Alcohol is made from carbohydrates, starch and sugar, with empty-calorie (high energy) and provides no nutritional benefits. When alcohol is consumed, only a small percentage is converted into fat whilst the rest is converted into acetate by the liver. Conveniently the body uses the acetate released into the bloodstream to burn as fuel instead of burning fat and glycogen. With less body fat burned and appetite stimulated, it is easy to gain weight, especially with fat accumulation around the waistline. Even maintaining a lean machine with no visible gain does not mean the liver is not fatty.
Alcohol figures prominently in many social settings during the holiday seasons as well as night entertainment spots. In the midst of merrymaking, do not get too intoxicated and down to drop. Individual responses to alcohol vary according to factors like age, sex, weight co-existing medical conditions and the use of medications. Hence, there is no level of drinking considered completely safe or without risk.
Why drink?It is not the taste of alcohol that makes it popular as most people find it unpleasant. Well known as a stimulant, it lifts the drinker's mood to feel elated. However, this negative impact works against the intellectual functions of the brain. Individuals who are timid and are inhibited find the courage to do things that otherwise would hesitate to perform.
For instance, a public speaker may take a drink to overcome stage fright with good result but may not talk sensibly due to a loss of his mental faculties. As the feeling is only short-lived, one will quickly reverse to the original form after the intoxication process. Its anesthetic effect can be terrible for an alcoholic who depends on more and more to counteract his shortcomings.
Processing time
The average person takes an hour to process 10g of alcohol, the amount in a standard drink. By drinking faster than this processing time, the blood alcohol starts to rise. Basically, when a person takes in alcohol, it travels to the stomach and passes on the small intestine where most of it enters the bloodstream. This is further carried to the liver to be broken down by the enzymes into carbon dioxide and water, to be excreted through urine, sweat or exhalation.
Damage
As far as the body is concerned, alcohol is a poison. It causes metabolic damage to all cells in the body and depresses the immune system. The negative impacts on the vital organs as follows:
+ Within 5 mins of drinking, 20% of the alcohol finds its way into the bloodstream between the stomach's mucus-producing epithelial cells. This causes a sharp rise in both saliva and digestive juice. When there is excessive hydrochloric acid produced, the organ's protective mucus can be destroyed due to congestion of blood, resulting in heartburn, inflammation, ulcers and bleeding.
+ Disrupts nerve cell communication in the brain - a slowdown of the rhythm of the brain waves is due to its tissues using less oxygen than normally.
+ Constricts the blood vessels and raises blood pressure, forcing the heart to pump harder. Those with the condition of any weakened or defective heart should abstain completely to avoid quick deterioration.
+ About 5% of blood alcohol quickly diffuses into the air sacs of the lungs and depletes the protective antioxidant inside. Contrary to what many believe that it acts as a pain relief for respiratory dysfunction, sufficient quantity may interfere with breathing and cause death. Combining with a pain-relieving drug can be even more damaging.
+ In moderate amounts, it tends to remove the inhibitions relating to sexual activity and causes a false impression that sexual potency is increased. However, in larger doses, it produces sexual impotence. This is because alcohol deadens nerve cells in the sex organ, causing chronic erectile dysfunction and reduced testosterone production.
+ 5% of blood alcohol is eliminated by the kidneys through urine. More liquid results because alcohol blocks the release of the hormone which stimulates the kidneys to conserve fluid and concentrate on urine. This can lead to high blood pressure, liver damage and kidney failure.
+ Most important of all, the detoxifying organ - liver is responsible for breaking down 90% of blood alcohol, starting to scrub within 10 mins of your first sip. Blood absorbs alcohol much faster than the liver can eliminate it, which is why it takes an hour for the effects of each drink to wear off.
In the liver, it inhibits the production of enzymes, retards the absorption of vitamins such as Vitamin A, B, D, E, K, proteins and fats. Hence, the body is gradually deprived of important nutrients. Not only that, heavy drinking creates excess free radicals which can crowd out or kill off healthy liver cells.
++ Extent of liver damage -
+ Over-consumption prompts the liver to use different enzymes to process, resulting in the formation of free radicals that damage cell tissues and cause liver inflammation.
+ Persistent intake of alcohol on moderate to high level can lead to alcohol hepatitis, where the organ becomes chronically inflamed.
+ The worsening condition can cause undissolved substances to be converted into fats, leading to fatty liver disease.
+ In more critical cases, it develops into liver fibrosis where there are accumulation of scars (from collagen) left by damaged cells.
+ In the worst scenario happening to 1 out 10 diehard drinkers, the organ hardens and develops complications such as liver failure, cirrhosis, bleeding and liver cancer, all highly risky and difficult to deal with. The damage is so severe that normal passage of blood cannot be filtered, resulting in a buildup of toxins and foreign substances.
By then, the organ becomes shrunken and nodular, and progressively ceases to function.
Other serious complications include bleeding from the esophagus, accumulation of fluids in the abdomen and lack of consciousness. At an advanced stage, death is inevitable. This usually happens when there is unfavorable nutritional balance in the body especially with the deprivation of the normal quantities of the vitamins and proteins one should rightfully receive, coupled with delicate chemical imbalance in the organ.
Other health problems
+ A heavy drinker may suffer other physical setbacks like lagged nerves and inability to control involuntary actions such as breathing, heartbeat and the gag reflex. An impaired gag inflex can cause the person to choke to death on his own vomit. His blood pressure can fall dangerously low, depriving his brain of oxygen, leading to heart failure.
Intense suffering on peripheral neuritis or inflammation of the nerves can occur due to chronic lack of nutrition and depletion of existing store. This can be explained by the high percentage of energy calories derived from alcohol which suppresses the appetite and thus craving for wholesome food.
+ When an expectant mum consumes too much alcohol, it can filter to the foetus' tissues and may develop into physical and mental handicaps later.
+ Dilation in the vessels of the skin makes one unaware of cold when his skin surface is warm. Exposure to cold temperatures without taking normal precautions puts one more susceptible to pneumonia.
Recommendations
+ As a rule of thumb, stick to no more than 21 units of alcohol a week for men and 14 units for ladies (lesser for those who are pregnant). A unit is commonly referred to a glass of wine, 25 ml of spirit or half a pint of beer. Women tend to get drunk more quickly given their smaller build and lower levels of alcohol digestive enzymes in the stomach. For this reason, they are at increased risk of osteoporosis due to alcohol's adverse effects on bone metabolism.
+ Binge drinking is common amongst heavy drinkers who can mix 5 alcohol drinks at one go is strongly discouraged as this raises the risk of developing alcohol-related liver diseases. Other physical effects include nausea, vomiting, blurred or double vision and mental effects such as impaired motor skills and judgment (leading to Alzheimer's).
+ Who should avoid or reduce drinking:
++ children and pregnant women
++ those who drive should not drink
++ patients on medications
++ those having medical conditions like asthma, alcohol allergy, liver disease or stomach ulcer
++ weight watchers
Alcohol is made from carbohydrates, starch and sugar, with empty-calorie (high energy) and provides no nutritional benefits. When alcohol is consumed, only a small percentage is converted into fat whilst the rest is converted into acetate by the liver. Conveniently the body uses the acetate released into the bloodstream to burn as fuel instead of burning fat and glycogen. With less body fat burned and appetite stimulated, it is easy to gain weight, especially with fat accumulation around the waistline. Even maintaining a lean machine with no visible gain does not mean the liver is not fatty.
FINAL WARNING: A heavy alcoholic has his or her lifespan shortened by 10-15 years or more!
Source: ST Mind your Body, April 7, 2011; Dec 15, 2011
BONUS !!!
Do not hasten to throw away all those bottles yet...
- Adding some beer into a vase can keep your flowers fresh for an extended period of time because the alcoholic content is both an antiseptic and disinfectant.
- Lightly wipe alcohol on leaves can remove dust and keep them lustery. This application can also prevent ants from disturbing the plant.
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