We disregard warnings about the harmfulness of stimulants until they lead to alcoholic heart failure or an attack of dyspnea due to COPD - a common smoker's disease. Do stimulants really hurt, we ask cardiologists - prof. Zbigniew Gaciong, prof. Artur Mamcarz and prof. Andrzej Pajak.

Cigarettes - they are indisputably deadly

Research shows that the addiction to smoking is number 2 on the list of life-shortening factors (number 1 is hypertension), with every second smoker dying from tobacco-related disease. Cancer, not just lung cancer, opens the long list of tobacco-related diseases. Smoking accelerates the development of atherosclerosis, causes cardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), leading to respiratory failure.

In non-smoking countries, immediate effects are seen: the number of heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths is falling. Interestingly, non-smokers benefit more than active smokers.

- In everyday practice, a slim, unimpressive patient with low cholesterol and atherosclerosis in the vessels usually turns out to be a long-term smoker - says prof. Gaciong. Attempts to replace nicotine in stimulating the reward system with a drug proved unsuccessful, e.g. rimonaband acting through receptors sensitive to marijuana decreased the feeling of craving for nicotine. It was originally conceived as a slimming drug as a result of observing a wolf's appetite after smoking marijuana. After taking the drug, patients did lose weight, but also became prone to suicide. - Everyone has someone they care about, doctors should use this argument to motivate people to quit smoking - says prof. Gaciong.

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Ernest Hemingway talked about one dose of gin poured over his breakfast tea, which, "when things go really bad", helped him see it in a much better light … and he exceeded it most often by noon. As you know, he was a Nobel Prize winner and ended his life with a suicide. Symbolically - this is the range of the problem with stimulants.

Alcohol must be careful - it is more harmful than helpful

Is drinking alcohol in moderation he althy? Should doctors recommend it to cardiac patients, since it has been established that its small amountsare comparable to drugs used to treat heart conditions? On the one hand, alcohol protects the heart, raises the concentration of good HDL cholesterol, has an anticoagulant effect, but on the other hand, it has opposite effects, and all this is related to the dose - says prof. Artur Mamcarz.

Some studies have established that the therapeutic benefit of women in avoiding the risk of a heart attack is consuming less than 10 g of alcohol per day - in men 15 g.

- Despite these findings, even people with high cardiovascular risk should not be encouraged to drink alcohol - says prof. Mamcarz. And prof. Andrzej Pająk emphasizes rather unfavorable effects of alcohol consumption. - Even if we assume that the consumption of small amounts of alcohol has a protective role for the body through a direct relationship with the development of cardiovascular diseases (coronary artery disease), it generally has an unfavorable effect - arterial hypertension, accidents, injuries, mental disorders, cirrhosis of the liver. Only in individual cases, in people with high cardiovascular risk, who are in the habit of consuming alcohol and have no contraindications for its consumption, can the consumption of small doses be considered safe - emphasizes prof. Spider.

WHO estimates that alcohol is responsible for 4% of disease burden, after hypertension (4.4%) and smoking (4.1%). Even 20-30 years ago, it was believed that the liver damage observed in alcoholics was not due to its direct action, but to developing deficiencies. Today we know that they develop alcoholic hepatitis and then cirrhosis.

One hypothesis that links alcohol with its beneficial effects on the heart relates to its effect on the composition of blood fat, as alcohol alters the lipid profile. Good cholesterol increases in drinkers, while the concentration of triglycerides increases adversely - explains Prof. Gaciong.

Studies have documented that patients who are consumed with alcoholic impaired contractility of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy) while maintaining abstinence, heal in a magical manner.

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When to drink wine?

The attribution of the he alth-promoting effect of wine resulted from observations of residents from southern Europe, where it is commonly drunk a lot, and much less people die of heart disease. Epidemiological studies have shown that people who do not drink at all lived shorter lives than those who drink moderately. In looking for the cause, the role of antioxidants in preventing organ damage from toxic oxygen radicals was considered; because wine contains a natural antioxidant - resveratrol. However, for it to be of pro-he alth significance,one would have to drink a sea of ​​wine. Incidentally, resveratrol can be purchased in pill form.

Coffee reduces cancer risk?

Why coffee - a drink with many biologically active substances - reduces the risk of diabetes, protects against stroke, causes a slight and temporary increase in blood pressure (small because our receptors get used to it), does not overstimulate the heart? Maybe it's because it is sometimes a substitute for food, just like a cigarette eliminates hunger?

Prof. Mamcarz, a coffee lover, in response to this question, cites the latest research and emphasizes, inter alia, an inverse relationship between drinking coffee and the frequency of high blood pressure, and between drinking coffee and type 2 diabetes (in one study, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to the group drinking 2 cups a day, was halved in one study) . Coffee reduces the risk of cancer (except bladder cancer). It has a positive effect on the brain: it releases neurotransmitters, increases the activity of neurons - which is why it supports learning.

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Category:

Psychology