Negative Effects of Excessive Alcohol Consumption on the Body

An alcohol dependency is a chronic illness that can destroy a person's career and their family. It can also be fatal to their health if left untreated.

Substantial alcoholic substances drinking on a common basis causes chemical changes to a individual's brain. For example, it changes the composition of the body's gamma-aminobutyric acids, which function to inhibit impulsiveness, and glutamate, which stimulates the nervous system. Too much drinking also tends to eat up these chemicals, which can depress the nervous system and harm significant areas of the brain.

Loss of control over the tongue and posture is symptomatic of an alcohol-poisened bring, as is weakness, memory loss, weakness of the eye muscles, and paralysis. In serious cases, long-term heavy drinking can even send a individual into a coma from which they may never awake.

In addition to the potentially deadly effects of alcoholic drinks poisening to the brain, other organs, such as the liver, can also be acutely effected. Too much drinking causes liquor hepatitis, a illness that is characterized by inflammation of the liver. Its symptoms include appetite loss, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, fever, tenderness, jaundice, and dizziness. If the serious drinking continues, the hepatitis can lead to cirrhosis, which is characterized by progressive scarring and obliteration of the liver tissues.

Alcohol-dependant persons can also suffer serious gastrointestinal problems, such as inflammation of the stomach, that leads to a disease called 'gastritis'. A gastritis sufferer is unable to absorb nutrients through their stomach, such as vitamin B, folic acid and thiamin.

When alcoholic substances is consumed in heavy quantities, it also damages the pancreas and impedes with the organ creation of hormones that regulate metabolism of the body by creating enzymes for digestion. It can also led to a assortment of cardiovascular problems, such as high blood pressure, and can even damage the heart muscle - a ailment called 'cardiomyopathy'. Cardiomyopathy significantly increases the possibilities of heart attack.

Diabetes is another common same ailment amongst alcohol-addicted persons. High liquor intake prevents the liver from releasing glucose, which builds up the risk of hypoglycemia (characterized by low blood sugar). This condition is particularly serious for someone who is already suffering from diabetes and is taking insulin to reduce their blood-sugar level. Further, prolonged alcoholic drinks abuse tends to damage the reproductive system, leading to erectile dysfunction in men and menstrual problems in women.

Alcoholic drinks abuse during pregnancy is particularly grave, as it can give rise to fetal alcohol syndrome, where the child is born with defects, such as a small head, short eyelids, heart defects, and other abnormalities. And finally, research also shows that continued alcohol abuse places one at higher risk of cancer and diseases of larynx, esophagus, colon, and liver.

In short, the human body was evidently not designed to handle large amounts of alcohol for any length of time. Heavy drinking may seem like a lot of fun at a distance, and it always seems to charm young people as a means of demonstrating how grown-up they are. Ironically though, foolish drinking is the very behavior that has the potential to stop young persons reaching adulthood completely.