We all know what alcohol can do to your
body. In the short term, it makes you drunk, and in the slightly longer
term, it makes you hungover. But what even longer term effects does
drinking too much alcohol have on your body?
There are obvious negative effects of
alcohol, like liver problems, skin problems, and circulation problems,
not to mention weight gain and a decrease in motor functions. But what
are the other ways alcohol hurts? Ibrahim Hanouneh, MD, who works in
gastroenterology and hepatology at the Cleveland Clinic, shares some
lesser-known problems associated with alcohol consumption.
1. Alcohol takes priority. When
you consume any alcohol, your body makes breaking down the alcohol its
top priority. Your body cannot store alcohol (like with proteins, carbs,
and fats), so your liver works extra hard to detoxify your entire body
by removing the alcohol from the blood. This slows down and confuses the
body which is why you get drunk, and because your liver has to work so
hard, it is more likely to be problematic later.
2. Bacteria grows in your gut. Alcohol
abuse often leads to intestinal bacteria growth. These bacteria can
migrate through the intestinal wall. This is problematic on its own, but
when the bacteria gets into the liver it can cause serious damage. Even
a single night of drinking can damage the intestinal lining.
3. Your heart will become weakened. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to a weak heart (cardiomyopathy), irregular patterns (arrhythmia), or high blood pressure.
A study shows that alcoholism and
depression are also heavily connected. leads to drinking, or drinking
leads to depression is still not .
4. You’ll develop pancreatitis. Your
pancreas produces insulin, which allows the food you eat to be used as
energy. Pancreatitis is an inflammation in the pancreas, where it
becomes inflamed and starts to slow down insulin production.
Pancreatitis typically brings high blood pressure and can even cause
malabsorption syndrome and diabetes.
5. Risk for cancer. Cancer of the mouth, esophagus, throat, breast, and, of course, liver, have been associated with alcoholism.
6. A stressed immune system. Drinking
alcohol, especially binge drinking, stresses your entire system. A
stressed immune system opens the body to infection, disease, and worse.
Doctors suggest drinking red wine can be
good for you, but I would still take caution. Dr. Hanouneh says healthy
people can still drink, but certainly not every day, or even most days
of the week. All this said, alcohol is best avoided, but can be fine in
moderation.
Alcohol addiction is a slippery slope
that can lead to pancreatitis, liver failure and worse. There are also
links to dementia and Alzheimer’s. Drinking alcohol has massive health
implications that are hard, if not impossible to reverse.
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