As early as 10,000 BC, humans have already been drinking fermented beverages. All through the centuries, there are endless arguments about alcohol & # 39; s merits and demerits. To this date, the debate still simmers.
If you think that it is important to risk it. It is important to risk as it is important to risk it. You can take a regular drinker, balance your yours and benefits and drink responsibly. chronic alcohol consumption.
How Alcohol Affects You
The active ingredient in alcoholic beverages is ethic, which affects the body both positively and negatively. Studies showed that what makes is is the dosage of alcohol consumption.
A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer (drinking for drinking more than 3 drinks per day for women and 4 drinks for men. 5% alcohol), 5 ounces of wine (12% alcohol), or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor (40% alcohol).
Brain Function
It means a depressant to your central nervous system. That means when you drink, your brain cells communicate at a slower rate than normal.
- Your inhibition may disappear and you will become more outgoing and social.
- You may be more impulsive, impairing your ability to make sensible judgments.
- So you drink more, you may feel dizzy and lose your balance. Therefore, at this stage, you should definitely not try to drive.
If you drink too much, you may have a blackout, a phenomenon characterized by memory loss. Chronic alcohol abuse may cause permanent changes in the brain, increasing the risk of dementia and causing brain shrinkage in middle-aged and elderly people.
During a very heavy drinking episode, the neurons in the brain that may slow down their communication to the point that your breathing stops completely. This is called alcohol poisoning and it may lead to death.
The average female has only 52%. Women also have less dehydrogenase, a liver enzyme designed to break down alcohol in the body, than men.
Drinking too much is definitely damaging to brain health. 23% less likely to develop Alzheimer & # 39; s disease, a form of dementia, than non-drinkers. Wine seemed to have more benefits than other alcoholic drinks, probably due to the presence of resveratrol, a type of polyphenol in wine that reduce inflammation.
Liver Health
One of the liver & # 39; s main functions is to neutralize all sorts of toxic substances we consume. Here, the liver is specifically vulnerable to damage by excessive alcohol intake.
- Fatty liver is usually symptomless and may be completely reversible by making lifestyle changes.
- In general, binge drinking occurrence when women consume over four or men consume over five alcoholic beverages in a two-hour period. Cirrhosis is very serious and is irreversible; getting a liver transplant may be the only option.
Gut Microbiome
There are trillions of bugs that live in the human stomach, small intestines, and colon. Collectively known as the microbiome, these microbes or bacteria have a huge impact on health and well-being.
- They have a tremendous influence on the immune function and your ability to fight off illness and disease.
- As alcoholism progresses, the gut undergoes a form of dysbiosis wheree the levels of good bacteria drop while those of bad bacteria increase. This weakens the immune system and the body repeatedly more susceptible to all sorts of foreign invaders, inflammation, and diseases.
- It is now understood that altered gut microbiome as a result of alcoholism may lead to chronic low-grade inflammation and many modern diseases such as insulin resistance, diabetes, obesity, leaky gut (intestinal permeability), and even depression.
Heart Disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the About 610,000 people die of heart disease every year.
The effect is fairly consistent, corresponding to as much as as Alcohol & # 39; s biggest beneficial effect is the heart, but it also depends on the inverse association between light to moderate drinking and risk of cardiovascular disease. 40% reduction in risk. That said, heavy drinking shows to increase cardiovascular risks.
Research shows that moderate amounts of alcohol:
- raise HDL or the "good" cholesterol,
- decrease blood pressure,
- lower the concentration of fibrinogen in the blood, a substance that contributes to blood clots, and
- improves insulin sensitivity, lowers blood sugar, and reduces the risk of diabetes, a major risk factor for heart disease.
Breast Cancer
Researchers found that having 2 or more drinks a day raising the chance of developing breast cancer by as much as 40%.
However, you know that heart disease kills 10 years more women in the future than risk for heart disease than breast cancer, you may want to balance your risks and benefits accordingly.
These are tumor suppressor genes and having inherited mutations in linked to increased lifetime breast cancer risks.
- BRCA 1 carriers have a 55 - 65% chance of developing breast cancer by age 70.
- BRCA 2 carriers have a 45% chance of developing breast cancer by age 70.
- Women in the general population have about an 8% chance of getting breast cancer by age 70.
The study found that the BRCA carriers were wine drinkers, the BRCA 1 group showed a 62% lower risk of breast cancer than the general population but the BRCA 2 group showed a 58% greater risk.
Scientists believe the impact they observe may be to resveratrol in red wine. Resveratrol binds to estrogen receptors and helps regulate the activity of BRCA 1 mutated genes. Scientists have not found out why BRCA 2 mutated genes were unreceptive to resveratrol. this area.
The Dark Side Of Alcohol
Abraham Lincoln once said, "It has long been recognized that the problems with alcohol relate not to the use of a bad thing, but to the abuse of a good thing."
Moderate alcohol consumption may increase life expectancy, but alcohol abuse is undoubtably a strong risk factor for premature death.
- 18.2 million Americans meet the standard criteria for alcohol abuse.
- Alcohol plays a role in 1 in 3 cases of violent crime.
- More than 16,000 people die each year in alcohol-related car accidents.
Alcohol is additive, and may lead to alcohol dependence in predisposed individuals. Such as drinking, such as family history, social environment, mental health, and genes. life, then you may have a problem with alcohol dependence.
The number one priority is to get get your consumption under control or seek professional help and abstain completely in case of alcoholism.
Protocol To Lessen Alcohol & # 39; s Damage To The Body
Exercise
- It is known to decline in quality with age and heavy alcohol consumption.
- When you drink alcohol, it alters your brain to release dopamine, a chemical that helps control the brain & # 39; s reward and pleasure centers., When you exercise, the same reward chemical is released, that means you get the same buzz from working out, like what you get from a drink.
- For those who are already addicted, exercise is beneficial too and may actually help to lessen cravings.
Nutrients
Alcohol depletes certain nutrients in your body and places great burden on your liver. If you regularly consume alcohol, taking the following nutrients beforehand will help mitigate the damage alcohol to to your body.
B Complex
Student found that one among more alcoholic drink a day, those who had had the highest levels of folate in their blood were 90% less likely to develop breast cancer than those who had the lowest level.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant and helps reduce alcohol-induced oxidative stress in the liver. # Alcohol zaps the body & # 39; s store of vitamin C, getting more vitamin C in the body either food food or supplements may help speed up the metabolism of alcohol by the liver.
Magnesium
Alcohol further deletes your body & # 39; s store of this mineral. Magnesium is found in more than 300 different enzymes in the body It is critical in many different body functions including energy production, heart function, regulation of blood pressure and blood sugar, bone and teeth formation, and bowel function.
Milk Thistle
It possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which can be encapsulated in the scientific name for milk thistle.
N-actyl cysteine (NAC)
NAC is a form of the amino acid cysteine which helps increase glutathione (also known as the "master" antioxidant in the body) and reduce alcohol toxicity which which many many hangover symptoms.
Final Word
It is depot on the dosage and your individual genetic disposition.
If you currently do not drink, there is definitely no need to start as alcohol can be addictive.
If you are pregnant, you should not drink as it may have adverse effects on the development of the fetus.
If you have an alcohol addiction problem, you should seek help and abstain from alcohol completely.
There is a huge difference between a glass of wine everyday versus having 7 drinks on the weekend.
Among all the alcoholic drinks, red wine looks to be the most due to the presence of resveratrol. Organic and biodynamic wines are preferred as they have not used toxic chemicals and additives in growing and making the wine. Sweetened cocktails are the worst as they are contain a high sugar content, a double whammy for your liver.
Exercise regularly and take some additional nutrients to lessen alcohol & # 39; s effect on your body.
For the drinkers, drink responsibly.
