|
Just
for Women
When it comes to alcohol,
there are some nasty surprises for women. To start, there are physiological
differences in the way alcohol affects women and men. Even when a
woman and a man weigh the same, the woman gets high on less alcohol,
and she gets addicted more easily. She more quickly develops such
physical complications as liver disease, high blood pressure, and
hepatitis. (For instance a woman's risk of liver cirrhosis begins
at only two drinks a day; a man's risk begins at four to six drinks
a day.)
In sobriety, a woman's damaged organs take longer to repair themselves.
If she has four or more drinks a day, studies show that she is also
40% more likely to get breast cancer than women who don't drink. If
you've heard about how alcohol may protect against heart disease,
what you may not know, is that in women, that protection applies only
after menopause, and peaks at one drink a day. Young women who abuse
alcohol are also at greater risk for accidents, prone to victimization,
vulnerable to sexual assault and other violence.
|
Why
Women are more prone to the negative effects
of alcohol than men. |
Body
Size:
Women are, on average, built smaller than men. Therefore, equal amounts
of alcohol cause a higher blood alcohol concentration in women due
to the smaller blood volume.
Body Composition:
The average female carries more body fat than a male. Body fat contains
little water. When consumed, alcohol dilutes in water. Therefore,
a female has less body water to dilute alcohol in, causing a higher
blood alcohol concentration even if two equally sized men and women
drink the same amount of alcohol.
|
|
Metabolizing
Enzyme:
Women have less of the metabolizing enzyme (acetaldehyde dehydrogenase
or ADH ) that helps the body break down and get rid of alcohol, than
men do. Therefore, more of the alcohol that women drink enters the
blood stream as pure alcohol, and stays there.
Hormones:
Finally, a woman's response to alcohol is increased due to hormonal
changes when a woman is about to have her period, or is taking the
birth control pill. |
| Pregnancy |
Women who drink while pregnant,
or even planning a pregnancy, risk permanent damage to the fetus.
There is no known "safe" level of drinking during pregnancy
- that is if you are pregnant; drinking any amount of alcohol can
be harmful.
* Adapted from the NIAAA |
|
