For some people, alcoholic drinks are an indispensable attribute of any party or holiday. Quite often, drinking another glass of strong alcohol or a glass of wine, a person does not even think about the fact that in addition to pleasant sensations, this heady liquid can also cause harm. Excessive alcohol consumption can cause irreversible consequences, for example, at a certain stage of alcohol addiction, a person has pathologies of the nervous, as well as other body systems. This is what we will talk about in this article.
Alcohol
Before considering excessive drinking and its effects on the body, it is necessary to become more familiar with what alcohol is in general. From a scientific point of view, alcohol is ethyl alcohol. This is a liquid that has no color, does not have a specific smell and taste. This type of alcohol is obtained by fermentation or artificially. The substance is used as a disinfectant, solvent, fuel. In everyday life, alcoholic beverages are those that contain ethanol in various concentrations.
Danger of alcohol
Now you can begin to consider what is fraught with excessive drinking. Once in the human body, these drinks act as solvents, while destroying the fatty membrane of red blood cells. For this reason, blood cells begin to stick together. Such formations can block the flow of blood in small capillaries. The described process leads to the fact that the human brain receives an insufficient amount of oxygen, nutrients, and the cells begin to die. Failures in the central nervous system contribute to the disruption of the work of other organs in the body. Excessive alcohol consumption will provoke irreversible chronic pathologies.
What happens if you drink?
The consequences after drinking alcohol are explained by the toxic effects of ethyl alcohol on the body, and the severity of side effects of such drinks is associated with strength, frequency of drinking and quantity. Drinking a small dose of alcohol at some event will not cause much harm to the body. But the Ministry of He alth warns: "Excessive alcohol consumption threatens with the formation of addiction, the development of alcoholic encephalopathy, dysfunction of internal organs, degradation, and other negative consequences."
Moderate drinking
Some experts say thatmoderate consumption of alcoholic beverages in the amount permitted by the World He alth Organization will not cause particular harm to the human body, will not form dependence, and will not lead to a state of severe intoxication. In addition, alcoholic beverages in small quantities can be useful for the prevention of certain diseases, since ethanol makes all defense systems work. However, it should be remembered that this method of preventing the disease is very dangerous for a person, especially for those people who have a genetic predisposition to addiction.
Daily use
Ministry of He alth warns: "Excessive alcohol consumption is strictly prohibited." If a person drinks every day, then he runs the risk of becoming addicted and addictive over time. It's not just that drinks have the inscription "Excessive alcohol consumption is harmful to your he alth." There is a risk of losing control, as well as an increased desire to systematically increase the dose. This will be a direct path to alcoholism, as well as to the acquisition of physical and mental he alth disorders. It is recommended to organize breaks for several days so that all toxins can be eliminated from the body.
Abuse
So, we have found out that the inscription "Excessive drinking is harmful to your he alth" on bottles is a warning of very serious consequences. The human body requires increased doses of alcoholic beverages, according towhy you can harm yourself, even if you drink very infrequently. Large doses of alcohol adversely affect the functioning of the brain, liver, gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system. Constant excessive drinking harms the body, causing persistent addiction, which can cause irreversible consequences.
Dependency
When alcohol enters the human body, its increased concentration can provoke a persistent addiction. This can be explained by the toxic properties of alcohol. Alcoholism is a disease characterized by uncontrolled, constant consumption of alcoholic beverages, a pathological attraction to communication, a change in tolerance to such drinks. Thus, it becomes clear that excessive alcohol consumption is harmful to human he alth. Experts identify signs of addiction to alcoholic beverages:
- Withdrawal alcohol syndrome. With this disease, after refusing to drink alcohol, patients experience psychological and physical negative changes in the body.
- The desire to consume alcoholic beverages appears at any moment, it has a strong emotional significance for the addict.
- Changes in the patient's behavior appear: aggression, memory lapses, lack of desire to communicate with their friends and relatives.
- Absence of a defined system. In this case, the use of alcoholic beverages can last more than a day, which is commonly called a binge.
- Increasing tolerance to alcoholdrinks, an increase in the threshold of rejection of ethyl alcohol.
- Permanent hangover, the appearance of a desire to drink, thus removing unpleasant symptoms.
- The presence of some external manifestations, such as thickening of the veins, bruising, rapid aging of the skin.
When can a person be considered an alcoholic?
So, we figured out that excessive drinking is bad for your he alth. Experts recommend limiting household drunkenness from alcoholism. In the case of domestic drunkenness, a person allows himself to drink systematically, but if he stops drinking alcohol-containing drinks, then this does not bear any serious consequences, aggression, and everything happens at will. This condition is not considered a disease. An alcoholic is a person who suffers from alcoholism. He cannot control his own desire to drink, is prone to binge drinking, and also cannot control the amount of alcohol he consumes.
Reason for Addiction
Since childhood, many people know that excessive alcohol consumption is harmful to human he alth. One possible consequence is addiction. But what are the reasons for the emergence of such alcohol addiction? Absolutely anyone can suffer from this disease if he ceases to control himself, because some cultural features provoke the population to drink light intoxicating drinks during sadness, joy, and on holidays. Experts identify two groups of people who are particularly prone to addiction toethanol. The reasons are as follows:
- Hereditary predisposition. Those people who had addicts among their ancestors may also adopt this genetic material, which is responsible for the risk of addiction to alcohol.
- Psychological factor. Emotional experience, for example, loss of a job, unhappy love, death of loved ones can cause a strong addiction to alcoholic beverages. In this case, people try to drink alcohol in order to avoid moral trauma in this way, to relax. As a result of such actions, a constant craving for ethanol is acquired.
These are the causes of excessive drinking and alcohol addiction.
Development of alcoholism
Dangerous factors in the development of addiction are that a persistent addiction can arise completely unnoticed by a person. The patient begins to drink alcohol in companies on some holidays, to drink periodically, thus calming the nerves. At this stage, alcohol may not cause any negative effects.
Feeling fun and relaxed, this kind of drinking becomes more frequent over time. As a result, a person begins to acquire dependence, symptoms of alcoholism begin to appear. Over time, a complete decomposition of the personality occurs, as well as a physical craving for alcoholic beverages. Thus, excessive drinking leads to addiction.
Stages of alcoholism
We continue to consider the effect of alcoholic beverages on the human body. The consequences of excessive alcohol consumption can be very deplorable for he alth. Experts at the same time distinguish three degrees of alcohol dependence. Each of them is characterized by specific factors, which are as follows:
- First degree. At this stage of the development of the disease, the patient often shows a desire to drink alcohol. If at the same time it is not satisfied, then after a while it will simply disappear. When the patient drinks, there is a sharp loss of control over the dose of alcohol consumed. The patient becomes irritable, aggressive, there are episodes of memory loss. Each such booze has a certain reason, which is a kind of justification for the patient. Alcoholics cease to evaluate drunkenness as a negative phenomenon. Therefore, the inscription "Excessive drinking is harmful to your he alth" is not just a phrase, but a kind of warning and a call to a he althy lifestyle.
- Second stage. This stage is characterized by an increase in tolerance to alcoholic beverages. Physical dependence begins to form, manifesting itself in the form of an abstinence syndrome, headache, thirst, irritability, tremor of the hands and body, and sleep disturbance. In the event of an abrupt interruption of binge, very serious complications can occur.
- Third stage. At this stage, the craving for drinking alcoholic beverages increases. The psyche is broken. The rapidly growing physical, social andpersonal degradation. Drinking provokes a rapid depletion of the body, if it is interrupted without the intervention of specialists, alcohol psychosis may appear.
How often can I drink alcohol?
Excessive drinking - how much? How often can it be used? The World He alth Organization establishes a certain dose of alcoholic beverages per day. However, if you use intoxicating drinks every day, then there is a risk of failure of some functions in the human body. To avoid any pathological conditions, it is necessary to take breaks between the use of alcoholic beverages. Experts recommend drinking alcohol no more than once every 3-4 days, while it is necessary to manage with minimal doses. It is also worth giving up excessive drinking on holidays.
Safe dose
The standard dosage of alcoholic beverages, which was established by the World He alth Organization, is about 10 g of pure ethanol. This portion is available in approximately 330 ml of beer, 45 ml of strong alcohol, 150 ml of dry wine. There are also safe doses of alcoholic beverages that can be consumed per day:
- For men: 100 g of vodka, 3 glasses of dry wine, two cans of beer.
- For women: 2 glasses of dry wine, one bottle of beer, 80 g of vodka.
Possible consequences
So we figured out what it means to be excessivealcohol use, how addiction develops. Now it is worthwhile to understand in more detail the possible consequences for the human body from drinking a large amount of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol can provoke the following unpleasant consequences for a person:
- The toxic effect of alcohol on nerve cells, as well as brain structures. This begins even if a small amount of a substance enters the human body. Experts note the incorrect operation of the control center, failures in the regulatory mechanism of the cerebral cortex. These processes can cause a quick change in mood, partial loss of control over actions, irritability, severe aggressiveness, and the occurrence of mental disorders.
- The pathological process in neurons negatively affects the functioning of the senses, memory, and intellectual abilities. With excessive alcohol consumption, chronic encephalopathy appears, as well as the risk of cerebral infarction. Long exposure to alcoholic beverages has been linked to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
- Cerebral vessels, in case of frequent use of alcohol, become too brittle, aneurysms may form, which subsequently rupture. There is a risk of developing atrophic phenomena of the optic and auditory nerves, blood clots, ischemic stroke of the brain, spinal cord, and circulatory disorders. Over time, chronic alcoholism becomes the cause of irreversible mental illness, as well as the complete degradation of the patient.
- There are also implications forcardiovascular system, which include cardiomyopathy with the development of heart failure, hypertension with a tendency to rupture of arteries, veins, ischemia, myocardial infarction, arrhythmias and blockade.
- The negative impact of excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages affects the human reproductive system, which manifests itself in the form of violations of the viability and maturation of germ cells, the formation of infertility, as well as the risk of congenital pathologies in the child. For the representatives of the stronger sex, the danger lies in a decrease in erection, which can lead to the development of potency. In addition, with prolonged excessive use of alcohol, persistent hormonal disorders appear in the body.
- A frequent consequence is an inflammatory process of the stomach, ulcerative necrotic processes, damage to the pancreas, which is accompanied by diabetes mellitus and chronic pancreatitis.
- Liver diseases are considered by doctors as the most dangerous consequences of systematic drinking. Cells are not able to cope on their own with chronic intoxication, which is why dependent people often suffer from cirrhosis, fibrosis, hepatitis.
Conclusion
Alcoholic drinks are broken down in the liver, causing severe damage to the cells of this organ. Therefore, in the case of even episodic drinking of alcoholic beverages, it is necessary to protect the cells of the organ by taking hepatoprotectors. To do this, you can use the drug "Legalon",which is made on the basis of milk thistle. The drug strengthens cell membranes, prevents toxic substances from entering the liver cells. In addition, the drug relieves the inflammatory process and stimulates the regeneration of the organ.
