 as a support group for alcoholics. Now it has chapters all over the world. A man who wished to remain anonymous (it is called alcoholics anonymous for a reason) shared the tale of his battle with the booze. Drinking had made him a social outcast and AA – India helped him get his life back. Instead of castigating the alcoholic and making him feel guilty, there is a need to make him understand that it’s a problem which can be dealt with. There are AA centres all around the country and help literally is one phone call away.

The show also highlighted the efforts of some gram panchayats which closed down liquor shops. Changal village is one such village which got the liquor shop in their village closed down.

Legendary lyricist Javed Akhtar too revealed his battles with the bottle. He felt that drinking was glamourized by the film industry, however there is a stark difference between reel and real. Alcoholics do not look cool or charming, they instead end up looking disgusting and/or foolish. 

Drunk Driving and other ill-effects of binge drinking

One of the issues with alcohol consumption in India is the fact that a lot of people are binge drinkers. People don’t drink everyday but when they do they drink till they get high beyond belief. Mr Anand shared the tale about his son Curran’s demise in a drunken driving accident. The fact that his son or his friends hadn’t even touched a drop of liquor made it even more hard to stomach.

Dr Vivek Benegal who has done a lot of research in this field pointed out that one out of 20 people were alcohlics whilst one out two Indians are binge drinkers. While in most country social drinking consists of having around 60 ml of alcohol, here in India most people drink 180 ml on an average. Indians actually drink to become intoxicated!

The Satyamev Jayate team visited various states to find that binge drinking led to various issues usch as aggressive behaviour, road accidents, sexual harassment, etc. Aamir tied up the show by asking if there was a need for more stringent rules to tackle the menace of drunk driving.

Also read:

• How to beat alcohol abuse
• How to beat drug addiction
• How to be a social drinker and not get addicted

California researchers report that people with atrial fibrillation had almost a four and a half times greater chance of having an episode if they were consuming alcohol than if they were not, the American Journal of Cardiology reports. ”One of the remaining big unknowns is why or how this happens,” said senior author Gregory Marcus, assistant professor of medicine at California, according to a California statement.  
In the study, conducted from September 2004 to March 2011, researchers interviewed 223 patients with documented cardiac arrhythmia. They asked patients: “Does alcohol trigger your heart palpitations?” Participants ranked their symptoms on a scale from one to five (i.e. never, rarely, sometimes, frequently, and always). 

“We defined ‘yes’ as frequently or always versus the rest of the responses,” Marcus said, “and found that, after adjusting for potential confounders, atrial fibrillation patients had statistically significant greater odds of reporting that alcohol would trigger their symptoms.” The mean age of the study participants was 59 years. Eighty percent were Caucasian; 11 percent were Asian; five percent Latino, and four percent declined to state their ethnicity in the atrial fibrillation group. 

Click here to find out if you’re likely to get a heart attack. 

Source: IANS