WEBVTT

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For many people,
alcohol is part of daily life.

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At the same time, it is common knowledge
that alcohol is unhealthy

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and can become addictive.

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But what about one glass of wine
or a shot of spirits?

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How much alcohol is really too much
and harmful?

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And aren’t there
some beneficial effects, too,

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isn’t it good for your health in some ways?

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There’s only one answer to this question:

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Alcohol is “cytotoxic” – it kills cells.

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You can’t get away from that.

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Overall,
alcohol has no beneficial effect on health.

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None of
the claimed beneficial effects of alcohol

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have been scientifically verified

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and some have now even been discredited.

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For example, there is a myth that says

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one glass of red wine a day
is good for the heart.

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It’s true that people
who drink a little alcohol

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really are a little less likely
to have a heart attack.

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But the opposite applies
for all other cardiovascular diseases

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such as cardiac insufficiency
or cardiac arrythmia:

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Even moderate alcohol consumption
increases the risk.

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According to the World Health Organization,
alcohol is associated

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with around 60 conditions

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and regularly drinking
large amounts of alcohol

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increases the risk of developing them

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as well as becoming dependent on alcohol.

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There is no such thing
as risk-free alcohol consumption.

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A large-scale analysis from 2018
demonstrated

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that average life expectancy was reduced

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by regularly drinking
large amounts of alcohol.

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But if you don’t want to avoid
alcohol completely,

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what is still a relatively safe level

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of alcohol consumption?

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What is a low-risk level?

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The
German Center for Addiction Issues (DHS)

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recommends
avoiding alcohol consumption completely

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on at least two days per week.

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For the rest of the week
women should not drink more

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than 12 grams of alcohol per day,

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i.e. one small glass of wine (0.125 liter)
or a small beer (0.3 liter).

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All together this is equivalent to
60 grams of neat alcohol per week

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with two alcohol-free days.

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A low-risk level for men
is around twice this amount

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so they should not drink more
than 24 grams of alcohol per day,

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i.e. two small glasses
of beer (0.6 liter) or wine (0.25 liter).

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That’s 120 grams of pure alcohol per week

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with two alcohol-free days.

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Important:

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Drinking the total allowance of alcohol
in one go on one evening of the week

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is not considered low-risk.

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Older people should also drink
considerably less

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than the low-risk maximum levels.

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It’s also not true to say that
all drinks with a lower alcohol content

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are less harmful

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than drinks
with a high percentage of alcohol.

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The crucial point here is not
the form in which alcohol is drunk

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but the total amount that is consumed.

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Spirits will get you to the maximum
more quickly,

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but it doesn’t matter whether you drink
300 ml of beer, 125 ml of wine

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or 40 ml of whisky –
all three of the drinks

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contain the same amount of pure alcohol.

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In short:

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Alcohol is “cytotoxic” – it kills cells.

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Overall it has
no beneficial effect on health.

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In fact
it is associated with around 60 conditions

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and regularly drinking
large amounts of alcohol

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damages health.

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The recommendation for women is to drink

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a maximum of
one small glass of wine or beer per day

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for no more than five days a week.

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These amounts are doubled for men

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but these are low-risk,
not risk-free amounts.