The Science of Drinking: How Alcohol Affects Your Body and Mind

277 Pages·2011·3.88 MB·English

by  Amitava Dasgupta

The Science of Drinking
1100--664499__DDaassgguuppttaa..iinnddbb ii 11//1177//1111 66::4400 AAMM
1100--664499__DDaassgguuppttaa..iinnddbb iiii 11//1177//1111 66::4400 AAMM
The Science of Drinking
How Alcohol Affects
Your Body and Mind
Amitava Dasgupta
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Lanham (cid:129) Boulder (cid:129) New York (cid:129) Toronto (cid:129) Plymouth, UK
1100--664499__DDaassgguuppttaa..iinnddbb iiiiii 11//1177//1111 66::4400 AAMM
Published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com
Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2011 by Amitava Dasgupta
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval
systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer
who may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dasgupta, Amitava, 1958–
The science of drinking : how alcohol affects your body and mind /
Amitava Dasgupta.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4422-0409-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4422-0411-9
(electronic)
1. Alcohol—Physiological effect. 2. Drinking of alcoholic beverages—
Psychological aspects. I. Title.
QP801.A3D37 2011
615'.7828—dc22
2010051613
™
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
1100--664499__DDaassgguuppttaa..iinnddbb iivv 11//1177//1111 66::4400 AAMM
To all responsible, law-abiding citizens
who drink sensibly in moderation
1100--664499__DDaassgguuppttaa..iinnddbb vv 11//1177//1111 66::4400 AAMM
1100--664499__DDaassgguuppttaa..iinnddbb vvii 11//1177//1111 66::4400 AAMM
Contents
Preface ix
1 Alcohol Use and Abuse: Past and Present 1
2 How the Human Body Handles Alcohol: A Guide
to Drinking Sensibly and Avoiding a DWI 15
3 How Alcohol Affects the Human Mind 37
4 Health Benefits of Moderate Alcohol Consumption 55
5 Harmful Effects of Chronic Alcohol Consumption 77
6 DWI and Alcohol Testing: Breath Analyzer versus
Blood Alcohol 101
7 Biomarkers of Alcohol Abuse 129
8 Pharmaceuticals, Drugs of Abuse, and Alcohol:
A Potentially Deadly Mix 153
9 Workplace Alcohol and Drug Testing: When Not
to Drink at All 173
10 Why Not to Drink at All When You’re Pregnant 191
11 Dangers of Moonshine Whiskey and Related Illegally
Produced Liquors 207
12 More Dangerous than Alcohol: Methanol and Ethylene Glycol 221
Index 249
About the Author 265
vii
1100--664499__DDaassgguuppttaa..iinnddbb vviiii 11//1177//1111 66::4400 AAMM
1100--664499__DDaassgguuppttaa..iinnddbb vviiiiii 11//1177//1111 66::4400 AAMM
Preface
What happens when you drink your favorite cocktail? How does it
go from beverage to buzz? Or from buzz to blotto? As a practicing
toxicologist and researcher in the field of alcohol and drugs, I will present
answers for everything you ever wanted to know about drinking—from
what creates the high to how you reach a blood alcohol level that gets you
into trouble. Did you know that the smell we commonly perceive as alco-
hol is not alcohol but is from other volatile substances present in a drink?
Did you know that alcoholism is an illness and that proper treatment can
restore an alcoholic to a normal life? Overwhelming scientific research
and evidence points toward the beneficial effects of drinking in modera-
tion, including a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, a lower
risk of developing dementia with advancing age, and some increase in
longevity. Many people do not know that drinking red wine protects the
heart more than white wine, while beer, margaritas, and hard liquor are
less effective in providing such protection.
I want to share the latest scientific facts on the effect of alcohol on one’s
body and mind. Drinking in moderation is a good way to loosen inhibi-
tion in a relationship and let your creativity flow. The key is to distinguish
between drinking sensibly and drinking insensibly. Scientific research has
provided some guidance on how much and how often we should drink
to get the benefits of alcohol and at what point drinking hurts our bod-
ies. In addition, there are clear guidelines about how much alcohol is safe
to drink in an evening before driving home to avoid being charged with
a DWI. While those with advanced science backgrounds can decipher
the technical medical literature written about this subject, my goal is to
ix
1100--664499__DDaassgguuppttaa..iinnddbb iixx 11//1177//1111 66::4400 AAMM