Why Alcohol is One of the Most Dangerous Substances for Your Health

The harmful chemical found in alcoholic beverages is ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, the same fuel added to gasoline. Though minor amounts of methyl or butanol alcohols are found in some fermentation processes, ethyl alcohol is the main agent producing the psychotropic effects that are the reason most people drink. Alcohol is actually a toxin. Drinking in excess, or too frequently, can have serious negative effects on your body.

Fermentation

The alcohol produced by fermentation is actually the waste of microorganisms like yeast and bacteria that consume the glucose in the starchy grains or sugars used in most beers and liquors, including potatoes (vodka), molasses (rum), or berries (gin). The human digestive system also naturally contains some ethanols as there are similar bacteria at work in our bodies breaking down our foods.

However, most alcoholic beverages are 3-40% pure alcohol. Repeated drinking is more difficult for your body to handle.

Alcohol in the Body

Our bodies process alcohol fairly quickly. Alcohol does not need to be "digested", and as much as 20 percent can be absorbed straight into the walls of the stomach and the bloodstream. This can reach the brain in as little as one minute. The alcohol that makes it into the intestines is sent to the liver to be broken down by a natural enzyme.

However, our bodies can only produce so much of this; women typically have less than men. The liver can normally process about 1/2 ounce of alcohol per hour. Any remainder is recirculated through the body until it returns for further processing. Thus the organ most seriously affected is the liver. The liver plays an essential role in detoxifying the body.

Harmful Effects of Drinking Alcohol

There is a long history of research that has shown the deleterious effects of regularly binging. Here are a few of the ways drinking too much alcohol impacts your health:

Brain: Alcohol disrupts the pathways of the brain, causing radical mood and behavioral changes, lack of focus, impaired speech and eyesight, and loss of physical coordination.

Legal Issues: One of the most familiar situations is DWI, or driving while intoxicated. This can lead to serious accidents, fatalities, loss of license, dramatic insurance increases, or jail time. In such situations you should consult a DWI lawyer in Williamson County, TX, or one from your particular locale.

Heart: Excessive alcohol also has negative effects on the heart, and can lead to high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, weakening of the heart, and stroke.

Liver: Excessive drinking always affects the entire liver, and can lead to inflammation, fibrosis, fatty deposits, and cirrhosis. The first stage is stearosis, or a fatty liver, but as liver cells die they form scar tissue and may lead to cirrhosis.

Pancreas: Alcohol damages the pancreas to the point that it can produce toxins leading to pancreatitis, a serious inflammation and swelling that can disrupt the production of insulin, reduce the ability to digest certain foods, and could eventually cause death.

Immune System: Too much alcohol also reduces the immune system's ability to fight disease, so that you're much more prone to infections and viruses. Alcoholics are much more likely to develop chronic respiratory infections like tuberculosis or pneumonia. The weakened liver is also very susceptible to hepatitis.

Excessive drinking can lead to this host of medical issues, so be aware of what binge drinking does to your body.

Chronic Effects of Alcoholism

Excessive consumption of alcohol leads to a build-up of the metabolites acetaldehyde and acetic and carboxylic acids. These have many harmful consequences.

Apart from cumulative and often irreversible damage to the liver and other organs, alcoholism has been associated with DNA damage leading to cancer, usually in the mouth, throat, liver, or breasts. In pregnant women it also causes fetal alcohol syndrome, which can lead to impaired brain development and birth defects in the kidneys, bones, and hearts of new-born children.

Alcoholism can be a dangerous and even fatal condition. Anyone who has an alcohol problem requires counseling and treatment.