Alcohol and its Effects

Alcohol is a substance that has become a part of the social settings in today s world. Many people can say they have drunk alcohol and most can even remember their first sip of beer. Whether it was given to us by our parents or at a social engagement, everyone has encountered alcohol in their lives. But as responsible people, have we ever stopped to realize that we are taking a drug in to our system that is both harmful and addictive? Alcohol affects a wide range of digestive-system disorders such as inflammation of pancreas and cirrhosis of the liver. The central and peripheral nervous systems can be permanently damaged causing blackouts, hallucinations, and extreme tremor may occur. As if the there was not enough effects from alcohol, vitamin deficiency is also one of the major effects cause by alcohol causing folate and thiamine deficiencies. Though there are a variety of drinking patterns and the range of injuries among alcohol abusers, some are mild and can recover on their own with the right tools and techniques. Others are critical and need hospitalization and prolong rehabilitation with custodian supervision.

Ten percent of the adult drinkers in the United States are considered alcoholics or at least they experience drinking problems to some degree. There is about 5% of ethyl alcohol in a beer, 7-14% in table wine, 20% in fortified wind such as Sherry, and 40% in distilled spirits as Whiskey. These drinks cause toxic to the digestive organs causing damages the liver and cause inflammation of pancreas. The liver damage will swell with acute intoxication, often painfully, and will show fatty infiltration and enlargement if ingestion continues regularly. With excessive alcohol over many years, the ravaged liver becomes scarred, shrunken, and relatively non-functional. This end-stage cirrhosis is associated with the yellow, demented alcoholic, belly swollen with water. The pancreatitis is a consequence of alcoholism as well. Alcohol stimulates pancreatic secretion. Malnutrition with deficiencies of protein and vitamins contributes to chronic pancreatic dysfunction. Impairment of pancreatic enzyme production spoils digestion and contributes to malabsorption of nutrients. Decreased insulin production may cause or aggravate diabetes.

It is estimated that the annual number of deaths related to excessive drinking exceed 97,000 in the United States alone. Economic costs related to alcoholism are at least $100 billion a year. This is why alcoholics experience blackouts, hallucinations, and extreme tremor after consuming an excess amount of alcohol. The prevalence of alcoholic cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease) is unknown. Alcohol-induced heart damage appears to increase with lifetime dose of alcohol. Even though alcohol can damage the brain in many ways, the most serious effect is Korsakoff s syndrome. This causes the inability to remember recent events or to learn new information. These incidents of alcohol-related brain damages are approximately 10 percent of adult dementias in the United States. Studies indicate that approximately 10 to 30 percent of alcoholics have panic disorder, and about 20 percent of persons with anxiety disorders abuse alcohol. This is why the strongest correlation between alcoholism and severe anxiety symptoms occurs in the context of alcohol withdrawal. The severe tremors; feelings of tension, restlessness, and insomnia associated with withdrawal begin to subside after four to five days.

With many more effects caused by alcohol, vitamin deficiency is primary the popular know cause of the excess of drinking. Folate deficiency occurs in the majority of binge-drinking alcoholics and is a common cause of anemia. Inadequate dietary intake, intestinal malabsorption, and impaired folate storage in the liver all contributes to folate deficiency. Alcohol ingestion also interferes with vitamin B 12 absorption. Deficiencies of the two vitamins cause large-cell (megaloblastic) anemia. Thiamine deficiency may occur in long-term alcohol users as a consequence of both inadequate ingestion and malabsoprtion of the vitamin. With severe deficiency, major brain disturbance or alcoholic psychosis emerges (Korsakoff syndrome). Thiamine replacement corrects the grosser dysfunctions of the brain and it has been proposed that alcoholic beverages be fortified with thiamine as a means of preventing this syndrome.

As the world continues to drink excessive alcohol in beer, wine, etc., alcohol continues to damage peoples life s as well as the their body. Although most organs of the body are adversely affected by heavy long-term use, particular risks include: certain cancers, cirrhosis of the liver, brain and nerve damaged, gastritis, pancreatitis, physical dependence can occur, and heart disease. Now that it is know that alcohol has numerous effects to our body and brain, why do we keep taking that sip of beer when nothing good will come out of it?