Of course reasons for binge drinking are manifold. Maybe you work in a stressful, highly pressurised environment and need to let off steam when you can. Maybe you’re young, out with all your friends, with a lot of energy to burn and a need to drink and show off. Perhaps you’re unemployed, have just been dumped or are just generally depressed and you have frustrations to vent, sorrows to immolate. Perhaps you are simply shy and feel more comfortable in society with a little “dutch courage”. Whatever, it is a simple fact that alcohol is addictive. When one drinks it initially creates a kind of inner hubris. We feel better about ourselves and want to feel better still. This feeling must be fuelled. The more one drinks more and faster one wants to drink. To make matters worse, we live in a culture which actively encourages this. People don’t go out to enjoy a quiet drink. People go out to get pissed.

A recent government report revealed some alarming figures. The study by Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit stated that Britain’s binge drinking trend costs nation £20 billion a year. 17 million working days are lost to hangovers and alcohol related illnesses caused by binge drinking, annual cost to employers being estimated at £6.4 billion. The cost to NHS is thought to be in region of £1.7 billion. Around 40% of A&E admissions are alcohol related. Between midnight and 5AM that figure rises to 70%. Every year around 150,000 people find themselves in hospital as a result of accidents or illnesses caused by alcohol misuse. In addition there are 22,000 premature deaths per year directly attributable to alcohol. Billions of pounds are spent cleaning up alcohol related crime and social problems. In this country there are no less than 1.2 million incidents of alcohol related violence a year. 1.3 million children are affected by parents with drink problems and demographic for young binge drinkers, once confined to late teens now often runs from 16 to 24.

Sobering statistics – and yet authors of this report have said that even these figures may be a conservative estimate.

So much for damage alcohol does to economy. What about personal cost? How could binge drinking directly affect you?

The evening primrose plant resembles a primrose but is related to willow herb group. This oil is called evening primrose oil and it is believed to have many health benefits.

There is much documented evidence on benefit of evening primrose oil. To begin with, evening primrose oil is a source of essential fatty acid gamma-linolenic (GLA). Evening primrose oil with evening primrose oil benefit is recommended for a variety of reasons.

Fatty acids play an important role in production of prostaglandin's. Virtually every system function is affected by prostaglandin's including regulation of inflammation and pain, blood pressure and hormone production.

Evening primrose oil taken daily can help to maintain good health.

Prostaglandins also play a role in metabolizing cholesterol as well as dilation of blood vessels. Evening primrose oil users report a general health improvement.Linoleic acid is usually converted by body into prostaglandin. However a deficiency of vitamin C or an illness such as diabetes or heart disease can inhibit this process. In these cases, taking a supplement of evening primrose oil has shown excellent results.

Evening primrose oil has proven its efficacy in relieving rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. Several studies on evening primrose oil benefit and arthritis show promise.

Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis experienced significant improvements within six months of evening primrose oil usage and enjoyed evening primrose oil benefit. Through evening primrose oil usage, joint tenderness and swelling was reduced by 42 percent, another benefit of evening primrose oil. Pain was often lowered by 22 percent while taking evening primrose oil. In many cases users of 1.5 to 2.8 grams of GLA daily were able to reduce their use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, showing evening primrose oil benefit.