Mar
30
Alcohol And Your Skin
Filed Under Beauty
During my holiday, we went to the Okanagen Wine Valley, and had some pretty good wine. However, it got me wondering as well. Drinking alcohol- be it a social drink, wine pairing with your meals at home or outside or binge drinking, all the alcohol must have some effect on our health. And as I’m writing a beauty blog, my post will concentrate on alcohol and its effect on our skin.
HOW MUCH ALCOHOL?
Alcohol as a beverage is mainly divided into beer, wine and spirits. Beer contains 4-6% alcohol, wine 9-16%, and spirits can be of any level of alcohol beyond 20% in content.
The recommended intake of alcohol consumption is
- On any single DAY: No more than 4 drinks for men, and no more than 3 drinks for women.
- Per WEEK: No more than 14 drinks per week for men, and no more than 7 drinks per week for women.
- Pregnenat women: No safe levels. Alcohol can damage the fetus and result in fetal alcohol syndrome.
One unit of alcohol is 10ml (1cl) by volume, or 8g by weight, of pure alcohol. But remember, many wines and beers are stronger than the more traditional ‘ordinary’ strengths. A U.S. “standard” drink contains about 0.6 fluid ounces or 14 grams of “pure” alcohol. That’s the amount in 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of table wine, or 1.5 of ounces distilled spirits.
The US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has a website Rethinking Drinking which provides a good guide on what a standard drink is and its equivalents.
ALCOHOL AND YOUR HEALTH
The Good
Drinking in moderation can be beneficial and help to
- Reduce your risk of developing heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and intermittent claudication
- Reduce your risk of dying of a heart attack
- Possibly reduce your risk of strokes, particularly ischemic strokes
The Bad
Unfortunately, its easy to drink too much and be at higher risk of
- Cancer of the pancreas, mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus and liver, as well as breast cancer
- Pancreatitis, especially in people with high levels of triglycerides in their blood
- Sudden death in people with cardiovascular disease
- Heart muscle damage (alcoholic cardiomyopathy) leading to heart failure
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
- Cirrhosis of the liver
- Miscarriage
- Fetal alcohol syndrome in an unborn child, including impaired growth and nervous system development
- Injuries due to impaired motor skills
- Suicide
EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON YOUR APPEARANCE
Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it dehydrates your body. The skin is the largest organ of your body, and contains 70% water which is mainly stored in the epidermis (the topmost layer of skin). Hence the skin can tell the hydration of the body and explains why its also the first to show effects of alcohol. In fact, the younger the body, the more water there is in the skin. Thus your skin is very forgiving, especially when you are younger. But the capacity of the skin to retain water decreases with age, making the skin more vulnerable to dehydration. So treat your skin well!
Some effects of alcohol on the skin
- Dry, dull, dehydrated skin
- Eyes: Dark circles, puffy eyes, bloodshot eyes. It can also impair vision temporarily.
- Body: People with roscea also are more prone to worsening of their skin condition. Rash due to an enzymatic deficiency (lack of aldehyde dehydrogenase) is also more prevalent in Asians.
- Blood vessels: It causes blood vessels to dilate, causing flushing of the skin. Somtimes smaller vessels burst and cause a broken veins look.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- For your eyes, click on the link above.
- Reduce the amount of alcohol intake to moderate levels
- Keep the water on hand and hydrate yourself. Your body requires 2litres of fluid per day.
Even if drinking too much has taken its toll, you could notice your skin improving within just a few weeks of adopting some changes. So start these changes now for a more youthful you.
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This blog’s great!! Thanks
.
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