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Alcohol Rehabilitation Treatment :: Alcohol Health Effects :: Women and Drinking
Alcohol Drinking and Women
Alcohol presents yet another health challenge for women. Even in small amounts, alcohol damages women differently than men. In some ways, heavy drinking is much more risky for women than it is for men.
How Much is Too Much alcohol addiction?
Sixty percent of women have at least one drink a year. Among women who drink, 13 percent have more than seven drinks per week and this may even lead to alcohol addiction. For women, this level of drinking is above the recommended limits. Moderate drinking is not more than one drink a day for women and no more than two drinks a day for men. One drink per day for women can increase the risk for motor vehicle crashes, other injuries, high blood pressure, stoke, violence, suicide, and certain types of cancer and alcohol damages.
Some people should not drink at all, to stay away from alcohol causes and alcohol damages.
- Anyone under age 21
- People of any age that are unable to restrict their alcohol addiction to moderate levels
- Women who may become pregnant or who are pregnant
- People who plan to drive, operate machinery, or take part in other activities that require attention, skill, or coordination
- People taking prescription or over-the counter medications that can interact with alcohol
Why are lower levels of drinking recommended for women than for men? Because women are at greater risk than men for developing alcohol damages. Alcohol passes through the digestive tract and is dispersed in the water in the body. The more water available, the more diluted the alcohol. As a rule, men weigh more than women, and pound for pound, women have less water in their bodies than men.
Therefore, a woman's brain and other organs are exposed to more alcohol and to more of the toxic by products that result when the body breaks down and eliminates alcohol.
For women's the alcoholism treatment and alcohol recovery is also complicated.