Many people drink alcohol to help them unwind or be gregarious but drinking alcohol to excess can actually be a form of drug abuse. There are many good effects to alcohol if you drink it in moderation however there are also short and long term effects. The effects that a person will actually get from alcohol depends on a number of factors such as a persons, age, gender, weight and the amount of alcohol they actually consume, however, a recent article by leading scientist writer tony Edwards claims that even a little alcohol can be good for your health. This is true in moderation. He claims that red wine in particular may be one of the most effective medications in history and it should be consumed everyday with an evening meal. A moderate …show more content…
After drinking 1-2 units of alcohol, your heart rate speeds up and your blood vessels expand, giving you the warm, sociable and talkative feeling associated with moderate drinking. Then after 4-6 units your brain and nervous system starts to be affected. It will begin to impact on the part of your brain that's linked with judgement and decision making, causing you to be more irresponsible. At 8-9 units your reaction times will be much slower, your speech will begin to slur and you will begin to lose focus. If you then continue to consume around 10-12 units, your co-ordination will be highly impaired, resulting in you being at serious risk of having an accident as the high level of alcohol has a depressant effect on your mind and body it makes you drowsy. Drinking this amount of alcohol will begin to reach toxic levels. Your liver, which filters alcohol out of your body, will be unable to remove all of the alcohol overnight, so it's likely you’ll wake up with a hangover feeling badly dehydrated and have a terrible headache. Lastly if you drink more than 12 units of alcohol, then you’re at risk of developing alcohol poisoning. This occurs when the large amounts of alcohol you consume start to interfere with your bodies functions such as your breathing, heart rate and gag reflex. You can become confused, …show more content…
There are many long term effects of being an alcoholic and drinking to this extent will damage your organs like the Brain, Liver and Heart. The brain is effected because it kills cells and it leads to memory loss and severe brain damage, the national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism released publication 63 which tells us that heavy drinking may have extensive and far-reaching effects on the brain. Ranging from simple “slips” in memory to permanent and debilitating conditions that require lifetime custodial care. The liver is affected because it becomes less capable of doing its job of processing the alcohol out of the body resulting in excessive fat being stored around the liver. This is called “fatty Liver disease” however this can then lead to hepatitis which ultimately if you do not stop drinking at this point leads to liver failure. The liver can also develop cancer. From prolonged drinking your heart can become enlarged and the muscles become weak which can cause a condition called alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy can ultimately result in heart failure. A publication written by Janet Barwell and Matthew Solan on Health line which was reviewed by George Krucik
Liver is a vital organ and performs several roles; produce proteins that help the blood to clot and removing body wastes; regulates the supply of substances such as glucose throughout the body (Potter et al., 2012). To be able to perform these functions the liver cells must function normally. Alcohol abuse is usually connected to alcoholic liver disease that permanently damaged the liver due to excessive drinking and continued excessive drinking can shorten lifespan. If liver cirrhosis has not yet occurred, the liver can heal once the patient stop drinking alcohol (ABS, 2010).
Liver disease resulting from alcohol affects more than two million Americans and is one of the primary causes of illness and death. The liver frees the body of harmful substances, such as alcohol. While the liver breaks down alcohol, it produces toxins that can be even more dangerous than the alcohol consumed (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact on Your Health” 13). “These by-products damage liver cells, promote inflammation, and weaken the body’s natural defenses. Eventually, these problems can disrupt the body’s metabolism and impair the function of other organs” (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol’s Impact on Your Health” 13).
Alcohol affects the body in many different ways. On the website drugfreeworld.org the author tells us about the bad long term and short term effects of alcohol on the body. One long term effect is that it makes the liver work to hard causing it to fail. When the liver fails to function properly the body takes in toxins that harm it. These toxins harm the body in many different ways. One short term effect is that it causes decreased perception and coordination. The decreased perception of things causes things to appear closer or farther away than they really are. The decreased coordination make the people very clumsy resulting in injury. Some other short effects of alcohol on the body are vomiting, slurred speech, and headaches. Some other long term effects of alcohol are alcohol poisoning, Ulcers, and sometimes cancer of the mouth and throat (“Short Term and Long Term Effects”, 2014).
Alcohol abuse can be very dangerous because it can come at a time when a person is going through the bad times in their life. The only thing drugs do is worsens people’s lives because the behavior of the victim can change dramatically. Many drink at social events, to celebrate or relax. The problem is that many of the drinkers end up drinking more than what the body can withstand. According to the National institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism (2014), alcohol enters the blood as soon as the first sip and affect the body in as early as ten minutes. The amount then increase depending on the amount of drinks and the effects range from impairment, breathing problems, slurred speech, and coma. Some can even experience death as a result of becoming intoxicated because of having too much alcohol in the bloodstream. National institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism (2014). A young adult is more likely to experience a change in their mood and behavior because they are goi...
Alcoholism destroys a person’s mental and physical health. According to Arthur Diamond, author of another book called Alcoholism, when the alcohol is consumed, the central nervous system
The effects that alcohol has on the brain is that it can cause blackouts, memory loss, anxiety and psychological problems. “The brain continues to develop until age twenty-one, and that young brains can be irreversibly damaged by alcohol” (MacPherson). Alcohol may also cause inflammation in the stomach, causing ulcers or gastritis which prevents the absorption of food causing cancer in the stomach. Excessive drinking may also cause infertility in both men and women (The Effects of Alcohol). Alcohol affects almost every part of the body, many times resulting in death; in fact, alcohol is the cause of 75% of suicide deaths
It is a known fact that many Americans drink alcohol on a weekly basis. Depending on the rate and volume of consumption, alcohol has many different effects on the human body. Light drinking has been proven not to be a problem, and is even considered to be healthy. A glass of Red wine once a day is known to be beneficial to the heart. It helps prevent coronary heart disease by reducing plaque deposits in the arteries surrounding the heart, preventing blood clotting, while also helping to dissolve clots that already exist (Rehm 1210). Moderate and heavy drinking is a different story though. When drinking to the point of moderate to heavy consumption, there is a greater risk for personal injury. Car accidents are not the only causes of injury when under the influence of alcohol. Many incidents of injury are directly related to alcohol consumption including violence, and accidental personal injury. This being said, drunk driving is the main cause of death associated with alcohol consumption (Rehm 1220). Researchers have found that with increased volumes of alcohol consumption on...
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant it has a huge impact on the lives of a drinker . In small quantities, alcohol results in a mild euphoria and usually removes inhibitions, and is relatively harmless. However, when used in excess, it has the power to change many lives in many ways. Alcohol causes a lot of trouble in a lot of peoples lives not just in the drinkers life. . Some ways it effects peoples lives include alcohol poisoning and alcohol-related traffic fatalities by individuals who are problem drinkers but who are not alcohol dependent. Because alcohol has so many negative effects on a person's mental and physical health, people should avoid the consumption of it altogether.
Increased abuse of alcohol leads to physical damage to the body. Alcohol is absorbed directly into the brain, dulling one’s senses and weakling one's will power. According to the article from the Mayo Clinic Health Information, “Excessive use of alcohol can produce several harmful effects on your brain and nervous system. It also can severely damage your liver, pancreas and cardiovascular system. Alcohol use in pregnant women can damage the fetus” (Mayo 1). Continued ingestion of alcohol affects every organ in the body. Every organ in the body is affected. The liver has serious effects that may lead to cirrhosis and death.. At first the liver adapts and tolerates alcohol. It works harder and finally damages itself in time. Alcohol leads the liver to the inability to metabolize facts. Furthermore, it leads to increase in cholesterol and triglycerides leading to clogged arteries. Red blood cells are also affected leading the individual to become anemic.
Many people that are alcoholics generally encounter heart attacks and liver disease. When you start to encounter a heart attack you will suddenly start to feel agony in your heart. Heart attacks can be threatening because it will cause you to suffer so much pain and the pain doesn’t go away even when you are resting and taking medicine. Heart attacks occurs when the coronary artery obtains a blood clots that clogs up the blood flow to the heart which cause the muscles in the heart to weaken and eventually causes the heart fail. Now when you encounter liver disease you are rolling toward a world of trouble you will start to lose weight, lose energy, and ect but it can get worst. Some alcoholics get the liver disease after many years of heavily consuming alcohol. Alcoholics can also encounter cancer in mouth & throat but not many alcoholics develop cancer from heavy drinking, it develop most when you smoke acreage of tobacco. Cancer in the throat is basically when the cells in your throat develops a genetic mutation. Cancer in the mouth is when the cells in your lips have a genetic
Specific Purpose: After listening to my speech, my audience will know how alcohol was made and how it affects humans negatively and positively.
Specific Purpose: After listening to my speech, my audience will know how alcohol is made and how it affects humans negatively and positively.
When alcohol is consumed in unhealthy amounts, it can lead to not only short-term effects, but long-term ones as well. Many people can tell you what alcohol will do to you. Blurred vision, memory loss, slurred speech, difficulty walking, and slow reaction times are all very common side effects depending on how much one consumes (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse, 2004). To most, there is nothing wrong with this. Party all night, have a good time, find somewhere to sleep, pass out, and wake up in the morning.
Alcohol in the form of alcoholic beverages has been consumed by humans since pre-historic times, for a variety of hygiene dietary, medicinal, religions and recreational reasons. According to the NIH Senior Health, drinking too much alcohol affects many parts of the body. It can be especially harmful to the liver, the organ that metabolizes (breaks down) alcohol and other harmful substances. People who drink heavily for a long time can develop diseases such as liver inflammation (alcoholic hepatitis) or severe liver scarring (cirrhosis). Alcohol-related liver disease can cause death. According to the statistics in the year 2010 by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and prevention) the number of discharges with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis as the first-listed diagnosis was 101,000 persons, while the number of deaths has been 31,903 persons.
Effects of alcohol are many and are all bad. There is not one good effect of excessive alcohol drinking, except what an alcoholic considers a good feeling after getting drunk. The alcoholics drink for many reasons, but the results are all the same. Alcohol has very bad effects on all human body organs; it causes disease and some of those diseases are dangerous and even fatal, and the most common diseases re...