Side Effects Of Excessive Alcohol Consumption

The effects of alcohol on your body vary depending on the amount you consume, your state of health, your physique, your age and your gender.

Although the effects of alcohol can be felt throughout the body, there are some organs that are affected and burdened more than others. What are these and how does alcohol affect your body, even your appearance?

Brain

Alcohol acts as a sedative in the brain, which is the body's control center. It may initially make you feel euphoric, but it lasts for a while and is usually followed by depression.

Prolonged alcohol consumption can damage brain cells and cause memory loss and mental problems.

Also, alcohol "steals" water from the brain, so even in cases where you have drunk a lot, when the body begins to metabolize alcohol, you may feel dizzy and have a headache.

Heart

The excessive alcohol consumption , stress on the heart, causes high blood pressure, and increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and heart disease. It can also cause an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmias) and over time weaken the heart muscle. This is known as cardiomyopathy and can lead to premature death. However, responsible consumption Alcohol can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, especially in age groups who are at higher risk for these conditions, such as men over 40 and postmenopausal women. Even if someone has a heart condition, they can consume alcohol sparingly, provided they have consulted their doctor and the alcohol does not affect the medication they are taking. It is believed that alcohol, and not a specific beverage, is responsible for 75% of the cardio-protective effects of alcoholic beverages. According to recent research, consuming one or two drinks a day for men and one for women does not worsen heart disease.

Liver

The liver is the organ that breaks down the alcohol we consume. It releases an enzyme called alcoholic dehydrogenate (ADH), which converts alcohol into molecules that are either absorbed or excreted by the body. Each person metabolizes alcohol at different rates, depending on the amount of ADH enzyme produced by their liver. Usually, women have lower ADH levels than men, so they metabolize alcohol more slowly and for this reason the number of servings recommended for women is lower. What you need to remember is that the liver can only break down one unit of alcohol per hour, and there is nothing you can do to speed up this process. The rest circulates in the blood, the brain and other organs and will continue to circulate until it is completely broken down by the liver. When the body cannot cope with the alcohol in its system, the rate of alcoholism increases, causing acute alcohol poisoning, which can result in fainting, coma or even death. Long-term alcohol consumption can also lead to liver cancer or other types of cancer and neutralize liver cells leading to serious liver disease, such as:

• Hepatic statuses - fat accumulation . This can happen after a single occasion of excessive alcohol consumption or as a result of regular consumption above the recommended limits. It reverses very quickly with the elimination of alcohol and does not cause permanent damage. However, if regular alcohol consumption continues, then 15-20% of people will develop more serious liver diseases that will take the form of alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver.

• Alcoholic hepatitis. It is an inflammation of the liver that varies between mild and acute. People with mild to moderate alcoholic hepatitis may not be aware that they have liver damage, while people with acute alcoholic hepatitis may develop a liver rupture. Alcoholic hepatitis can be reversed in many people if they stop drinking alcohol immediately.

• Alcoholic cirrhosis . It is the result of a process in which normal liver tissue is replaced by scar tissue that gradually leads to the inability of the liver to function properly. People with alcohol-induced cirrhosis may have no symptoms or signs or may have a variety of complications, such as jaundice, fluid retention, or severe esophageal bleeding. Although alcoholic cirrhosis is not reversible, cessation of alcohol consumption can play an important role in the survival of the sufferer.

Blood and intestines

Excessive alcohol irritates the stomach and can lead to nausea, cramps, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

Eating food before or during slows down the absorption of alcohol from the blood.

Vision

Excessive alcohol consumption dilates the blood vessels of the eyes, causing them to blush and look "damned". It also affects the signals sent by the eyes to the brain, blurs vision and makes it harder to judge distances and speeds.

For this reason, in many traffic accidents, either drivers or pedestrians are involved, with high levels of alcohol in their blood.

Hearing

After consuming alcohol recklessly, you may find it more difficult to hear the sounds or locate their source. Simply put, this means that you cannot react properly to what is happening around you. This, after all, is one of the reasons why so many pedestrians have consumed alcohol.

Beauty

Excessive alcohol consumption negatively affects the appearance of both women and men. Systematic consumption dehydrates the body and skin. This is because it blocks the release of anti-diuretic hormones and the kidneys excrete too much water. Excessive amounts of alcohol also dilate the blood vessels under the skin and lead to the appearance of unsightly veins in the nose and cheeks. Good sleep also plays an important role in your appearance, and you should know that alcohol interferes with REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which is the most important phase of sleep, thus depriving you of the opportunity to rest properly. Add to that bad breath, because the liver can metabolize most of the alcohol, but 5-10% is excreted in the urine.