Alcohol damage to other organs:
At the level of the nervous system It has a depressant action, interfering with the activity of numerous neurotransmission systems, slowing down their activity and speed of work; at first one becomes euphoric, relaxed and happy but as the alcohol accumulates and the speed of transmission of the nervous impulse is reduced, difficulties in movement, worsening of reaction times, difficulty in articulating speech, mental confusion and so on, until reaching alcoholic coma.
The Damage of Alcohol on the Development of the Adolescent Brain have also been demonstrated by research carried out with magnetic resonance imaging performed on a group of boys at 18, 19 and 21 years old. The results of the three successive MRIs showed a thinning of the cerebral cortex among the users of this substance. «A finding that could indicate a pruning unfavorable (synaptic pruning: a phase in the development of the nervous system, it is the process of eliminating synapses that occurs between early childhood and the beginning of puberty), and/or an inhibition of cell multiplication, or even the death of brain cells" underline the authors of the study, led by Dr. Joanna Jacobus of the University of California in San Diego, who published their experiment in the scientific journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.
One of the reasons why drinking alcohol is so dangerous for young people is that this substance adds its effect, not only disinhibitory, to the mutations already underway in young brains. It compromises brain functions in the orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus, causing a reduction in alertness and attention, motor coordination, and judgment and decision-making skills.
-Alcohol also works on the organs of balance with progressive loss of the same; the step becomes uncertain and unsteady, as anyone who has seen a drunk trying to walk in a straight line knows well.
-Alcohol It also increases heart rate and blood pressure .
-Alcohol finally It is a powerful diuretic , in fact it reduces the secretion of vasopressin, a hormone that stimulates the reabsorption of water in the kidneys, and therefore determines the loss of a large quantity of water through urine, so much so that part of the after-effects of a binge can be attributed to the state of dehydration that accompanies it.
If we have experienced the famous hangover headache, this is the consequence of both vasodilation or expansion of the blood vessels but also of dehydration caused by the excessive presence of alcohol in our body. Since the brain is the organ of our body that is contained in the cerebrospinal fluid, in the dehydration phase the brain experiences the shrinking effect (similar to the behavior of a sponge when it dries) caused by the decrease of this substance. To compensate for this reaction it is therefore necessary to take in plenty of liquids and mineral salts to rehydrate the body.
Often, however, drinking water is not enough because the process of transforming liquids taken orally into liquids retained by the body requires no less than 8 hours, so sometimes It would be very useful to restore the fluid balance with sodium solution drips , which are usually able to rehydrate the body in less than an hour.
Today we know that Excessive alcohol consumption is directly related to significant damage to the liver and pancreas , with damage also extending to the brain in at least 10% of alcoholics. The potential damage to the unborn child resulting from alcohol consumption during pregnancy is absolutely devastating. Numerous studies have also shown that alcohol consumption causes a increased risk of developing tumors , especially of the upper airways, esophagus and liver. The effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular system are a particular case. High consumption is in fact a risk factor for diseases such as cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, hypertension and stroke.
Alcohol is a problem and the World Health Organization ranks it among the five most important risk factors health risk : every year, in the world, deaths due to alcohol use are over 3 million, almost 6% of total deaths.
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Alcohol is bad and harms many organs. It affects our body differently depending on gender, age and ethnicity.
Reading time: 8 minutes
All alcoholic beverages contain ethyl alcohol , also called ethanol .
It is a substance that is rapidly absorbed 5% by the mouth, 15% by the stomach, and 80% by the small intestine, the first part of the intestine. The absorbed alcohol then passes into the blood and from the blood to the liver, which has the task of destroying it, because unlike carbohydrates and fats, which if taken in excess can be stored in various organs and tissues, Alcohol must be metabolized and eliminated as soon as possible.
Alcohol is a caloric substance that the body cannot use as energy. It is a foreign substance to the body , which is absorbed rapidly but eliminated less quickly than it is absorbed and only in small quantities by the kidneys and lungs.
The organ responsible for destroying this harmful substance is the liver, which has various alcohol degradation systems, the best known of which is the alcohol dehydrogenase system , that is, an enzymatic system that converts it first into acetaldehyde and then into acetate, a compound to be used in various energy processes.
Alcohol Dehydrogenase works in tandem with Aldehyde Dehydrogenase (two enzymes that work together). The second system for alcohol degradation is called Microsomal, which is also used for the degradation of many drugs.
Why would the liver be programmed to “break down” alcohol if there is no such substance in our body?
Because actually We produce alcohol endogenously as a consequence of an imbalance in the intestinal microbiota .
You might think that since the liver is able to metabolise alcohol we could consume it in any quantity but in truth The liver's ability to process alcohol is limited . The enzymes that handle these processes can detoxify no more than about ten grams of alcohol per hour, and the excess toxic substances then wander around the body, causing more or less significant effects depending on the amount of alcohol consumed.
In short, when alcohol intake is high, the liver is unable to dispose of the excess ethanol and releases it into circulation. acetaldehyde , a toxic substance that alters mitochondrial function and induces the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Acetaldehyde is a truly toxic metabolite, much more so than alcohol itself.
If you keep your alcohol intake to a minimum, your liver is able to get rid of the acetaldehyde before it has time to do much damage. When you don't, however, what happens is that Your liver's supply of glutathione – a chemical that would normally attack acetaldehyde and turn it into a less harmful substance – is dramatically reduced by the amount of alcohol you've dumped into your body .
There are categories of people who have minimal levels of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, such as women, Asian populations or developing children.
Men can tolerate larger amounts of alcohol than women . First of all, men have greater physical mass than women and above all a larger water compartment.
Alcohol disperses in the aqueous phase and therefore in males it can be diluted in a much larger volume with a clear reduction in the effects linked to consumption. Furthermore, men also have a greater quantity of a particular form of alcohol dehydrogenase active at the gastric level and therefore a smaller quantity of alcohol enters the circulation due to the greater activity of this enzyme. In practice, in a woman, for the same effects, the consumption of two thirds of the quantity of alcohol that can be consumed by a man is sufficient
In children and adolescents under 20 years of age, the enzyme that breaks down alcohol is almost completely absent!
These categories are therefore much more at risk, and girls more than boys, because the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme works much less than in adults, with the possibility of damage especially to the liver.
To help you better understand the different consequences of alcohol use among adults and children in the developmental age, try to imagine if one person picked up a burning coal with a fireproof glove while another did the same thing with his bare hands. In the first case, the protective glove represents the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme present in adults, while the bare hands represent the liver of children under 20. Similar gestures but with different effects. Make your own considerations…
The liver has the resources to eliminate the alcohol content produced by our body endogenously but is not able to degrade large quantities of alcohol.
When we drink alcoholic substances we must therefore consider that we are increasing the level of alcohol that the liver will have to oxidize with the consequence of overworking it. This fatigue, if prolonged over time, leads to hepatic steatosis (fatty liver).
Alcohol damages the intestines
Alcohol causes important changes in the intestinal microbiota .
The intestinal microbiota is a vast collection of bacteria and other microorganisms, about 100,000 billion, that live in our digestive system. The genes of the microbiota are complementary to human genes and help maintain health by preventing or acting as a therapy for many diseases and supporting human functions such as digestion, development of the immune system and the synthesis of fundamental compounds.
An alteration of the normal balance of the microbiota generates various pathologies : inflammatory bowel diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, food allergies, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, various forms of cancer and even behavioral and mood disorders.
Dysbiosis (the alteration of the bacterial flora) can be caused by a large number of factors various factors such as the use of antibiotics and other drugs, stress and alterations of the circadian rhythm and, obviously, diet, with immediately noticeable effects on the composition of the microbiota; Alcohol is one of the components of the diet that can alter the composition of the intestinal bacterial flora .
Habitual alcohol consumption causes alterations in the intestinal microbiota, with a strong increase in bacterial growth in the small intestine . Alterations that can contribute to the development of liver diseases .
The intestinal wall is the largest interface between our organism and the environment and allows the contents of the lumen to be kept separate from the systemic circulation, preventing the entry of pathogens, antigens and toxic substances. Alcohol reduces the efficiency of the intestinal barrier interfering with the production of mucus that coats its surface and altering the permeability of the enterocyte cell membrane.
The best choice, for the well-being of the microbiota and beyond, is NOT to consume alcohol.
If this proves impossible, it is always best to follow the indications of the World Health Organization, based on the daily consumption of alcoholic units: one alcoholic unit is equal to approximately 12 grams of ethyl alcohol, the quantity found in:
According to the WHO, a man should not consume more than 2-3 units of alcohol per day, while for women, a lower consumption is recommended, 1-2 units of alcohol/day. Obviously children and adolescents MUST NOT consume any type of alcoholic beverage . Men and women have different capacities to metabolize alcohol. This capacity is almost zero in children and young people.
And if you love your microbiota, give it a hand by consuming a good dose of fiber every day, the kind you find in fruit and vegetables, while trying to avoid excesses of any kind. Remember, if you take care of your microbiota, your microbiota will take care of you.
Alcohol damage to other organs:
At the level of the nervous system It has a depressant action, interfering with the activity of numerous neurotransmission systems, slowing down their activity and speed of work; at first one becomes euphoric, relaxed and happy but as the alcohol accumulates and the speed of transmission of the nervous impulse is reduced, difficulties in movement, worsening of reaction times, difficulty in articulating speech, mental confusion and so on, until reaching alcoholic coma.
The Damage of Alcohol on the Development of the Adolescent Brain have also been demonstrated by research carried out with magnetic resonance imaging performed on a group of boys at 18, 19 and 21 years old. The results of the three successive MRIs showed a thinning of the cerebral cortex among the users of this substance. «A finding that could indicate a pruning unfavorable (synaptic pruning: a phase in the development of the nervous system, it is the process of eliminating synapses that occurs between early childhood and the beginning of puberty), and/or an inhibition of cell multiplication, or even the death of brain cells" underline the authors of the study, led by Dr. Joanna Jacobus of the University of California in San Diego, who published their experiment in the scientific journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.
One of the reasons why drinking alcohol is so dangerous for young people is that this substance adds its effect, not only disinhibitory, to the mutations already underway in young brains. It compromises brain functions in the orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus, causing a reduction in alertness and attention, motor coordination, and judgment and decision-making skills.
-Alcohol also works on the organs of balance with progressive loss of the same; the step becomes uncertain and unsteady, as anyone who has seen a drunk trying to walk in a straight line knows well.
-Alcohol It also increases heart rate and blood pressure .
-Alcohol finally It is a powerful diuretic , in fact it reduces the secretion of vasopressin, a hormone that stimulates the reabsorption of water in the kidneys, and therefore determines the loss of a large quantity of water through urine, so much so that part of the after-effects of a binge can be attributed to the state of dehydration that accompanies it.
If we have experienced the famous hangover headache, this is the consequence of both vasodilation or expansion of the blood vessels but also of dehydration caused by the excessive presence of alcohol in our body. Since the brain is the organ of our body that is contained in the cerebrospinal fluid, in the dehydration phase the brain experiences the shrinking effect (similar to the behavior of a sponge when it dries) caused by the decrease of this substance. To compensate for this reaction it is therefore necessary to take in plenty of liquids and mineral salts to rehydrate the body.
Often, however, drinking water is not enough because the process of transforming liquids taken orally into liquids retained by the body requires no less than 8 hours, so sometimes It would be very useful to restore the fluid balance with sodium solution drips , which are usually able to rehydrate the body in less than an hour.
Today we know that Excessive alcohol consumption is directly related to significant damage to the liver and pancreas , with damage also extending to the brain in at least 10% of alcoholics. The potential damage to the unborn child resulting from alcohol consumption during pregnancy is absolutely devastating. Numerous studies have also shown that alcohol consumption causes a increased risk of developing tumors , especially of the upper airways, esophagus and liver. The effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular system are a particular case. High consumption is in fact a risk factor for diseases such as cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, hypertension and stroke.
Alcohol is a problem and the World Health Organization ranks it among the five most important risk factors health risk : every year, in the world, deaths due to alcohol use are over 3 million, almost 6% of total deaths.
The attractiveness of alcohol
It is clear that the attraction towards alcohol has been very strong throughout human history and that only in recent times have we begun to investigate more carefully the short and long-term effects determined by alcohol consumption.
Moderate consumption, approximately two glasses of red wine, appears to be protective against heart disease. In fact, an increase in HDL cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol, is observed, and a possible reduction in the inflammatory process involving fats that accumulate on the walls of the vessels: some authors attribute this effect to the antioxidants present in red wine, such as the much vaunted resveratrol , antioxidants present however in insufficient quantities to determine such effects, which are also detected for alcoholic beverages that do not contain resveratrol. A final positive data linked to a modest consumption of alcohol is linked to the antithrombotic effect of alcohol.
Even in these cases, however, the risk for a plethora of other pathologies always exists and increases as consumption increases. So if you drink, do it intelligently, enjoying the positive aspects and trying to avoid the negative ones, which become very important when you overdo it.
How to limit the harmful effects of alcohol:
Alcohol places a significant burden on the liver : to help this organ perform its job at its best It is very useful to replenish the correct levels of glutathione (enzyme that is used to detoxify the liver). To supplement the Glutathione great care must be taken in the method of administration because this enzyme is pH sensitive and loses its efficiency if it passes through the gastrointestinal tract (where acidity is high). To avoid taking supplements without obtaining any benefit, the form should be preferred sublingual liposomal (where the pH is not acidic), administration by injection or by drip.
The damage caused by alcohol at intestinal level can be mitigated by the administration of probiotics , that is, bacteria normally present in the intestine. which preferentially metabolise ethyl alcohol and may reduce the absorption of ingested alcohol .
Even the use of supplements based on long chain saturated fatty acids has been shown to reduce intestinal dysbiosis.
Alcohol consumption causes severe zinc deficiency. Zinc supplementation it is therefore essential because significantly increases the elimination of the toxic properties of alcohol .
Alcohol damages the body's hydration balance : it is useful to resort, if possible, to the integration of liquids through a drip . The alternative of drinking a lot of water constantly remains always an excellent habit
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