Even though the month is more than halfway over, is it too late to try Sober October? Not according to CNN wellness expert Dr. Leana Wen. I asked her about the benefits of cutting out — or just cutting back — on alcohol use.
How much alcohol is considered too much, for men versus women? What are signs of problem drinking? And if people want to reduce their drinking, how can Sober October help? Wen is an emergency physician and adjunct associate professor at George Washington University. She previously was Baltimore’s health commissioner. CNN: How much alcohol is considered too much, from a health perspective? Dr.
Leana Wen: There are three issues to consider when answering this question. The first is how much a person is drinking on a regular basis. Adults of legal drinking age should not drink more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men, according to the U.
S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans . These findings are based on research showing that the risk of health problems increases after these amounts.
Higher amounts of alcohol consumed on a regular basis are associated with higher risks of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, several types of cancer and early death. In the United States, about 178,000 people die from alcohol-related diseases each year. Alcohol-associated liver disease is the leading cause of liver transplants .
The second issue is whether the person engages in binge drinking. This behavioral pattern is defined , according to.