The effect of alcohol on the human body

Alcoholism is one of the most difficult problems of modern society.Alcohol and its effect on the body is the subject of discussion among scientists of various specialties who are trying to determine the reasons for the sudden 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.

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

Properties of the mechanism of action

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

Most of the alcohol continues to work in the small intestine.From there, alcohol penetrates into all watery parts of the body, to be partially excreted through sweat, urine, saliva, etc., and partially oxidized and accumulated in most organs for several days.During this period, alcohol acts as a poison, slowly poisoning all the cells of the body, affecting the development of a person, the state of his psyche and the functionality of internal structures.

The influence 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 negatively affects all organs and systems of the human body.In short, the regular consumption of alcoholic beverages completely destroys the model of normal functioning of the patient's organism, has a harmful effect on its full functioning and is one of the main causes of death of people of working age.

Impact on the psyche

Probably each of us knows how alcohol affects the human psyche.Drinkers may experience hallucinations, overwhelming feelings of anxiety, apathy, and long-term depression.Alcoholics lose themselves completely.These people become antisocial, pay little attention to their appearance, stop caring about everyday human concerns, care for their family, etc.

The consequences of drinking alcohol on the human body

Each stage of addiction has certain symptoms and characteristic features.There are 4 of them in total.

For the initial phaseit is characterized by a gradual increase in the consumed dose of alcohol, the formation of addiction and the influence of alcohol on the psychological level.

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

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

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

25 reasons for quitting alcohol

Many people see nothing wrong with drinking alcohol in the evenings, weekends or holidays.But few people have a sense of measure and willpower.And a seemingly harmless hobby turns into a bad habit.This article presents 25 reasons for giving up alcohol, it talks about the harmfulness of alcohol and its effects on the human body.

1. Alcohol is the cause of many diseases, meanness, indiscipline, wasted 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), the mind and personality of a person, which would ultimately lead to an early death.The insidiousness of this poison lies in the fact that the serious consequences of alcohol harm do not appear immediately, gradually, imperceptibly.
3. The following facts testify to the influence of alcohol on a person's life: 50 percent of accidents, 1/3 of suicides, 80 percent of deaths from cancer of the oral cavity and esophagus are due to alcohol abuse.
4. As a result of research conducted using the latest technology, Australian scientists have concluded that both alcoholics and moderate users experience a gradual reduction and shrinkage of the brain.A glass of alcoholic drink destroys 1000-2000 cells in our brain.These data were confirmed in 95% of alcoholics and 85% of moderate drinkers.

5. Studies have shown that drinkers are 15 times less likely to give birth to a healthy person than non-drinkers, the mortality rate of their children is 5 times higher, and the morbidity rate is 3.5 times higher (note that we are only talking about drinkers, not alcoholics).Alcohol affects children even before they are born.Even in families that drink alcohol moderately, children are born stunted, mentally underdeveloped, and even dead.Because of alcohol and drug addiction, women in America alone give birth to thousands of premature babies every day.Parents who drink are the worst thieves, they steal from their children 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 brewed.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 non-vital, 25 were mutants (beakless, clawless, etc.).
7. If a person's genetic code is damaged, the entire generation is at risk.Today, 96% of genetic code violations occur due to various drugs (alcohol, cigarettes, other drugs).
8. Alcohol as a drug is harmful in all forms and in any dose for the human body, because it acts like morphine or marijuana, i.e. it creates the illusion of goodness and happiness, and causes irreparable damage, like any other poison.
9. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), every third person on Earth dies from causes related to alcohol consumption, and every fifth person dies from causes related to smoking.This means that for these reasons we lose almost one and a half million people a year in Russia, which is 20 times more than the number of victims of the atomic explosion in Hiroshima.
10. Prohibition worked successfully in Russia at that time for more than 10 years.During that period, the number of sick people decreased, prisons were emptied, peace came to families, and prosperity came to homes.All these data can be verified using the large medical encyclopedia and many scientific works of the time.
11. The assurances of some heavy alcoholics that they feel relief after drinking is pure self-delusion caused by the paralysis of the centers of attention and self-control.After taking any dose of alcohol, the patient falls into a state of euphoria, and everything, including his own illness, looks rosy.In fact, consuming alcohol in any amount only worsens the process and harms the person.

12. It is not for nothing that the people say: "A river begins with a stream, and drunkenness 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 more dangerous, because, looking at them, no one will have the desire to imitate them.A more contagious example is those who drink "moderately", "culturedly", who drink "following a ritual", etc.Unfortunately, our media "tried" to present the feast in a broader and more seductive way.Rarely does a movie go by without a glass, lavish celebrations and toasts.People drink enthusiastically after these toasts, almost mystically hoping that an empty cup or glass is the surest way to fulfill their fondest wishes.Children also become spectators and witnesses, and then accomplices in drinking alcohol, because they imitate their parents on a subconscious level.
13. Many researchers have shown that children, if invited to play at a birthday or wedding, reproduce and copy the attributes of an adult feast in games - sitting at a common table, opening bottles, clinking glasses, toasting and walking with a staggering gait.A survey of 100 boys in one of the kindergartens showed that 97% of the children described alcoholism well.From the kindergarten age, the idea of alcohol as a special, obligatory companion of celebrations and meetings, an attractive symbol of adult life, begins to form.At the age of 11-12, adolescents form fairly stable stereotypes about attitudes towards drunkenness.In this they copy their parents and loved ones.
14. Teenagers are validated by who drinks more.Euphoria is cultivated in such companies.Teenagers project their ideas of courage, masculinity, maturity onto alcoholism;they goad each other to see who is drunker, who screams or laughs or whines louder, 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 an average of 10-15 years less.Smokers 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 low price.

17. There is a misconception that alcohol should be taken "to have fun".In fact, fun and laughter are very important moments in a person's life.They give rest to the brain, divert thoughts from everyday worries, thereby strengthening the nervous system, preparing it for new work and worries.But laughter and fun are useful only in those cases when they occur in a sober person.In the scientific and reasonable understanding of this condition, there is no and cannot be a drunken party.Drunk "fun" is nothing but excitement under anesthesia - this is the first stage of anesthesia, the stage of excitement that surgeons observe every day when they give the patient other drugs (ether, chloroform, morphine, etc.), which are identical in their action to alcohol and, like alcohol, are drugs.This stage 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.).Which is never seen in a sober party.So, alcohol is not a friend, but an enemy of fun.It eliminates the time that a person takes for fun and relaxation.Instead, he gets a headache and fatigue.Alcohol works the same way when you're tired.A person is given a day off so that he can rest physically and mentally and go to work with new strength and a new desire to work after the rest.
18. Alcohol creates the illusion of stress relief.In fact, the tension in the brain and the entire nervous system remains, and when the hops are gone, the tension is even greater than before drinking the wine.But to that is added weakening of will and weakness.
19. Innate need to drink beer, wine, vodka, etc.people don't.If there were no alcoholic beverages and the tradition of drinking them in the world, you could live peacefully without them and not harm your body and your neighbors.
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, beer is called "correct", "for life", "for real men", they try to "associate" alcoholic products with sexual, patriotic, national, high-status characteristics of people.In order not to be deceived, you must have objective information yourself and learn to oppose advertising.
21. After drinking alcohol, the amount of urine excreted (diuresis) increases, that is, water and salt are lost.After intoxication, there is a strong thirst, "withdrawal" to salt water and mineral water.A brief systematic review of the real effects of alcohol on all types of metabolism in a living organism leads to one conclusion: all types of metabolism are disturbed.It is this combination of "killer" effects that determines the antiseptic effect of ethyl alcohol and should be an obstacle to its use as a drink.

22. The term "alcoholic beverages" is incorrect."Beverages" must have nutritional value and contain substances that are included in the diet.These include proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins.They are not found in alcohol.There is very little in cognacs, wines and beers.To get their daily amount, it is necessary to drink the amount of these liquids in which the alcohol content is many times higher than its lethal dose.
23. For example, you can buy a car with the money you spend on booze.You can calculate yourself how much money you spend on alcohol over months and years.
24. Studies by foreign scientists, for example, by numerous institutes from Munich, are often mentioned, which prove that beer helps with many diseases.First of all, it should be noted that all such research was done with the financial support of the alcohol industry.Therefore, such results are circulated in the media, but it is difficult to find them in serious scientific journals, because such journals usually ask the 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!