Effects of Alcohol Abuse

What are the effects of alcohol abuse and alcoholism?

Alcohol has a number of potential effects, some positive and some negative. Used respectfully and in moderation (one or two drinks per day), there is evidence of positive effects from alcohol consumption, including the following:

• Promotes better health
• Promotes longevity
• Decreases risk of heart attack or stroke
• Improves cholesterol levels, increasing good cholesterol and reducing bad cholesterol
• Decreases likelihood of high blood pressure, peripheral artery disease, Alzheimer’s disease and catching cold virus
• Reduces risk of type 2 diabetes for pre-menopausal women
• Reducing incidence of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, kidney stones, stress, depression, poor memory, Parkinson’s disease, hepatitis A, pancreatic cancer, macular degeneration, etc., etc.

From this list one might consider that drinking is a good thing. However, all of the studies, emphasized that these results were observed only in moderate drinkers, with moderate being defined as one or two drinks per day, depending on body mass.

When a drinker enters into the realm of the heavy or regular binge drinker, the negative effects of alcohol abuse begin to appear. Such negative effects can include:

• Hangover
• Dehydration that can cause headaches, dizziness and lethargy
• Irritation and inflammation of the stomach lining, sometimes leading to nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting
• Dilation of blood vessels in the brain that can add to or trigger headaches related to dehydration
• Depression of brain function that can last for most of the day after sobriety has returned
• Disruption of circadian rhythms and reduced sleep quality
• Reduced life expectancy
• Massive memory loss
• Disintegration of vital organs
• Reduced learning ability
• Impairment of vocabulary and language
• Reduced coordination and balance
• Degeneration of the muscular system
• Loss of brain cells
• Reduced ability to commit new information to memory
• Vitamin and nutritional deficiencies and malnutrition
• Impairment of and increasing damage to the pancreas and the liver
• Osteoporosis

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