Alcohol - Effects on the Body
Effects on the Body
Even though alcohol is considered "one of the most widely accepted recreational drugs," noted Gahlinger, its overall impact on public health "is far worse than all illegal drugs combined." Prolonged use of alcohol can have serious negative effects on the body. Long-term alcohol use can result in memory loss. Alcohol can suppress the immune system, making people more susceptible to infections. Heavy drinking can increase the user's risk of nutritional deficiencies, ulcersThe breakdown of mucus membranes, usually in the stomach., high blood pressure, heart disease, strokeA loss of feeling, consciousness, or movement caused by the breaking or blocking of a blood vessel in the brain., certain cancers, and liver disease.
The NIAAA reported that "alcohol-induced liver disease is a major cause of illness and death in the United States." The liver is the organ that breaks down alcohol in the body. It removes alcohol from the blood, leaving water, carbon dioxide gas, and energy as by-products. The carbon dioxide gas leaves the body through the lungs, and the water is eliminated in urine. Depending on the size, gender, and general health of the drinker, it can take the liver between one and two hours to process a glass of wine, a single beer, a shot of hard liquor, or one mixed drink.
If large quantities of alcohol are present in the body, the liver has to work overtime to break it down and eliminate it from the body. Until the liver has a chance to filter all of the toxins, or highly poisonous substances, out of a drinker's blood, the remaining alcohol will simply stay in the bloodstream and recirculate. "There are limits on the number and amounts of toxic substances a liver can handle without harm to it," explained Laurence Pringle in Drinking: A Risky Business. Heavy drinking can lead to cirrhosisPronounced sir-OH-sis; destruction of the liver, possibly leading to death. of the liver, a deadly disease common among alcoholics. "In cirrhosis," continued Pringle, "cells of the liver are actually being killed by alcohol.… Continued heavy drinking may cause the liver to fail entirely."
Down the Hatch, and Then What?
After alcohol is swallowed, it passes first into the stomach and then into the small intestine. Most of the alcohol is absorbed into the
bloodstream through the small intestine and carried to the brain through the blood. Alcohol has profound effects on the brain's ability to function effectively. Even though alcohol is a depressant, low doses of it can cause the release of certain brain chemicals that produce a sense of euphoria. This "highDrug-induced feelings ranging from excitement and joy to extreme grogginess." is misleading because it makes alcohol seem like a stimulant.
First and foremost, alcohol causes a loss of inhibition in those who drink it. "Judgment is the first function of the brain to be affected," wrote Gail Gleason Milgram of the Rutgers University Center of Alcohol Studies in an online article. "The ability to think and make decisions becomes impaired." People with lowered inhibitions tend to take more chances and engage in riskier behavior than they would if they had not been drinking. A self-conscious individual who has had a drink or two may become more confident. A shy person may become more talkative. People who have had too much to drink often engage in unsafe sex and are at a much greater risk for contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus), which can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
The most obvious physical effects of alcohol consumption are slowed reflexes, a lack of coordination, difficulty walking "a straight line," and slurred speech. As more alcohol is consumed, drinkers experience dizziness, nausea, dehydration, and an inability to reason. Having a large number of drinks in rapid succession puts many drinkers to sleep. Those who remain awake and continue drinking increase their likelihood of passing out, which can be very dangerous. Intoxicated people who throw up while unconscious risk choking on their vomit. This can be—and often is—fatal, because vomit easily blocks the drinker's airway, making breathing impossible.
"Chronic, repeated drinking damages and sometimes kills the cells in specific brain areas," noted Kuhn. "And it turns out that it might not take a very long history of heavy drinking to kill cells in certain areas of the brain" involved in memory formation and problem solving.
Effects May Vary
The physical effects of alcohol on the body depend on several different factors. Both the amount of food present in the stomach when drinking and the amount of time that elapses between drinks influence a person's physical response to alcohol. "Peak blood alcohol concentration [BAC] could be as much as three times greater in someone with an empty stomach than in someone who has just eaten," wrote Kuhn. Five drinks consumed in one hour will have drastically different effects on the drinker than five drinks consumed with food over five hours.
The gender, size, and mental outlook of the drinker also affect the body's response to alcohol. "Alcohol does not dissolve in fat tissues," explained Weathermon and Crabb. Because women have a larger proportion of body fat than men, they tend to feel the effects of alcohol after drinking smaller doses than men do. A smaller person will become intoxicated sooner than a larger person because the larger person has more blood and body fluids mixing with the alcohol he or she consumes. A person's reaction to alcohol also varies according to the circumstances under which it is consumed. "The same amount of wine that makes someone pleasantly high at a party may make a depressed person in a lonely room even more depressed," commented Weil.
Drinking and Driving
"Alcohol abuse kills some 75,000 Americans each year and shortens the lives of these people by an average of thirty years," noted MSNBC.com in the fall of 2004. The statistics, which were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicate that about 35,000 of these people died from diseases connected with heavy drinking. The other 40,000 were killed in alcohol-related car crashes and other accidents, including falls, fires, and drownings. Young people under twenty-one years of age accounted for about 4,500 of alcohol-related deaths.
The rate of fatal motor-vehicle crashes in alcohol-involved drivers age sixteen to twenty is more than twice the rate for alcohol-involved drivers over the age of twenty-one. The probable reason for this statistic, according to an NIAAA "Alcohol Alert" from 2003, is that younger drivers have less experience behind the wheel. Adding alcohol to the mix is a recipe for disaster. In addition, Newsweek reported in 2005 that, according to the NIH, "the area of the brain that inhibits risky behavior isn't fully developed" in humans until they reach the age of twenty-five.
Alcohol and Pregnancy
Alcohol and pregnancy do not mix. Alcohol use can interfere with a woman's ability to become pregnant. It can also lower a man's sperm count and reduce his sexual drive.
There is no safe level of alcohol consumption for a woman at any time during a pregnancy. Every bottle of alcohol bears a warning label that reads: "According to the Surgeon General, women should
not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects." If a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, so does her baby. If she becomes drunk, so does her baby.
Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, and serious birth defects. Alcohol "disrupts [the] formation of nerve cells in a baby's brain," wrote Margaret O. Hyde and John F. Setaro in Drugs 101: An Overview for Teens. Fetal Alcohol SyndromeA pattern of birth defects, learning deficits, and behavioral problems affecting the children of mothers who drank heavily while pregnant. (FAS) can occur when a woman drinks while she is pregnant. It is one of the leading causes of birth defects in children and the most preventable cause of mental retardation. FAS babies have low birth weights, small heads, slowed mental and physical growth rates, and certain facial and skeletal abnormalities. It is a hard condition to diagnose because its symptoms can mimic those of other disorders. Babies born with Fetal Alcohol EffectsThe presence of some-but not all-of the symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). are less severely impaired than FAS babies. FAE babies do not have distinctive facial and skeletal abnormalities, nor do they suffer the same level of brain damage as FAS babies, but they can have physical and behavioral problems such as poor coordination, learning disabilities, and attention deficit disorders.
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