What happens when you drink your favorite cocktail? How does it go from beverage to buzz? Or from buzz to blotto? Here, Dr. Amitava Dasgupta, a practicing toxicologist and researcher in the field of alcohol and drugs, provides answers for everything you ever wanted to know about drinking, from what creates the high to how to tell when you've had too much.

Scientific research has clearly established that drinking in moderation has many health benefits, including maintaining a healthy heart. Yet, many people do not know that drinking red wine protects the heart more than white wine, while beer, margaritas, and hard liquor are less effective in providing such protection. And while alcoholism is a serious problem requiring medical and psychological treatment, for those who are not addicted, drinking alcohol is not necessarily a bad habit. The problem is to distinguish between drinking sensibly and drinking insensibly. Dasgupta clearly outlines what constitutes healthy drinking and its attendant health benefits, offers advice on how to drink responsibly, and provides insight into just how alcohol works on the brain and the body. After reading this book, readers will enjoy their next drink with a fuller and safer understanding of why they're enjoying it.

1 Chapter 1. Alcohol Use and Abuse: Past and Present
2 Chapter 2. How does the body handle alcohol? A Guide to Drinking Sensibly and Avoiding DWI.
3 Chapter 3. How Alcohol Affects the Human Mind
4 Chapter 4. Can Alcohol Prevent Heart Disease and Other Illnesses?
5 Chapter 5. Genetic Makeup and Alcohol Addiction: Harmful Effects of Alcohol
6 Chapter 6. Markers of Alcohol Abuse in Blood
7 Chapter 7. Loopholes of Alcohol Testing: Breath Analyzer vs Blood Alcohol and DWI
8 Chapter 8. Pharmaceuticals, Drugs of Abuse and Alcohol: A Potential Deadly Mix
9 Chapter 9. Workplace Alcohol and Drug Testing: When not to drink at all
10 Chapter 10. Why not to drink at all when you are pregnant
11 Chapter 11. Dangers of Moonshine Whiskey and Related Liquors
12 Chapter 12. More Dangerous than Alcohol: Methanol and Antifreeze