The effects of alcohol on the human body

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

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

Characteristics 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 drinks begin to decompose in the oral cavity, so the blood is saturated with alcohol from the first minute of contact with the body.From this moment 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 alcoholic toxins.

Most alcohol continues to act in the small intestine.It is from here that alcohol penetrates into all watery areas of the body, to be partially excreted through sweat, urine, saliva, etc., and partially oxidize and accumulate in most organs for several days.During this period, alcohol acts like a poison, slowly poisoning all cells of the body, affecting the development of a person, the state of his 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 expressed not only 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 pattern of normal functioning of the patient's body, has a detrimental effect on its full functioning and is a major cause 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 feeling 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, taking care of their family and the like.

The consequences of alcohol consumption on the human body

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

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

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

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

The fourth stage cannot be cured and leads to the death of the addict.Collapse of body systems and death occurs.

25 reasons to stop drinking alcohol

Many people see nothing wrong with drinking alcohol in the evenings, 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 provides 25 reasons to give up alcohol, discusses the harms of alcohol and its effects on the human body.

1. Alcohol is the cause of many diseases, meanness, indiscipline, wasted talents, meaningless 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, would so dramatically destroy all human tissues and organs (especially the cerebral cortex), the mind and personality of a person, ultimately leading him to an early death.The insidiousness of this poison lies in the fact that the serious consequences of alcoholic harm do not occur immediately, gradually, imperceptibly.
3. The influence of alcohol on a person's life is evidenced by the following facts: 50% of accidents, 1/3 of suicides, 80% of deaths from cancer of the oral cavity and esophagus occur due to alcohol abuse.
4. As a result of research conducted using the latest technology, Australian scientists have concluded that both alcoholics and moderate drinkers experience a gradual decrease and shrinkage of the brain.One glass of alcoholic beverages destroys 1,000-2,000 cells in our brain.These data were confirmed in 95% of alcoholics and 85% of moderate drinkers.

5. Studies have shown that the probability of drinkers giving birth to a healthy person is 15 times lower than that of non-drinkers, the mortality rate in their children is 5 times higher, and the morbidity is 3.5 times higher (note that we are talking only about drinkers, not alcoholics).Alcohol affects children even before they are 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, who rob their children of the happiness of future discoveries, the happiness of living a full life (according to F.G. Uglov).
6. Experiments conducted on chicken eggs showed the following: 160 eggs were placed in an incubator in a barn, in the basement of which alcohol was prepared.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 not viable, 25 were mutants (without a beak, without 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 in any doses to the human body, because it acts like morphine or marijuana, that is, it creates the illusion of goodness and happiness, causing irreparable harm, like any other poison.
9. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), one in three people in the world 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 a year, a number 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 checked using a large medical encyclopedia and many scientific works of the time.
11. The assurances of some heavy drinkers that they feel relieved 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 his illness itself, appears rosy.In fact, drinking alcohol in any quantity only aggravates the process and harms the person.

12. It is not for nothing that people 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, it is not drunkards and alcoholics who are most dangerous, because, looking at them, no one will want to imitate them.More contagious is the example of someone who drinks "moderately", "culturedly", who drinks "observing a ritual", etc.Unfortunately our media have "worked a lot" to present the party in a broader and more seductive way.Rarely does a film go without a glass, lavish celebration and toast.People drink enthusiastically after these toasts, almost mystically hoping that an empty glass or shot glass is the surest way to satisfy their cherished desires.And children become spectators and witnesses, and then accomplices to alcohol consumption, because they unconsciously imitate their parents.
13. Many researchers have shown that if children are invited to play on the occasion of a birthday or wedding, they reproduce and copy the attributes of an adult party in games: they sit at a common table, open bottles, clink glasses, say toasts and walk with a disconcerting gait.A survey of 100 children in one of the kindergartens showed that 97% of children described alcohol intoxication well.From kindergarten age, the idea of alcohol begins to form as a special and obligatory companion of celebrations and meetings, an attractive symbol of adult life.At the age of 11-12 years, adolescents form fairly stable stereotypes of attitude towards drunkenness.They copy their parents and loved ones in this.
14. Teenagers get their money's worth from those who drink the most.Euphoria is cultivated in these companies.Adolescents project their ideas about courage, masculinity, maturity onto alcoholism;they trick each other into seeing who is drunker, who screams or laughs or screams the loudest, who behaves more brazenly.There is a lot of ostentatious, demonstrative, hysterical behavior.Loud music is usually played, increasing destructive behavior.
15. According to statistics, people who drink live on average 10-15 years less.Smokers for 8 years.This 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 been made a legal drug and is sold cheaply.

17. There is a misconception that alcohol should be taken "for fun."Fun and laughter, in fact, are very important moments in a person's life.They give rest to the brain, 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 no 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 that there is no rest for the nervous system.On the contrary, instead of rest, depression sets in with all the consequences (headaches, apathy, weakness, reluctance to work, etc.).Which is never observed in sober entertainment.So alcohol is not a friend, but an enemy of fun.It eliminates the time a person spends on fun and relaxation.Instead, he has headaches and tiredness.Alcohol works the same way when you're tired.A day off is given to a person so that he can physically and mentally rest and, with new strength and a new desire to work, get to work after resting.
18. Alcohol creates the illusion of stress relief.In fact, the tension in the brain and throughout the nervous system remains, and when the effect of the hops fades, the tension is even greater than before drinking the wine.But added to this is a weakening of will and weakness.
19. An innate need to drink beer, wine, vodka, etc.People don't do that.If there were no alcoholic beverages and the tradition of drinking them in the world, one could easily live without them and not cause harm to one's body and loved ones.
20. To make an informed choice “to drink or not to drink”, it is necessary to know how alcohol affects our body."Advertisers" can make up legends about the usefulness of alcohol.In TV commercials they call beer "correct", "vitalizing", "for real men", they try to "connect" alcoholic products with sexual, patriotic, national and high-ranking characteristics of people.In order not to be fooled, you need to have objective information yourself and learn to counter advertising.
21. After drinking alcohol, the amount of urine excreted increases (diuresis), i.e. water and salts are lost.After the intoxication, there is a strong thirst, which “pulls” the brine and mineral waters.A brief systematic review of the actual effects of alcohol on all types of metabolism in a living organism leads to one conclusion: all types of metabolism are disrupted.It is this combination of “killer” effects that determines the antiseptic effect of ethyl alcohol and should constitute an obstacle to its use as a drink.

22. The phrase “alcoholic beverages” is incorrect.The “drinks” must have nutritional value and contain substances involved in nutrition.These include proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins.They are not found in alcohol.There is very little in cognacs, wines and beer.To obtain their daily quantity it is necessary to drink a quantity of these liquids whose alcohol content is many times higher than the lethal dose.
23. For example, you can buy a car with the money you spend on alcohol.You can calculate for yourself how much money you spend on alcohol over the course of months and years.
24. There are often references to studies by foreign scientists, for example from numerous institutes in Munich, which prove that beer helps with many diseases.First of all, it should be noted that all of these studies were conducted with the financial support of the alcohol industry.Therefore, such results are widespread in the media, but they are difficult to find in serious scientific journals, since such journals usually ask authors to indicate the source of funding for research, and if it is the alcohol or tobacco industry, 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!