Game Theory of Male Drinking: In-depth Analysis of the Harm of Excessive Drinking, the Benefits of Moderation, and the Art of Sobering Up at the Table [i]

For men, the main harms of excessive drinking include: 1. Liver damage: Excessive drinking can cause acute hepatitis, fatty liver, cirrhosis, etc.[i]. Even if a man drinks only one glass of alcohol a day, he will experience a worsening of his condition compared to a non-drinker.[i] 2. The digestive system becomes the primary target of alcohol: Alcohol directly irritates the gastric mucosa, causing chronic gastritis, gastric ulcers, and duodenal ulcers.[i] Long-term alcoholism is more likely to cause acute and chronic pancreatitis, and in severe cases, even diabetes.[i] 3. Damage to the nervous system: Alcohol accelerates the aging process of the brain, impairs intelligence, and makes people emotionally unstable.[i] 4. Alcohol acts like a flood breaking through a dam on the cardiovascular system: Alcohol increases blood pressure, causing stroke or secondary heart disease.[i] 5. Alcohol is a major cause of infertility: Excessive drinking in adult men can reduce sperm count and semen volume, leading to impotence, premature ejaculation, etc. Excessive drinking in youth may cause intellectual disability in offspring.[i] 6. Alcohol triggers gout: Excessive alcohol consumption leads to increased lactic acid production during metabolism, which inhibits uric acid excretion in the kidneys, resulting in elevated blood uric acid levels [i]. 7. Alcohol is closely linked to cancer: Alcoholics have a higher incidence of cancer in many parts of the body than the general population, especially the mouth, throat, esophagus, and liver [i]. Alcoholics are 10 times more likely to develop oral cancer than non-drinkers [i]. 8. Alcohol increases the risk of accidents: Alcohol is rich in calories, and if one continues to eat normally while drinking, it easily leads to obesity or a "beer belly" [i]. In recent years, some studies at home and abroad have suggested that moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial to health [i]. Moderate alcohol consumption can improve IQ. A study by the National Life Science Association of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, found that men who drank less than 540 ml of sake or wine daily had an average IQ 3.3% higher than non-drinkers [i]. Moderate alcohol consumption can reduce the risk of heart disease [i]. Alcohol can also increase protective cholesterol in the body [i]. The age at which moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial to health for men begins at age 35 [i]. A new study by the Montreal Heart Institute in Canada shows that moderate alcohol consumption can protect the heart and prevent 20% to 30% of coronary heart disease attacks [i]. How much alcohol is considered moderate and harmless? A person weighing 60 kg should limit their daily alcohol intake to less than 60 grams [i]. Those weighing less than 60 kg should reduce this accordingly, ideally to around 45 grams [i]. This translates to approximately 50 grams of 60-proof spirits, 1 kg of beer, or 250 ml of whiskey [i]. A simple formula for calculating alcohol intake is: Alcohol intake (grams) = Alcohol consumed (ml) × Alcohol concentration (%) × 0.8 [i]. If someone consumes more than 40 grams of alcohol daily for more than 5 consecutive years, 48% of them will develop varying degrees of alcoholic liver disease [i]. The harm of drinking a large amount of alcohol at once is greater than drinking in multiple portions throughout the day [i]. When drinking is unavoidable, how can we minimize the harm of alcohol to the body? 1. Choose the best beverage: Red wine is the first choice, followed by rice wine, which has almost no damage to the liver[i]. White wine is the most damaging alcoholic beverage to the liver[i]. 2. Eat something before drinking: Eat some biscuits, pastries, or rice before drinking[i]. The best accompaniments are high-protein and vitamin-rich foods, such as fresh vegetables, fresh fish, lean meat, beans, and eggs[i]. Note that you should never drink alcohol with salted fish, sausages, or cured meats, as these smoked and cured foods react with alcohol, damaging the liver and even inducing cancer[i]. 3. Choose a safe time: It is safer to drink after 2 pm every day[i]. In the morning, the concentration of alcohol dehydrogenase in the stomach is low, making it easier to absorb the same amount of alcohol than in the afternoon[i]. It is also not advisable to drink alcohol before bed, when you have a cold, or when you are emotionally agitated[i]. 4. Patients with liver or asthma should not drink alcohol: Patients with acute hepatitis, fatty liver, cirrhosis, asthma, etc., are absolutely prohibited from drinking alcohol[i]. 5. Before drinking alcohol, it is essential to "screen" it: In addition to ethanol, which is harmful to the human body, alcohol also contains methanol, acetaldehyde, etc. [i]. When heated to 20-30 degrees Celsius, these substances begin to evaporate into gases, reducing their harm to the human body [i]. Red wine also contains a substance called antioxidants [i]. If you can eat more antioxidants, the oxidation of fat will be prevented [i]. Therefore, drinking wine regularly can delay aging [i]. Red wine can be divided into dry red wine, semi-dry red wine, semi-sweet red wine, and sweet wine according to different sugar contents [i]. As long as you choose the dry red wine with the lowest sugar content, people with diabetes can also enjoy wine [i]. After getting drunk, how can you relieve the uncomfortable symptoms such as headache, dizziness, nausea, and fever? 1. Honey water for headache after drinking: Honey contains a special type of fructose that can promote the decomposition and absorption of alcohol [i]. 2. Tomato juice for dizziness after drinking: Drinking more than 300 ml at a time can gradually eliminate the dizziness after drinking [i]. 3. Fresh grapes relieve nausea and vomiting after drinking: Grapes are rich in tartaric acid [i]. 4. Watermelon juice relieves fever after drinking [i]. 5. Grapefruit eliminates the smell of alcohol in the mouth [i]. 6. Celery juice relieves gastrointestinal discomfort and facial flushing after drinking [i]. 7. Yogurt relieves irritability after drinking: Yogurt can protect the gastric mucosa and slow down alcohol absorption [i]. 8. Bananas relieve palpitations and chest tightness after drinking [i]. 9. Olives relieve loss of appetite after drinking: Olives have been considered a "good medicine" for sobering up, clearing stomach heat, and stimulating appetite since ancient times [i]. [i]