The effects of alcohol on the human body

Alcoholism is one of the most difficult problems in modern society.Alcohol and its effects on the body are the subject of discussion among scientists from different specialties who seek to establish the reasons for the rapid increase in incidence, ways to remove people from this condition, as well as risk factors for the development of a tendency to regular alcohol consumption.

In principle, alcohol-induced changes in internal organs are not characterized by a marked disruption of their functionality.But over time, the influence of alcohol on a person increases, leading to acute disturbances in the activity of the body's vital systems and breaking the chain of complex mechanisms of their neurohumoral regulation.

Features of the mechanism of action

How does alcohol affect the body?Once in the human stomach, alcohol is absorbed almost instantly into the bloodstream.Few people know, but alcoholic beverages begin to decompose in the oral cavity, which is why the blood is saturated with alcohol from the first minute of contact with the body.From this moment on, the harmful effects of alcohol on human organs begin.About 20% of alcohol is neutralized by the liver enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, which deactivates substances containing alcohol toxins.

Most of the alcohol continues to act in the small intestine.It is from here that alcohol penetrates all watery areas of the body, to be partially excreted through sweat, urine, saliva, etc., and partially oxidized and accumulated in most organs over several days.During this period, alcohol works like a poison, slowly poisoning every cell in the body, affecting the person's development, the state of their psyche and the functionality of internal structures.

The effects of alcohol on systems and organs

The harmful effects of alcohol on the human body are not only expressed in brain and liver dysfunction.Alcoholism has a negative effect on all organs and systems of the human body.In short, regular consumption of alcoholic beverages completely destroys the normal functioning model of the patient's body, impairs its full functioning and is one of the main causes of mortality among people of working age.

Impact on the psyche

Probably each of us knows how alcohol affects the human psyche.Heavy drinkers may experience hallucinations, an overwhelming sense of anxiety, apathy, and prolonged depression.Alcoholics completely lose themselves.Such people become antisocial, pay little attention to their appearance, stop caring about everyday human concerns, caring for their family, and so on.

The consequences of alcohol consumption on the human body

Each stage of addiction has certain distinct symptoms and characteristics.There are 4 of them in total.

For the initial phasecharacterized by the gradual increase in the dose of alcohol consumed, the formation of dependence and the influence of alcohol on a psychological level.

In the second stagethere is a desire to increase the dose of alcohol.Addiction develops on a physical level.

In the third- destruction on a physical and psycho-emotional level, formation of dementia.

The fourth stage is untreatable and leads to the death of the addict.Failure of body systems and death occurs.

25 reasons to give up alcohol

Many people see nothing wrong with drinking alcohol at night, on weekends or on holidays.But few people have a sense of proportion and willpower.And a seemingly harmless hobby turns into a bad habit.This article presents 25 reasons to give up alcohol, discusses the harm of alcohol and its effects on the human body.

1. Alcohol is the cause of many diseases, evil, indiscipline, waste of talents, senseless conflicts and poverty.
2. It is difficult to find a greater evil than alcohol, which would so persistently and mercilessly disrupt the health of millions of people, so dramatically destroy all human tissues and organs (especially the cerebral cortex), a person's mind and personality, ultimately leading to premature death.The insidiousness of this poison lies in the fact that the serious consequences of the harm caused by alcohol do not occur immediately, gradually, imperceptibly.
3. The influence of alcohol on a person's life is evidenced by the following facts: 50 percent of accidents, 1/3 of suicides, 80 percent of deaths from cancer of the oral cavity and esophagus occur due to alcohol abuse.
4. As a result of research carried out using cutting-edge technology, Australian scientists have concluded that both alcoholics and moderate users experience a gradual decrease and shrinkage of the brain.A glass of alcoholic beverages destroys 1,000 to 2,000 cells in our brain.These data were confirmed in 95% of alcoholics and 85% of moderate drinkers.

5. Studies have proven that the probability of a drinker giving birth to a healthy person is 15 times lower than that of a non-drinker, the mortality rate in their children is 5 times higher, and the morbidity is 3.5 times higher (note that we are only talking about drinkers, not alcoholics).Alcohol affects children before they are even born.Even in families that drink alcohol moderately, children are born with slow development, mentally underdeveloped and even dead.Due to alcohol and drug addiction, women in America alone give birth to thousands of premature babies every day.Parents who drink are the worst thieves, robbing their own children of the happiness of future discoveries, the happiness of living a full life (according to F.G. Uglov).
6. Experiments carried out with chicken eggs showed the following: 160 eggs were placed in an incubator in a barn, in the basement of which alcohol was manufactured.The alcohol vapor affected the eggs.When the time came, the following result was obtained: only half of the chicks hatched, 40 of them were unviable, 25 were mutants (no beak, no claws, etc.).
7. If a person's genetic code is damaged, the entire generation is in danger.Nowadays, 96% of violations of the genetic code occur due to various drugs (alcohol, cigarettes, other drugs).
8. Alcohol as a drug is harmful in all forms and at any dose to the human body, as it acts like morphine or marijuana, that is, it creates the illusion of goodness and happiness, while at the same time causing irreparable damage, like any other poison.
9. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), one in three people on the planet dies from causes related to alcohol consumption and one in five people dies from causes related to smoking.This means that for these reasons in Russia we lose almost one and a half million people per year, which is 20 times higher than the number of victims of the atomic explosion in Hiroshima.
10. Prohibition operated successfully in Russia at that time for more than 10 years.During this period, the number of sick people decreased, prisons were emptied, peace came to families and prosperity appeared in homes.All this data can be verified using a large medical encyclopedia and many scientific works of that time.
11. The assurances of some heavy drinkers that they feel relief after drinking are pure self-deception caused by paralysis of the centers of attention and self-control.The patient, after taking any dose of alcohol, falls into a state of euphoria and everything, even the disease itself, appears rosy.In fact, drinking alcohol in any quantity only aggravates the process and harms the person.

12. No wonder they say: “The river begins with a stream, and drunkenness begins with a glass.”Let's think about this fact.From the point of view of the contagiousness of the habit of drinking alcohol, drunkards and alcoholics are not the most dangerous, because, looking at them, no one will have the desire to imitate them.More contagious is the example of those who drink “moderately”, “culturedly”, who drink “observing a ritual”, etc.Unfortunately, our media has “worked hard” to present the party in a broader and more seductive way.Rarely is a film without a trophy, sumptuous celebrations and toasts.People drink enthusiastically after these toasts, almost mystically hoping that an empty cup or glass is the safest way to fulfill their most cherished desires.And children become spectators and witnesses, and then accomplices in alcohol consumption, because they imitate their parents on a subconscious level.
13. Many researchers have shown that if children are invited to play at a birthday or wedding, they reproduce and copy the attributes of an adult party in games - they sit at a common table, open bottles, toast, make toasts and walk with a staggering step.A survey of 100 boys in one of the kindergartens showed that 97% of children described alcohol intoxication well.From childhood, the idea of alcohol begins to form as a special and obligatory companion at parties and gatherings, an attractive symbol of adulthood.By the age of 11-12, adolescents form quite stable stereotypes of attitudes towards drunkenness.They copy their parents and loved ones in this.
14. Teenagers assert themselves by who drinks the most.Euphoria is cultivated in these companies.Adolescents project their ideas about courage, masculinity and maturity onto alcoholism;they trick themselves into seeing who is the drunkest, who shouts or laughs or shouts the loudest, who behaves most brazenly.There is a lot of ostentatious, demonstrative and hysterical behavior.Loud music is often played, increasing destructive behavior.
15. According to statistics, people who drink live on average 10 to 15 years less.People who have smoked for 8 years.Which directly shows the harm of alcohol on the human body.
16. The short answer to the question of why people drink is: they drink because it is a widely advertised and freely sold drug.They drink because alcohol has become a legal drug and is sold at a cheap price.

17. There is a misconception that alcohol should be consumed “to have fun”.In fact, fun and laughter are very important moments in a person's life.They give the brain rest, distract thoughts from everyday worries, thereby strengthening the nervous system, preparing it for new work and worries.But laughter and fun are useful only in cases where they arise in a sober person.There is and cannot be drunken fun in the scientific and reasonable understanding of this state.Drunk “fun” is nothing more than excitement under anesthesia - this is the first stage of anesthesia, the stage of excitement that surgeons observe every day when giving the patient other drugs (ether, chloroform, morphine, etc.), those that are identical in their action to alcohol and, like alcohol, are drugs.This phase of excitement has nothing to do with fun and after it there is no rest for the nervous system.On the contrary, instead of rest, depression sets in with all the consequences (headache, apathy, weakness, reluctance to work, etc.).What is never observed in sober fun.Therefore, alcohol is not a friend, but an enemy of fun.It eliminates the time a person sets aside for fun and relaxation.Instead, he gets a headache and fatigue.Alcohol acts the same way when you are tired.A day off is given to a person so that he can rest physically and mentally and, with new strength and a new desire to work, start work after rest.
18. Alcohol creates the illusion of stress relief.In fact, the tension in the brain and throughout the nervous system remains, and when the hops wear off, the tension becomes even greater than before drinking wine.But to this is added a weakening of will and weakness.
19. An innate need to drink beer, wine, vodka, etc., people do not.If there were no alcoholic beverages and traditions of their consumption in the world, it would be possible to live peacefully without them and not cause harm to the body and loved ones.
20. To make a conscious choice “to drink or not to drink”, you need to know how alcohol affects our body.“Advertisers” can invent any legend about the usefulness of alcohol.In television commercials they call beer “correct”, “life-giving”, “for real men”, they try to “link” alcoholic products with sexual, patriotic, national and high-status characteristics of people.In order not to be deceived, you must have objective information and learn to combat advertising.
21. After drinking alcohol, the amount of urine excreted increases (diuresis), that is, water and salts are lost.After intoxication, a strong thirst appears, “drawing” the brine and mineral waters.A brief systematic review of the real effects of alcohol on all types of metabolism of a living organism leads to one conclusion: all types of metabolism are disturbed.It is this combination of “killing” effects that determines the antiseptic effect of ethyl alcohol and should be an obstacle to its use as a drink.

22. The phrase “alcoholic beverages” is incorrect.“Drinks” must have nutritional value and contain substances involved in nutrition.This includes proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins.They are not found in alcohol.There is very little in cognacs, wines and beer.To gain your daily amount, it is necessary to drink a quantity of these liquids whose alcohol content is many times higher than their lethal dose.
23. For example, you can buy a car with the money you spend on drinking.You can calculate how much money you spend on alcohol over months and years.
24. There are often references to studies by foreign scientists, for example, from various institutes in Munich, which prove that beer helps in the treatment of many diseases.Firstly, it should be noted that all of these studies were carried out with financial support from the alcohol industry.Therefore, such results circulate in the media, but they are difficult to find in serious scientific journals, since such journals often ask authors to indicate the source of research funding, and if it is the alcohol or tobacco industry, then the publication of such studies is perceived as a sign of bad taste.
25. You have the power to get rid of another addiction, become free and happy!