Alcohol Effects
Alcohol Effects
Researchers are often split on the effect of alcohol on the human body. Opinions range from those that claim drinking alcohol even in moderation leads to health deterioration, to those scientists that consider moderate drinking has zero side effects and if anything actually has health benefits.
One thing though that researches across the divide rarely if ever disagree on is the effect of excessive consumption of alcohol. But even for a layman, it is not that difficult to see.
We each might know one or two people that plunged headlong into alcoholism only to be later bedeviled by all manner of medical conditions. What makes the knowledge of these effects even more important is the fact that excessive consumption of alcohol has continued to be a growing problem across the world as incomes rise but in tandem with the stress of day to day living.
With few people engaged in extracurricular activities such as sports or exercise at the gym, hanging out for a drink is virtually the de facto way to unwind at the end of a long day. It is this that can then serve as the environment for increasing intake of alcohol.
But what are the medical conditions associated with drinking alcohol? One critical body part that alcohol affects is the brain. Alcohol typically lowers inhibitions by depressing the brain cells. Long term exposure to alcohol eventually begins to permanently destroy brain cells.
The result is that one’s memory, coordination and overall behavior start to decline. Outward signs will include mood swings and the loss of a basic sense of perception including smell, sight, hearing and taste.
Another consequence of taking alcohol is cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure. The hearts ability to pump blood is significantly reduced over time resulting in irregular heartbeats.
In more serious cases, and the end result could be a heart attack or a stroke. Other side effects include anemia and reduced white blood cell count thus increasingly one’s vulnerability to sickness and disease.
The liver is another organ that is probably the most affected when it comes to excessive drinking of alcohol. A condition referred to alcohol hepatitis starts to take shape in the liver leading to nausea and abdominal pain as the alcohol destroys liver cells.
Vomiting is accompanied by the yellowing of the eyes and skin, a condition known as jaundice. Eventually, liver cirrhosis sets in at which point the liver is damaged beyond repair and completely ceases to function. Liver cirrhosis is often fatal.
Alcohol affects the digestive tract too. It can lead to gastritis, an inflammation of the stomach lining. The intestines themselves up to the colon can also be affected and their ability to efficiently absorb food nutrients hampered. Other effects of alcohol range from cancers of the mouth, colon and liver, to bone weakness (due to poor calcium absorption) and reproductive health concerns.
