Once You Hear This Psychiatrist’s Take On Alcohol, You’ll Never Drink Again
Alcohol has been around for at least 10,000 years. Statistics shows
that there were 136.8 million alcohol drinkers in the U.S in 2013 alone.
While we are not taking a position that it should be abolished,
everyone needs to be aware of the truth and make their own choices.
There are some results from a study that prove that drinking alcohol in moderate amounts can also raise the danger of cognitive decline.
The University of Oxford and University College London, conducted a study with a team of experts, led by Anya Topiwala, a senior clinical researcher, and consultant psychiatrist, and they investigated the impacts that are caused by consuming alcohol in moderate amount on the brain structure and function.
The BMJ has published this research, which investigated 550 men and women in the United Kingdom with the average age of 43, and they are all not ‘alcohol dependent’ for 30 years.
They analyzed the weekly intake of alcohol and the cognitive performance they had.
The results showed that in case they consumed more alcohol, this caused a higher risk of hippocampus atrophy, which is a condition that is has the degeneration of brain cells, that is the reason for disorientation and memory loss.
People that have increased risk are the individuals that are drinking over 30 units of alcohol a week, which is the same as 2.5 beer bottles or more. Individuals that consume in moderate amounts have 3 times the odds of getting right-sided hippocampal atrophy.
Researchers say:
Consuming alcohol is considered as a risk factor for cognitive impairment and if you do not take any actions to prevent this immediately is recommended in order not to get additional issues.
And also a god night sleep does not wear off the alcohol effects. There are many factors that contribute to these effects, like:
1. Fatty liver diseases
This disease is an accumulation of extra fat in the liver and it is very common in heavy drinkers. The good news is that it goes away once the person quits drinking.
2. Alcohol hepatitis
Alcohol hepatitis damages the liver and causes it to swell. About 35 percent of heavy drinkers develop it at certain point and run the risk of serious complications like liver failure and even death.
3. Alcoholic cirrhosis
Alcoholic cirrhosis is defined as scarring of the liver which results in poor liver function.
It is important to mention that we are not talking about an occasional drink here. This refers to people who find it difficult to stop and eventually end up drinking regularly, running the risk of the aforementioned diseases.
This article focuses on the psychological aspect of heavy drinking, meaning its effects on the brain and the mental state of the drinker.
When you consume alcohol, about 33 percent of it goes through the stomach and into the blood. The rest of it is absorbed by the small intestine, and it ends up into the bloodstream.
From the blood, it goes everywhere, given that most cell membranes are quite permeable. This is why experts suggest no more than two drinks in a day for men and one drink daily for women. Anything more than this can cause serious issues!
Alcohol and your brain
When it comes alcohol’s effects on the brain, they are quite varied. Although we get pleasure from it, eventually dopamine receptors become less receptive. Once addicted, if we quit drinking, we experience withdrawal symptoms.
Additionally, it also affects motor coordination, memory, and causes more short-term and long-term effects.
Alcohol and your body
According to Dr. Ball, alcohol dependency and drinking on a regular basis do serious damage on our bodies in general. In addition to the brain effects like memory loss, motor coordination loss, and cognitive impairment as well as the organ repercussions like liver disease, alcohol abuse contributes to esophageal problems, dementia, delirium, and organ failures, too.
Alcohol can seriously impact the body, causing:
Sources: seizepositivity.com, http://healthyfoodstar.org
There are some results from a study that prove that drinking alcohol in moderate amounts can also raise the danger of cognitive decline.
The University of Oxford and University College London, conducted a study with a team of experts, led by Anya Topiwala, a senior clinical researcher, and consultant psychiatrist, and they investigated the impacts that are caused by consuming alcohol in moderate amount on the brain structure and function.
The BMJ has published this research, which investigated 550 men and women in the United Kingdom with the average age of 43, and they are all not ‘alcohol dependent’ for 30 years.
They analyzed the weekly intake of alcohol and the cognitive performance they had.
The results showed that in case they consumed more alcohol, this caused a higher risk of hippocampus atrophy, which is a condition that is has the degeneration of brain cells, that is the reason for disorientation and memory loss.
People that have increased risk are the individuals that are drinking over 30 units of alcohol a week, which is the same as 2.5 beer bottles or more. Individuals that consume in moderate amounts have 3 times the odds of getting right-sided hippocampal atrophy.
Researchers say:
Consuming alcohol is considered as a risk factor for cognitive impairment and if you do not take any actions to prevent this immediately is recommended in order not to get additional issues.
And also a god night sleep does not wear off the alcohol effects. There are many factors that contribute to these effects, like:
- The age when the person has began drinking and the duration of it.
- Gender, family history of alcoholism, level of education, age, and genetic background.
- The frequency of drinking and the amount of alcohol that is consumed.
- The chance if the person is at risk on prenatal alcohol exposure.
- General health.
1. Fatty liver diseases
This disease is an accumulation of extra fat in the liver and it is very common in heavy drinkers. The good news is that it goes away once the person quits drinking.
2. Alcohol hepatitis
Alcohol hepatitis damages the liver and causes it to swell. About 35 percent of heavy drinkers develop it at certain point and run the risk of serious complications like liver failure and even death.
3. Alcoholic cirrhosis
Alcoholic cirrhosis is defined as scarring of the liver which results in poor liver function.
It is important to mention that we are not talking about an occasional drink here. This refers to people who find it difficult to stop and eventually end up drinking regularly, running the risk of the aforementioned diseases.
This article focuses on the psychological aspect of heavy drinking, meaning its effects on the brain and the mental state of the drinker.
When you consume alcohol, about 33 percent of it goes through the stomach and into the blood. The rest of it is absorbed by the small intestine, and it ends up into the bloodstream.
From the blood, it goes everywhere, given that most cell membranes are quite permeable. This is why experts suggest no more than two drinks in a day for men and one drink daily for women. Anything more than this can cause serious issues!
Alcohol and your brain
When it comes alcohol’s effects on the brain, they are quite varied. Although we get pleasure from it, eventually dopamine receptors become less receptive. Once addicted, if we quit drinking, we experience withdrawal symptoms.
Additionally, it also affects motor coordination, memory, and causes more short-term and long-term effects.
Alcohol and your body
According to Dr. Ball, alcohol dependency and drinking on a regular basis do serious damage on our bodies in general. In addition to the brain effects like memory loss, motor coordination loss, and cognitive impairment as well as the organ repercussions like liver disease, alcohol abuse contributes to esophageal problems, dementia, delirium, and organ failures, too.
Alcohol can seriously impact the body, causing:
- Infectious Disease
- Cancer
- Unintentional and intentional injury
- Diabetes
- Liver and pancreas disease
- Neuropsychiatric Disease
- Cardiovascular Disease
Sources: seizepositivity.com, http://healthyfoodstar.org
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