The ‘Drink’ That Damages Your Brain, Heart, and Stomach

normal brain-alcohol brain

Like
it or not, alcohol is a poison!  A doctor or nurse rubs alcohol
on the body prior to an injection to kill any pathogenic
micro-organisms which might be lingering on the skin.  It’s killing
capacity is that effective and dependable.  Why then do people
not understand that the over-consumption of alcohol can have highly
destructive effects on their organs and tissues? ~ Robert Harrington

Just one sip of beer, wine, or whisky hangs out in your
body for about 2 hours. Once it quickly enters your bloodstream, it
touches down on nearly every organ and system in your body.[1]

The real question here concerns how alcohol will affect your vital
organs, especially your heart and brain.  Since the brain has always
been said to actually lose many a brain cell with each glass of
alcoholic beverage, what’s the real story?

Your Brain

Contrary to popular belief, alcohol doesn’t actually kill your brain
cells, says David Sack, M.D., CEO of addiction-treatment company
Elements Behavioral Health.

But alcohol does alter levels of neurotransmitters, the chemical
messengers that control your mood, perception, and behavior, he says.

Alcohol impairs brain areas such as the cerebellum—the control site
for your balance and coordination—and your cerebral cortex, which is
responsible for thinking, memory, and learning, says Kimberly S.
Walitzer, Ph.D., deputy director of the University at Buffalo’s Research
Institute on Addictions.

Plus, University of Michigan researchers found the amygdala—an area
of the brain involved in fear and anger—showed less of a reaction to
threatening faces after a single drink, potentially explaining why
you’re prone to risky behavior (like fighting a bouncer) under the
influence.[1]

The heart muscle is quite susceptible to the various harmful effects
of alcohol.  Because heart rate and heartbeat are both vital signs that
should not deviate too much from a person’s normal readings, the actual
effects of alcohol consumption ought to be monitored closely.

Your Heart

Two drinks per day can raise your risk of atrial fibrillation by 17 percent, according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

This type of irregular heartbeat approximately quadruples your risk
of having a stroke and triples your risk of heart failure.[1]

Next up is the stomach and liver.  Because they receive the brunt of
processing the alcohol, the stomach and liver suffer the most initially.
 The detoxification pathways of the liver, in particular, will become
compromised the longer and the greater the volume that is consumed.
 

When alcohol toxicity in the liver exceeds a certain threshold, the
greater the likelihood that Cirrhosis will develop.  A sustained level
of alcohol in the body will also significantly exacerbate cases of
Hepatitis C.

As for the stomach…

Your Stomach

Just one night of binging—that’s five drinks or more for guys in
about 2 hours—increases what’s called your gut permeability, according
to University of Massachusetts Medical School researchers.

Harmful toxins and bacteria leak
from your digestive system into your bloodstream, prompting a dangerous
immune-system response that can eventually lead to liver disease and
other health problems.

At lower doses, alcohol irritates your stomach, increases acidity,
and relaxes the muscle at the end of your esophagus, causing heartburn,
Dr. Sacks says.[1]

The following diagram presents a concise list of excellent reasons
not to drink alcohol.  As some of the more famous healers of the last
century pointed out: alcohol is best used as a sterilizing agent in
medicine, not a drinking beverage at a social gathering.

body-on-booze

Conclusion

Everyone knows that women should never drink during their pregnancy
because of the profound damage that is caused to the developing fetus.
It’s a scientific fact that “alcohol (wine, beer, or liquor) is the
leading known preventable cause of developmental and physical birth
defects in the United States.“
[2]

Therefore, it ought to be obvious that the mother is also harmed, as
is any one who imbibes alcohol on a regular basis.  Particularly those
who possess the gene for alcoholism are susceptible to alcohol
poisoning, which is responsible for countless premature deaths
worldwide.  They are likewise vulnerable to many of the anti-social
behaviors which can lead to job loss, divorce and imprisonment due to
excessive DUIs.

 

Reposted June 6, 2015 – KnowTheLies.com

 

Source

 

References

[1] Yahoo Health

[2] KidsHealth.org

 

Source Article from http://www.knowthelies.com/node/10447

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