Related topics: cancer , women , alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
hideAn alcoholic beverage is a drink that contains ethanol (commonly called alcohol). Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits.
Alcoholic beverages are consumed in almost every nation, and most nations have laws that regulate their production, sale, and consumption.
In particular, such laws specify the minimum age at which a person may legally buy or drink alcoholic beverages. This minimum age can be as low as 16 years, as in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Most nations, however, set the minimum age at 18 years.
In the United States, the minimum age is 21 years.
Alcoholic beverages are a part of most European cultures, and children in these cultures may occasionally drink alcohol during meals with their family. In Germany, 14-year-old persons may drink low-alcohol beverages if their parents are present.
The production and consumption of alcohol occurs in most cultures of the world, from hunter-gatherer peoples to nation-states. Alcoholic beverages are often an important part of social events in these cultures. In many cultures, drinking plays a significant role in social interaction — mainly because of alcohol’s neurological effects.
Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that has a depressant effect. A high blood alcohol content is usually considered to be legal drunkenness because it reduces attention and slows reaction speed. Alcoholic beverages can be addictive, and the state of addiction to alcohol is known as alcoholism.
For more information about Alcoholic beverage, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with alcohol consumption
Genes that drive you to drink (but don't make you an alcoholic)
Oct 26, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (2) |
0
Your genetic make up may predispose you to drink more but may not increase your genetic risk for alcoholism (alcohol dependence). Research published in the open access journal, BMC Biology, pinpoints genetic pathways and ge ...
Alcohol tolerance 'switch' found
Oct 21, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Researchers at North Carolina State University have found a genetic "switch" in fruit flies that plays an important role in making flies more tolerant to alcohol.
How alcohol blunts the ability of hamsters to 'rise and shine'
Sep 01, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
7
Chronic alcohol consumption blunts the biological clock's ability to synchronize daily activities to light, disrupts natural activity patterns and continues to affect the body's clock (circadian rhythm), even days after the ...
Toyota developing anti-drunk driving gadget
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Aug 31, 2009 |
1 / 5 (1) |
6
Toyota Motor said Monday it was developing anti-drunk driving equipment that would lock the ignition of a vehicle if high levels of alcohol are detected in the driver.
Teetotallers more likely to be depressed
Aug 28, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
2
Abstaining from alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of depression according to a new study published in Addiction journal.
Drinking 22 or more units of alcohol a week increases rates of hospital admission
Jul 01, 2009 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Men who drink 22 or more units of alcohol a week have a 20% higher rate of admissions into acute care hospitals than non-drinkers, researchers from the University of Glasgow have found.
Alcohol and smoking are key causes for bowel cancer
Jun 02, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
A new global study has found that lifestyle risk factors such as alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking are important risk factors for bowel cancer. Researchers have shown that people who consume the largest quantities ...
'Happy hour' gene discovery suggests cancer drugs might treat alcoholism
May 21, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
1
A class of drugs already approved as cancer treatments might also help to beat alcohol addiction. That's the conclusion of a discovery in flies of a gene, dubbed happyhour, that has an important and previously unknown role ...
Study: Lower legal drinking age increases poor birth outcomes
May 21, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
Amid renewed calls to consider reducing the legal drinking age, a new University of Georgia study finds that lower drinking ages increase unplanned pregnancies and pre-term births among young people.
Prevention program helps teens override a gene linked to risky behavior
May 15, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
A family-based prevention program designed to help adolescents avoid substance use and other risky behavior proved especially effective for a group of young teens with a genetic risk factor contributing toward such behavior, ...
Half a glass of wine a day may boost life expectancy by five years
Apr 30, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
1
Drinking up to half a glass of wine a day may boost life expectancy by five years—at least in men—suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Frogs reveal clues about the effects of alcohol during development
Apr 06, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) cause malformations in babies, including facial defects, short stature, and mental and behavioral abnormalities. The African frog, Xenopus, is a valuable ...
Red wine vs. white? It makes no difference when it comes to breast-cancer risk
Mar 09, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
The largest study of its kind to evaluate the effect of red versus white wine on breast-cancer risk concludes that both are equal offenders when it comes to increasing breast-cancer risk. The results of the study, led by ...
Moderate alcohol intake associated with bone protection
Mar 03, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
In an epidemiological study of men and post-menopausal women primarily over 60 years of age, regular moderate alcohol intake was associated with greater bone mineral density (BMD). Researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human ...
Million women study shows even moderate alcohol consumption associated with increased cancer risk
Feb 24, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (4) |
3
Low to moderate alcohol consumption among women is associated with a statistically significant increase in cancer risk and may account for nearly 13 percent of the cancers of the breast, liver, rectum, and upper aero-digestive ...
