We know that binge-drinking has many unwanted health outcomes, Conigrave says, so spreading your drinks through the week (say, 1-2 standard drinks a night) is a better option than squashing them all between Friday and Saturday – however it's still wise to avoid drinking every day of the week.
Bottom line. Sorry, boozy brunchers and part-time party people, but going on a weekend bender is just a plain ol' bad habit. As far as your overall wellness goes, drinking a little on a daily basis is a better bet than being good all week only to get trashed on Saturday night.
A weekend alcoholic is a person who typically only drinks on the weekends. However, their weekend drinking is easily characterized as binge drinking, or drinking heavily.
Turns out, binge drinking one night a week is much worse for your body than consuming one serving of alcohol daily. With binge drinking, your body suffers from a high level of toxicity. In addition, it's difficult for your body to metabolize high amounts of alcohol at one time.
Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including: High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems.
According to a survey, it is found that people don't realize their drinking habits could contribute to their cancer risk. However, the new PLOS Medicine Study reports that sipping on one or two drinks per day isn't that bad and keeping it to a maximum of three drinks a week is the healthiest.
Alcohol guidelines
It's recommended to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, spread across 3 days or more. That's around 6 medium (175ml) glasses of wine, or 6 pints of 4% beer. There's no completely safe level of drinking, but sticking within these guidelines lowers your risk of harming your health.
The liver is very resilient and capable of regenerating itself. Each time your liver filters alcohol, some of the liver cells die. The liver can develop new cells, but prolonged alcohol misuse (drinking too much) over many years can reduce its ability to regenerate.
Risks of Weekend Alcohol Abuse
Individuals who binge drink on the weekends are likely to experience insomnia and alcohol dependence. Additionally, drinking heavily on weekends can eventually lead to trouble breathing, liver problems, and symptoms of alcohol poisoning.
How long do you have to drink before liver damage? People with serious liver damage have usually been drinking for 20 or more years. But complications can develop after 5 to 10 years of heavy drinking. Again, this can be highly variable between individuals and is likely genetic.
Alcohol can cause weight gain in four ways: it stops your body from burning fat, it's high in kilojoules, it can make you feel hungry, and it can lead to cravings for salty and greasy foods.
What do you mean by heavy drinking? For men, heavy drinking is typically defined as consuming 15 drinks or more per week. For women, heavy drinking is typically defined as consuming 8 drinks or more per week.
“Just follow a few sensible rules: go three days in a row every week with no alcohol, never consume more than five units of alcohol in one sitting, and no more than 10 a week.” One unit is not equal to one drink: a full glass of wine equals three units; a 12-ounce can of beer equals 1.5 units; and a shot of hard liquor ...
Is Occasional Binge Drinking Okay? Binge drinking can harm a person's health – even when only done occasionally. No amount of alcohol consumption is safe.
Heavy drinking is defined as having five or more episodes of binge drinking in the past month. Heavy drinking is a bigger risk factor for developing an Alcohol User Disorder and increases one's risk for long-term alcohol-related health problems.
NIAAA defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 percent - or 0.08 grams of alcohol per deciliter - or higher. For a typical adult, this pattern corresponds to consuming 5 or more drinks (male), or 4 or more drinks (female), in about 2 hours.
Men and women should drink no more than 14 units per week. Give your liver a regular break and have 2 to 3 alcohol free days each week – try to have them all in a row.
Women should consume no more than three drinks on any single day and no more than seven drinks per week. Men should consume no more than four drinks on any single day and no more than 14 drinks per week. So, that's it. That basically sums up the 'Responsible Drinking 0-1-2-3-4,' logic.”
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, drinking is considered to be in the moderate or low-risk range for women at no more than three drinks in any one day and no more than seven drinks per week. For men, it is no more than four drinks a day and no more than 14 drinks per week.