Dear G.P
My husband drinks a lot of beer.What are the health risks for this.
Mrs X
Dear Mrs X,
For thousands of years, man has poured litres of alcohol  down his neck.There has been lots of research done on the health benefits and risks of taking  alcohol.One thing scientists agree on is alcohol may be beneficial if taken in moderation and detrimental if taken in excess.
There is not a one-size-fits-all answer to this.
Nothing is absolutely safe for everybody, I think there is a sensible level of drinking and sensible doesn’t mean “saving up” whatever number of drinks is deemed reasonable per week and drinking them all at once at a single sitting on the weekends. That’s binge drinking, and is well documented as to having severe adverse effects on a person’s health.
Immediate Health Risks of excessive Alcohol consumption
Hangovers-Headaches, nausea, vomiting, aches and pains all result from drinking too much. Drinking to the point of drunkenness makes you sick.
Excessive alcohol use has immediate effects that increase the risk of many harmful health conditions. These immediate effects are most often the result of binge drinking and include the following—
Unintentional injuries– road trattfic accidents, falls, drownings, burns, fights
Violence, including intimate partner violence and child maltreatment.
Risky sexual behaviors, including unprotected sex, sex with multiple partners, and increased risk of sexual assault. These behaviors can result in unintended pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases
Alcohol poisoning, a medical emergency that results from high blood alcohol levels that suppress the central nervous system and can cause loss of consciousness, low blood pressure and body temperature, coma, respiratory depression, or death
Long-Term Health Risks
–Weight gain. Alcohol is not water. A beer has about 150 “empty” calories that provide few if any nutrients.This leads to a beer belly.Some research suggests thatt the Beer Belly can be attributed not to drinking beer, but to drinking a lot of beer… quickly.
–Depressed immune system. Impaired immunity makes you more likely to contract viral illnesses such as flu and infections.
–Heart disease
In men over 40 and women past the menopause, small amounts of alcohol (a couple of drinks a day) may reduce the risk of heart disease. For everyone else, too much alcohol is likely to cause weight gain, prevent proper exercise and be a cause of heart disease.
–Sexual health problems
Too much alcohol shrinks genitals and lowers fertility. Being drunk can loosen inhibitions and affect your judgement. This can make you less likely to use a condom or other protection properly (or at all) and so increase the risk of a sexually transmitted infection or unintended pregnancy
–Liver diseases including
Alcoholic hepatitis.
Liver Cirrhosis
Among persons with Hepatitis C virus, worsening of liver function and interference with medications used to treat this condition.
–Pancreatitis
Long-term heavy drinkers can develop this painful condition. The pancreas makes insulin and other substances needed to properly digest food. If left untreated, pancreatitis causes malnutrition and can lead to diabetes
Diabetes
Regular heavy drinkers are often overweight and, as with all overweight people, can go on to develop diabetes. Though manageable, people with diabetes don’t live as long and have to eat restricted diets and take medicines daily or inject themselves with insulin.
–Neurological problems
Not only can people fail to remember what went on during a heavy session, persistent heavy drinkers can develop memory loss problems. A dementia-like illness called Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome is caused by vitamin B1 deficiency. This is caused by poor absorption and storage of thiamine brought on by too much alcohol over too long a period.
-Strokes are caused either by blood clots clogging arteries in the brain (ischaemic stroke) or by blood vessels bursting and leaking into the brain (haemorrhagic stroke). A very heavy session (more than eight units for men, six for women) causes dehydration and makes the blood thicker and more likely to form clots in the brain and elsewhere. Prolonged heavy use of alcohol also raises blood pressure and can be another cause of stroke.
–Psychiatric problems, including depression, anxiety, and suicide.
–Social problems, including unemployment, lost productivity, and family problems
–Cancer
Cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon.. In general, the risk of cancer increases with increasing amounts of alcohol.
–Thread veins and brittle nails–Â Alcoholic drinks contain lots and lots of calories so weight gain among people who don’t drink sensibly is common. Alcohol affects the circulation by expanding blood vessels. This causes thread veins, often on the face, and purple, bulbous ‘drinker’s nose’. Heavy drinkers usually don’t eat properly and too much alcohol stops the body absorbing the nutrients it needs. This leads to poor skin and brittle hair and nails.
Finally, lets not forget alcoholism. Alcoholism is a disease to which some people seem predisposed. Alcoholics are unable to control their drinking–how much, when, and if. Alcoholism puts you at great risk for other health problems, and it can shorten your life by more than 10 years. Alcoholism cannot be cured, but it can be treated. Through education, treatment, and self-help support such as AA, people can learn to live alcohol-free .
Recommendations
If you drink alcohol, it is best to do so in moderation. This is defined as not causing intoxication, and consuming no more than 1 beer, 1 glass of wine, or 1 shot of liquor per day if you are a woman and no more than 2 if you are a man.
Eat a meal before you drink. Food in the stomach will slow the entrance of alcohol into your bloodstream by preventing it from entering your small intestine which absorbs alcohol faster than the stomach. High protein foods, like cheese, are best at slowing down the effects of alcohol, and thus help prevent a hangover
Responsible drinking
Here are some ways to drink responsibly, provided you DO NOT have a drinking problem, are of legal age to drink alcohol, and are not pregnant:
- NEVER drink alcohol and drive a car. Have someone designated to drive if you’re going to drink, or plan an alternative way home, such as a taxi or bus.
- DO NOT drink on an empty stomach. Snack before and while drinking alcohol.
- Drink slowly to avoid becoming intoxicated and ONLY in moderation.
- If you are taking medication, including over-the-counter drugs, check with your pharmacist before drinking alcohol. Alcohol can intensify the effects of many drugs and can interact with other drugs, making them ineffective or dangerous, or making you sick.
- DO NOT drink at all if you have a history of alcohol abuse.
If alcoholism runs in your family, you may be at increased risk of developing alcoholism yourself, and may want to avoid drinking alcohol altogether.
Being drunk decreases your inhibitions, making you more likely to do things you may regret later. When intoxicated, you are significantly more likely to endanger your health or that of others, more likely to catch a sexually transmitted disease, more likely to be involved in an automobile accident, and more likely to become permanently injured or die.
Yah! That long explanation calls for another drink!
Cheers..i need one too…
A new study shows that consuming 3 beers a day may increase the risk of stomach cancer up to 75%. Do not do it People.
Light to moderate beer drinking can have many health benefits as human body naturally needs the ingredients found in beer, except for chemicals and preservatives from the growing and production process. Zambians should detest from drinking anything more than 4 pints in a day. My partner loves guiness and drink 1 a ay, that has put a strain on our relationship.
It is also bad for your eyes, and your manhood which detoriates in its functionality as a aman. My advise well, If you want to date high class women such as myself, stay away from my beers, especially the rediculousl home made brews , which if you ask me must be banned. Thanks
Which high class woman are you ? Don`t comfort yourself in self delusion you are just a kamushi not worth the rub of my biggest organ.Get a life :(
@Zebige, classic baba classic. this woman is something else. controversial as usual i am beginning to think she somewhat enjoys the negative attention being given to her, if not then the level of entropy in her head is extremely high.
@Shorty did you say partner or husband ?? stop bugging the man about his imbibing or wait at least until he pops the question, I doubt he’ll stay away from YOUR beers as you put it.
Our professors always encourage us to drink in moderation. Because of that, our research results are always accurate.
#2 why dating u i love my beer
@2 am high class looking for a high class lady. Aged 30 and never taken alcohol. U got a chance to leave yo aging white man. Get in touch dear.
Give him too much sex then you will hold him at home
Well written and explained. I think its time I continued reducing my intake as i have been doing particularly during weekends. I can find better things to do with my money and time
Don P, thing is you stop drinkind to save some money and you find yourself not motivated enough to look for money and still remain broke.
If your man does not stop drinking beer, he will die-period.
and those who don’t drink live for ever?? take a beer, its on me
Oh I drink in Moderation, myself mostly I drink beers on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays. I agree with gaining weight. At first I used to drink beer like water, fast & noticed that I startd gaining weight, so I now make sure I play football/jog after work from Monday – Friday or 3 days a week. Am proud of myslf cause have reduced some kilos & still wanting to reduce more.
You wives are the ones that push your husbands to drinking too much and you seem not to know nor see it. Men in marriages drink so as to run away from being home with family due to a lot of reasons. Only you can help your husband
Proverbs 23:33 – Alcohol causes the drinker to have strange and adulterous thoughts, produces willfulness, and prevents reformation.
Isaiah 5:22 – Woe to “champion” drinkers and “experts” at mixing drinks.
So many advantages of drinking beer,….i can have multiple sex which when sober , its difficult to even propose one lady. I can shout at my enemy when drunk than sober, can beat my wife and apologise next day ..ALELUYA BEER, ehhh i want to know who inverted beer, i must salute him
gotta start planning to quit now. beer belly, high risks…true. no condom use, STI, hesh! more diss’ than add’s. no zero add’s actually . why gamble with life…..
Isaiah 28:3 – Proud drunkards shall be trodden down.
Habakkuk 2:15 – Woe to him that gives his neighbor drink
Galatians 5:21 – Acts of the sinful nature, such as drunkenness, will prohibit a person from inheriting the kingdom of God.
excessive drinking is one form of contraception as no libido to do your lady. when taken in moderation, it acts as a stimulant for prolonged sexual satisfaction (ulendo), stress relief,
I didn’t know drinking beer shrinks the genitals what does that say about zambian men?
Beer is the only proof that God loves us, and that he wants us to be happy…i mean Jesus first miracle was beer…it does nor matter the qauntities the reality is death is the ultimate price…so whats the point of dying with a good liver… use it…
After reading about the dangers of drinking and pondering on a number of issues, I have decided to stop reading.
Am with you bro! LOL
Yes beer must be taken in moderation. However, I can’t imagine going to Becel or Raob, Farm House, Mixt Doubblez, Mandondo, Big Bite, Precem Motel, Pigale, Lazymens, Times, Monalisa and the like just to drink 1 or 2 beerz, while eating michopo, pizza or soup ya mbuzi in the name of moderation!
Did those young men in the picture really drink those ‘buckets’ of beer….Please gentlemen drink in moderation.In Zambia we have the habit of binge drinking over weekends.You are killing yourselves.At least make sure you eat as you drink.
Shut up f00l, and get him another beer!
Stress is a much more dangerous killer than alcohol. #FACT due to a high metabolism i have never gained weight due to alcohol; eating healthy and exercise boosts my immune system;no social problems as i consider alcohol a social lubricant; as for shrinking genitals – never had any complaints! drink and stay merry!!!!
if we all stop boozing, imagine the consequences to the economy, Zambia & National Breweries would collapse throwing all their employees on the street, imagine how Chibamba Kanyama would be miserable!!!
It is definately important to know one’s limits. Too much alcohol does a lot of harm not only to our bodies but also makes people unproductive and destroys fruitful relationships.
I love my Mosi Gold.
Our Father who at the Zambian brewaries,Hallowed be thy beers,thy Kingdom come,Thy will be done in Bars as it is done in Bottle Stores,Forgive us our Drunkness as we forgive our none dinkers,but deliver us from drinking Fanta,Coke,sprite and many more soft drinks,For Castle,mosi and other beers are forever and ever AMEN.Castle=95%,Mosi-90%,Other Lagers-85%,Chibuku-55%,katata-50 %,Imbamba-30%,Amantalakwa-25% and Kachasu-10 pass rate.BOOZER DIPLOMA QUALIFICATION 2011.
Yah! All these comments are making me even more thirsty..
cheers..lets have another one mate
Number 2, baby girl, I already date a high class babe, and she is the fittest in Lusaka. I do not mix my drinking with my babe; that is not game.
Drinks with mates .. Ama-loving with my babe. There is no compromise.
And besides, which guy here can confidently say that they are not better lovers after consuming one or two cold ones?
If women’s breasts could produce ice cold beer, then you could have each and every man on their knees for you!
I used to drink from the same lodge in the picture. Too bad Pick and Pay bought off the place from that general from the Army and turned it into a parking lot.
If I die of AIDS, blame my beer MOSI, nothing else.
You are lucky! Me he calls me by all sorts of girls’ names in his sleep when he is drunk!
Yaba I love my castle larger and at take 2-3 per day after work. I avoid taking long drives out of my residential area. But at times I become violent and urgementative. Beer drinking is a waste of money. You have so many friends if you have cash to throw arounf but immediately you run out of it they disappear like birds. Women dont like me coz I dont have time for them to exploit me. Ok if you are condemining beer then Zambian breweries should be closed and where will GRZ get easy revenue. I belive beer has been there from human creation.The choice is yours. Chapwa.
Ya so there so many consequences of alchol??and you just forgot to caution those who imbibe tujilijili.Anyway one thing i get puzzled at is why do people like drinking too much beer while they are watching soccer or after there team has won but fail to drink when there team has lost?Also does music go with beer or it’s all for fun??and if one of the twoo is missing you will likely not find any patrons in a bar.Are there any bars where one cannot find one of the two?Â
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Depends which beer you take. I suppose 2 x6 pack of Heineken is not bad at all, every two days!
9 out of 10 Zambian women drink excessively. They actually think it is ‘cool’
Advise to women drinkists. If you are over 25, it’s not cute when you are drunk and making a fool of yourself. It makes you ugly and s.t.u.p.i.d
There is nothing wrong with beer, it is the alcohol in it that is the problem. And if you don’t drink it, it will not do you any harm. So, don’t blame the beer, whisky, brandy, wine or cidar, whatever. I blame the alcohol and the drinker.
“Umwana wangala kubwalwa ena temwana iyo” ,quoting my home boys home.Indeed there is nothing wrong with drinking alcohol.It becomes wrong when it is abused.My advice to the lady who posed this question is ,find ways of keeping your husband home,the bembas call it “Akatemba chupo”.In no time the dude will be staying home chasing the kids all day long and sometimes even eating porridge left over after the baby is fed.Good luck.
hmm well written. but 5 or 6 bottles aint bad!!
#40 Mo taim – thumbs up on the advice part.
#40 Mo taim – thats hilarious -ati he will stay home and even eat porridge left over by baby!You are deceiving us wives lol….I don’t think there is anything that can make a man stay home and chase children all day.A man isn’t even supposed to do that..Let the man have ambition and vision and let him pursue his dreams,alcohol will stop being a problem…..his dreams will LOL
Mrs X shouldnt even complain. mine drinks like the devil himself. i ve never seen him sober from the time we got married. Am now planning to leave him coz its too much nomba. everytime we are doing nisnhi balenunka fye ubwalwa. what should i do with him, please advise mwebantu.
#39 The Saint – I disagree with you. Parents who drink adversely affect the lives of spouses and children. Alcoholism also affects work production. In the end we are all affected by careless. Think about the people who have been killed by drunken drivers.
Ho weight gain iam a victim and i experience a full up tummy even when i am hungry please help.
any thing not taken in moderation is bad for us all. Too much money is just as bad as having too little (of course I’d rather grapple with the too much money part!! I’m only human!!) We all imbibe for different reasons. What is sad is that the average Zambian man cannot fathom  how to have a fun day out with his family unless “ama pint” are involved somewhere along the line!! Just think of the “birthday parties” the more affluent among us hold for our kids. They normally end after midnight, long after the birthday boy/girl have gone to sleep..why…because the parents have carried on in the true Zambian “chezela” style!!Â
terrible reading indeed! I am very disappointed with some of these comments from beer drinkers. what i can just advise these characters is that God is watching us day and night. please drink responsibly and remember, that day will come like a thief in the night! God have mercy!!
Guys I have never drunk Mosi Gold. Can sumone bring me some cans? I will be at the Joburg bus terminal with R500. I will be wearing green Chipolopolo
yah, those pitchers are really inspirational!!! @Sepp Blatter..Mosi Export bottled is the one to go for, canned beers just don’t cut it..OH and Cheers…one more before i go to sleep..
Bachisusu abengi are drunkards!!!
#2 Ka Mushota, you are not high class. Being with a white guy does not make you high class. the reason the guy drinks only 1 pint is because he is a broke a.r.s.e.! I’m still on your case, silly.
Mushota afunika kushombewa nayapa ZED- yamene yamene. kali navingazi too much, lyonse my boyfriend this, my boyfriend that ., bla blah blah.
Olo kapena ndiye kali mu K360 pa industry yabakulu >>>
Alot of married men who drink beer heavily away from their homes try to avoid their quarrelsome spouses. Some women are too talkative and force their husband to stay away from home as a solution. So my sister may be you are one of such women! Try to reflect on how you collaborate with your husband, may be you are the causer. Myself used to drink, but just stopped without anybody forcing me.
@45Â Nubian Princess
I agree with you.
these hilarious comments have my day..my kenyan boyfi adamantly told me i shudnt even bother putting him in a position wea he has to choose between me n his beer because he’ll choose his beer with no second thought! i rested my case n ol i can do now is pray 4 him!