News.Scotland.Org

Scotland, Oct 19: Too much alcohol is dangerous for health, more and more Scottish people are developing affinity towards drinking dangerous amount of alcohol each week. This fact was revealed by a new report stating that more than a million people drink excess alcohol at least once in a week in Scotland.

A study conducted by an expert group of leading clinicians found that at least a fifth of the population drinks a dangerous amount of alcohol. The study is a follow-up of the report in England that found the people in affluent areas were consuming more alcohol than their poorer counterparts.

Dr Bruce Ritson, chairman of campaign group Health Action on Alcohol Problems, which conducted the survey, said: “There seems to be quite a widespread belief that most of us drink responsibly and sensibly and, while that is often true, there are a lot of people who are exceeding the recommended amounts in a week in Scotland. That is why we think it is important to adopt a policy approach of prevention, rather than just focusing on the heaviest or addicted drinkers.”

Three to four units a day for men and two to three units a day for women are the recommended amount of alcohol consumption. Even the past surveys have found that these limitations are exceeded on a regular basis and this latest finding give a clearer picture about increasing amount of Scots drinking habit.

Not only excess alcohol consumption but also the alcohol related illness are on a increasing mode, this gives the adverse effect of the excess drinking habit in Scotland. Liver related disease to which alcohol consumption is attributed as the main reason has doubled in Scotland in the past decade. In some region it has increased up to four fold.

Those who have the habit of regular drinking are prone to alcohol related illness as the study disclosed that binge drinking would not create a ruining effect as regular and consistent drinking habit will do. Now-a-days drinking alcohol has become normal rather than abnormal behaviour.

“We are increasingly persuaded drinking alcohol should be part of every leisure activity, but many people are unconsciously drinking much more than they realise, not only because they don’t understand how to keep track of this habit, but also many beers and wines have become much stronger in recent years,” said Jack Law, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland.

A proper campaign to create awareness in people particularly among younger generation is what needed to bring out a permanent solution to this issue. Everyone should be made aware of what they are drinking and the adverse effect of drinking.

October19

Have you ever tried to know how much salt you are consuming every day, if not then have a look or else it will be too late. It is known that children are consuming about four times more their recommended salt in take while eating out at leading fast-food chains. A research conducted by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) reveals that children and elders are consuming high level of salts. The study also highlighted the fact that few of the leading fast-food chains are responsible for this, as their food contains an excess percentage of salts which is harmful for children and elders.

It was found that, while ordering for a Pizza Plus for 4 means you are consuming 12.3g of salt each. This is about twice the normal salt intake for adults, while two-and-a-half times the recommended intake for 7-10 year old and over four times the limit for young ones from 4-6 years. These whooping figures raised a serious concern over the dietary charts of the children and others. The study also found that the variety of food stuffs KFC serves contains a high amount of salt contents. The burger king chicken BLT baguette meal contains 4.8g salts. While the chicken and fries include about 6.3g of salts in them. In this race for highest salt content food stuffs Mc Donalds is also not lagging, a Quarter Pounder here contains 3.2g of slats.

The most scary thing the research revealed was majority of these high content salt varieties targets children. It is known that children love these burgers and pizza and usually have these regularly. Though McDonald’s offer labeling on their food packages and also provides leaflets giving information about the percentage of salt content they carry. The best way to make people aware what they are eating is to provide a nutritional information about the foods.

According to Prof. Graham Mac Gregor, chairman of CASH, the survey shows that some of the meals have salts level staggeringly high. “These salts act as a long-term toxin that puts up blood pressure in both children and adults and thereby causes strokes and heart attacks,” he said. He further said “We know that reducing salt intakes to below the recommended 6g a day for adults and less for children reduces the risk of having a stroke by a quarter, and heart attack by one fifth, so I would really urge people to choose lower salt options whenever they go out for a meal.”

So next time when parents take their wards for a treat at these fast-food centre, be aware what are you eating and what all it contains. Or else you may be having scrumptious food loaded with hidden nasties. Even parents should make their children educated about the importance to know what they are eating, and is that good for their health. Hope next time you or your child encounters with a burger or pizza make sure you are not munching in more salts.