what is alcohol doing to me

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www.alcoholfreesociallife.com 1

What Is Alcohol Doing To Me?

by

Rahul Nag

The complete resource to inform you of the physical, psychological and social effects of excess drinking

© Rahul Nag, 2010. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may

be used without the express permission of the copyright holder

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the information contained in this report is for information and educational purposes only.

None of this information constitutes medical advice or replaces medical advice from your own

practitioner. You are strongly recommended to consult your medical practitioner if you have any

alcohol dependence issues whatsoever. Also, if you have significant alcoholism issues, you are

highly recommended to consult alcohol support groups depending upon how serious

your condition is.

The authors, publisher and interviewed experts can be held in no liability for your use or misuse of

this information and you hereby agree to take responsibility for your use of this material. If you do

not agree with these terms, please return the report to [email protected]

Your reading and keeping of this copy hereby affirms you understand and agree with this disclaimer

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: What is Alcohol? Exactly what happens to you when you drink - where does the alcohol go?

Chapter 2: What Impact Does Alcohol Have on You? The effect of each drink on your behaviour and your body

Chapter 3: Effects on the Liver The liver has to deal with 90% of the alcohol you drink so here are the issues

Chapter 4: Effects on other parts of the body Learn what alcohol drinking does to your kidneys, skin and your brain

Chapter 5: Psychological Impacts of Drinking How alcohol can worsen depression and lead to mental health problems

Chapter 6: The Long-Term Effects of Drinking What are some of the long-term damages you are doing to your health

Chapter 7: Dealing with Your Drinking How you can either moderate your drinking or give it up

Appendix

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Introduction

1. Getting to know the facts about alcohol

Alcohol is a socially acceptable and legal drug; something which you may have been consuming for years without really knowing what it is and what impact it has on your body apart from the hangovers from drinking to excess. This report details exactly what alcohol is and what it does to you from the first sip. It answers your questions about how the body processes it, and most important, how the body, mind and the brain is affected by alcohol. You’ll learn about the short-term and long-term effects of drinking alcohol.

2. Safe Drinking Limits

Before we start, let’s establish some facts about excess drinking. Standard units of drinking are what you’ll need to establish. Very roughly, 1 Glass of Wine = 1 Cocktail = 1 Shot = ½ Half Pint of Beer = 1 Unit of Alcohol For men, more than 21 units a week constitutes a potential health risk. For women, that level is 14 Units. The National Health Service in the UK recommends that men not drink regularly more than 3-4 units of alcohol per day and 2-3 units per day for women. Different authorities have different figures, with the United States Center for Disease Control classifying heavy drinking as more than one drink per day for a woman and 2 drinks per day for a man, with binge drinking classified as 4 drinks or more on one occasion for a woman and 5 or more drinks on one occasion for a man. However, this book will stick with the 21 units per week for a man and 14 units per week for a woman. If you are around this level or above it, please read carefully about the long-term damage you may be doing to your body and brain

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What is Alcohol?

1. What is Alcohol?

Alcohol is a drink containing ethyl alcohol, or ethanol. Ethanol is a by-product of the fermentation process (when yeast and sugar are mixed together and react). Ethanol dissolves easily in water, so it can be rapidly absorbed from the digestive tract and circulate throughout the body in the blood. Ethanol acts as a central nervous system (CNS) depressant on the body. This means that it slows down the brain's activities and the activity of the spinal cord. Many people assume alcohol is actually a stimulant because of the feeling it gives you but this is actually just the short term feeling. Ethanol does contain calories but does not have any minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, fats or protein associated with it.

The body actually assesses ethanol to be a poison, and therefore has many mechanisms to try to deal with it and render it harmless

2. What happens to you when you drink alcohol?

When you take a drink of alcohol, it rapidly enters the bloodstream, and passes to all body organs and tissues. In pregnant women, alcohol passes through the placenta and affects the development of a fetus.

The effects of alcohol depend on a variety of factors, including your size, weight, age, experience with alcohol and gender, as well as the amount of food you have already consumed before drinking. Let’s examine with how alcohol is absorbed in the body. The first effect of drinking is felt of course in the mouth. Some forms of alcohol can cause a ‘burning’ taste on the back of your throat. This burn is caused by the pain

The A-Z Encyclopaedia of Alcohol

and Drug Abuse by Thomas

Nordgren describes alcohol as:

(1) Any intoxicating beverage

containing ethanol.

(2) A solvent used in drugs,

medical products, cleaning

solutions, explosives and

intoxicating beverages.

(3) Also called ethyl alcohol or

grain alcohol.

(4) A sedative/hypnotic drug with

effects of reducing the function of

the lungs, heart, and brain.

(5) A drug that, when used to

excess, can cause bodily poisoning

and death due to failure of vital

organs.

(6) An addictive substance that

results in physical and

psychological dependence and

severe bodily damage to the heart,

brain and liver.

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receptors in your taste buds. Essentially, the body is warning you against consuming alcohol because it sees it as a toxic substance.

Next, the stomach wall absorbs 20% of the alcohol as it enters the blood stream. Depending on the time of day and when you last ate, the alcohol may be readily absorbed or slowly absorbed. If your stomach is empty, the alcohol is quickly absorbed. Essentially, only a few minutes after you have started drinking, there will be alcohol throughout your body. The remaining 80% of the alcohol is absorbed in the small intestine. We all have an enzyme in our stomachs designed to process ethanol into a safer substance. The enzyme in use is called alcohol dehydrogenase. Alcohol dehydrogenase in men is 70-80% more effective than the same enzyme in women. There are also age differences - women and men in their 20’s and early 30’s have the most difficulty coping with alcohol due to their lack of tolerance to

alcohol. But note that heavy drinkers age 40 and upwards and people with alcohol dependence (alcoholics) have severely reduced levels of this important enzyme. The longer the stomach has to work on processing this toxic ethanol, the less harm it can do to your body. When a meal is eaten the exit valve of the stomach to the small intestine closes in order to digest the food. When food and alcohol are consumed at the same time, this prevents the alcohol from passing quickly into the small intestine from where it would be rapidly absorbed giving the enzyme more time to work.

The bigger you are the more blood you have in your bloodstream. Added to this, the average adult male is made up of 66% fluid, compared to 55% for women. So if a man and woman of the same weight drink the same amount in one occasion, the woman will end up with a blood-alcohol level a third higher than the man's. It will take a third longer for the woman's body to eliminate the alcohol from the blood. In other words, women become intoxicated more quickly than men, and stay intoxicated longer than men. The alcohol that passes through the stomach is absorbed by the small intestine. The small intestine allows 80% of the alcohol to be absorbed more quickly than from the stomach. Once in the blood stream, the alcohol spreads throughout the body. It crosses the blood-brain barrier that normally prevents toxic substances from affecting the brain. Medical experts are uncertain why alcohol enters the brain while other toxic substances do not cross the blood-brain barrier.

The “exit valve” from the stomach

to the small intestine is called the

pyloric valve. When this valve

detects a toxic substance like

alcohol, it closes to prevent the

poisonous substance from

entering the small intestine all at

once, which would result in death

by overdose.

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Finally, alcohol enters the nerve cells and begins to have an effect on the brain. Alcohol circulates in the bloodstream until it is processed by the liver. The body cannot store alcohol, a substance with no nutritional value, so it must be expelled from the body. Problems occur when there is too much alcohol in the system and the liver is overworked. 3. The Role of the Liver

Alcohol is then metabolized (or oxidised) by the liver, which means simply that enzymes break down the alcohol. In general, the liver can process one ounce of liquor (or one standard drink) in one hour. If you consume more than this, your system becomes saturated, and the additional alcohol will accumulate in the blood and body tissues until it can be metabolized. This is why pounding shots or playing drinking games can result in high blood alcohol concentrations that last for several hours and can result in fatal alcohol poisoning. Most drinkers are unaware that excessive alcohol consumption – binge drinking – can result in coma and death. The liver works hard to remove the toxins contained in alcohol and is the organ most affected by alcohol. As the liver works, it produces a poison called acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is actually related to formaldehyde, the chemical used to embalm dead bodies. It is this chemical which makes you feel sick and causes vomiting after drinking heavily; your body is attempting to rid itself of poisonous acetaldehyde.

Eventually acetaldehyde is broken down into carbon dioxide, sugar and water but this is a lengthy process. By the time this occurs, the poison has circulated through the body more than one hundred times. One reason why the liver has to work so hard in removing alcohol from the body is that the vast majority of the alcohol in your body is taken to the liver for disposal; this is the function of the liver. 90% of the alcohol you take in is converted and eliminated by the liver with only 10% being excreted through urine and the breath.

Oxidation involves a process by which the cells combine the nutrients of the food that has been consumed with oxygen. Heat and energy are released during this process, causing the oxidation of alcohol by the body cells. The calories from alcohol cannot be stored in the body for future use. These calories are used immediately by the body. While the alcohol is being burned off, the fats and carbohydrates of the body are being stored in cells.

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What Are the Effects of Alcohol?

1. What does alcohol do to you?

Here is an overview of what the overall effects of drinking alcohol are. Remember 1 Unit of Alcohol = 1 Glass of Wine = 1 Cocktail = 1 Shot = 1/2 Pint of Beer

Number of Units Effects on the Body

1 to 3 Units

• Flushing of Skin • Heart Speeds Up • Talkative

4 to 6 Units

• Judgement is affected • Giddiness • Co-ordination impaired

7 to 9 Units

• Vision blurred • Speech fuzzy • Reaction time slower

10 to 15 Units

• Staggering • Loss of balance • Double Vision

20 Units Plus

• Skin is clammy • Pupils are dilated

30 Units Plus

• Unconsciousness • Death

2. Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)

The key factor which decides how drunk you are getting is called the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) or simply how much alcohol there is in your bloodstream at any one time. They are measured by mass per volume. So, a

“Wine is fine, but whiskey’s quicker

Suicide is slow with liquor

Grab a bottle, drown your sorrows

And you’ll wash away tomorrow.”

--Ozzy Osbourne

“Suicide Solution”

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BAC of 0.01% means 0.01 grams of alcohol per 100 grams of an individual's blood, or 0.1 grams of alcohol per 1000 grams of blood. A rough rule of thumb is that if you consume two standard drinks (which contain 20g of alcohol) when you are sober, your BAC will increase by roughly 0.05%. Two standard drinks are roughly equivalent to two 500ml glasses of beer at 5% alcohol by volume (a pint of beer is 568ml).

This chart taken from Wikipedia shows the level of Blood Alcohol Content and what impact it has on you and your behaviour. Please remember all of the factors such as your age, weight, sex, tolerance to alcohol etc will determine how your BAC varies not just the number of drinks you consume.

Progressive Effects of Alcohol

BAC (%) Behaviour Impairment

0.01–0.029

• Avg. individual appears normal

• Subtle effects that can be detected with blood tests

0.03–0.059

• Mild euphoria • Sense of well-being • Relaxation • Talkativeness • Joyous • Decreased inhibition

• Lowered alertness • Judgment • Coordination • Concentration

0.06–0.10

• Blunted Feelings • Disinhibition • Extroversion • Impaired Sexual Potency

• Reflexes Impaired • Reasoning • Depth Perception • Distance Acuity • Peripheral Vision • Glare Recovery

0.11–0.20

• Over-Expression • Emotional Swings • Angry or Sad • Boisterous

• Reaction Time • Gross Motor Control • Staggering • Slurred Speech

0.21–0.29 • Stupor • Lose Understanding

• Severe Motor Impairment • Loss of Consciousness

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• Impaired Sensations • Memory Blackout

0.30–0.39

• Severe Depression • Unconsciousness • Death Possible

• Bladder Function • Breathing • Heart Rate

>0.40 • Unconsciousness • Death

• Breathing • Heart Rate

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Crime statistics show that in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, car wrecks involving drunk drivers occur primarily when the driver’s blood alcohol

concentration is within the range of 0.06 to 0.10. Automobile fatalities are more likely to occur within this range. Who can forget that Princess Diana’s driver had a BAC within these parameters when she was killed? Inexperienced binge drinkers within this same range often lose consciousness; an intoxicated person will usually pass out lying on his/her back. As the body tries to rid itself of alcohol through vomiting, the unconscious person will breathe in his/her own vomit, causing death by aspirating vomit into the lungs. Crime statistics also indicate that at least 85% of incarcerated individuals in these countries committed their offenses while they were intoxicated via alcohol and/or other drugs. Sexual offenses and domestic violence have definite, well-researched links to intoxication and disinhibition. Other violent offenses, like bar fights and assaults, and robbery are primarily fuelled by excessive alcohol consumption. Property crimes like burglary also have a link to disinhibition; many offenders need “liquid courage” to carry out their offenses. Voluntary intoxication is not an affirmative defence in criminal trials.

The term “disinhibition” means

that your normal, healthy

inhibitions about exhibiting

certain behaviours are no

longer present. Examples:

(1) Picking a fight with

someone who is obviously

bigger, stronger, and more

sober than you; a fight you’re

bound to lose, causing arrest,

serious injury or death.

(2) Becoming physically violent

with your spouse, partner

and/or children.

(3) Becoming verbally abusive

with your family, friends, or

strangers; once said, cruel

words can never be taken back.

(4) Engaging in high-risk sexual

behaviour that could result in a

sexually transmitted disease

such as syphilis, chlamydia, and

HIV.

(5) Committing illegal acts that

you would never do when

you’re sober.

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Effects on the Liver

1. Damage to the Body in General

The main damage from excessive alcohol drinking comes on the organs which have to cope with the detoxification and elimination of the alcohol. This falls almost predominantly, as we have already seen, to the liver. Whilst the liver is working to eliminate the alcohol (and one drink can take 60 to 90 minutes to eliminate). Meanwhile, the rest of the alcohol consumed is flowing around the bloodstream causing damage to other organs. This means it will affect the rest of the body including the skin, the kidneys, the bladder, and, of course, the brain.

Excessive and long-term alcohol consumption can cause:

• Alcohol-related brain damage

• Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (heart damage)

• Delirium Tremens (can be fatal due to seizures)

• Chronic gastritis and inflammation of the intestines and stomach

• Hepatitis

• Myopathy (muscle tissue wasting)

• Peripheral neuropathy (numbness of the feet and hands)

• Inflammation of the pancreas (usually fatal if not treated)

• Alcohol dependence (alcoholism)

• Pseudo-Cushing syndrome from alcohol-related build-up of steroids in the bloodstream.

• Scurvy (vitamin C deficiency caused by alcoholic malnutrition; causes loss of teeth and spinal cord malformation)

• Wernicke encephalopathy affecting an alcoholic’s feet and hands.

Physical addiction to alcohol is

demonstrated by:

(1) Increased tolerance – it takes

more and more alcohol over time

to produce intoxication.

(2) Potentially fatal withdrawal

symptoms if alcohol is abruptly

discontinued without medical

management.

Delirium Tremens (known as

DT’s) is a serious alcohol

withdrawal symptoms; it is rare,

but when it does occur, it is often

fatal. It causes psychotic

hallucinations, extremely high

body temperatures and seizures.

Because of DTs and other

dangerous withdrawal symptoms

like very high blood pressure, a

person addicted to alcohol should

never abruptly stop drinking.

Alcohol withdrawal must be

managed by an addiction

medicine physician.

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2. The Liver

What does the liver do? The liver processes most things a person consumes, including alcohol. The liver is the only organ involved in processing alcohol, and only a certain quantity of alcohol can be detoxified over a period of time. Meanwhile, excess alcohol affects the brain, heart, muscles, and other tissues of the body. How does alcohol affect the liver? If too much alcohol is consumed, normal liver function may be interrupted, leading to a chemical imbalance. Liver cells may be destroyed or altered, resulting in fatty deposits (fatty liver), inflammation (alcoholic hepatitis), and/or permanent scarring (cirrhosis). Mixing alcohol and medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol) also damages the liver. What are the symptoms of alcohol-related liver damage? Symptoms of liver damage include fatigue, appetite loss, and lower resistance to infection, jaundice, abdominal swelling, intestinal bleeding, brain dysfunction, and kidney failure. Alcohol and the Liver If you drink faster than your liver can process alcohol you will start to feel drunk. As we already know, the liver is the main organ that gets rid of alcohol by breaking it down eventually into sugar and water. It metabolizes about 90% of the alcohol in our body while only about 10% is excreted through either our urine or breath. The liver needs water to rid itself of toxins in the body but as alcohol acts as a diuretic, there will not be sufficient amounts of water in the body; the liver is forced to divert water from other organs including the brain. The liver also produces more toxins in the body as a by-product of breaking down alcohol. When the liver is metabolizing alcohol it produces acetaldehyde, a substance which has toxic effects on our liver, brain and stomach lining, resulting in headache, nausea, vomiting and heartburn.

As discussed in Chapter 1, the ADH enzyme (alcohol dehydragenase) in the liver breaks down the alcohol into acetaldehyde, which is even more toxic than alcohol itself. However this acetaldehyde quickly changes to acetic acid - or vinegar. The vinegar burns up to water and carbon dioxide and hence the energy for day to day living.

The other main problems from excess drinking on the liver are:

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• Cirrhosis of the Liver • Alcoholic hepatitis • Fatty Liver

3. Cirrhosis of the Liver

Cirrhosis of the liver develops after chronic, long-term heavy drinking. Exactly how much alcohol equates to heavy drinking differs from person to person. In women, as few as two to three drinks per day have been linked with cirrhosis and in men, as few as three to four drinks per day. Alcohol appears to injure the liver by blocking the normal metabolism of protein, fats, and carbohydrates by its requirement to focus on breaking down the alcohol.

In cirrhosis, liver cells are killed and injured, and the resulting inflammation and cell death that is associated with the dying liver cells causes scar tissue to form on the liver. The liver cells that do not die multiply in an attempt to replace the cells that have died. This results in clusters of newly-formed liver cells (regenerative nodules) within the scar tissue.

The scar tissue blocks the flow of blood through the organ. The liver's function includes storing glycogen (comes from sugars) which it breaks down into glucose. This is then released into the bloodstream which produces energy. It processes fat and proteins from digested food and several other critical elements in removing toxins from the body and helping to digest fats.

Cirrhosis starts to impair these functions of the liver. As the situation worsens, the liver will start to deteriorate and it will eventually fail to deal with infections and blood clots and stop bile from passing into the small intestine.

The Symptoms of Cirrhosis

• Celebrities who died from

cirrhosis include

musician Jerry Garcia of

the Grateful Dead and

former New York

Yankees manager Billy

Martin.

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In the early stages of cirrhosis, a heavy drinker may not notice any symptoms at all. It is only when the scar tissue in the liver has built up that the symptoms start to appear. The classic symptoms of cirrhosis are:

• Tiredness and weakness in the body • Loss of appetite, feeling sick and weak • Tendency to bruise and bleed easily • Jaundice - yellow skin colour which is caused by bilirubin, a substance

created when red blood cells are broken down • Itchiness because of the toxins starting to build up • Changes in personality because of the toxins in the bloodstream affecting

your brain. Things such as forgetfulness, confusion and difficulty in concentrating

As the cirrhosis gets worse, the scar tissue will further restrict the flow of blood through the liver. This will cause high blood pressure or hypertension because of the pressure in the vein that transports blood from the gut. This can even cause the veins in the lining of the gullet (oesophagus) and stomach to swell. These swellings are called varices and they often bleed into the gut and the sufferer will then either vomit blood or pass blood in your stool. Varices in the oesophagus – the tube that carries food and water from the mouth into the stomach – can cause such intensive haemorrhaging that the affected person will “bleed out” in minutes and be declared “dead on arrival” due to exsanguination (massive blood loss) at an emergency room. This condition is virtually 100% fatal.

Treatment for Cirrhosis

Cirrhosis cannot be treated but can be slowed down by intensive medical management and the total sobriety of the affected person. However this depends upon the severity of the condition. There are various drugs and other options which are used to try and slow down the process.

This can even result in changes in diet such as a low sodium diet or low salt diet and water tablets so as to reduce the amount of fluid in the body. Then there are various solutions for the treatment of the symptoms such as drugs to deal with the hypertension and so on.

With irreversible cirrhosis, the affected person’s life can only be saved by a liver transplant. In most countries, transplant lists are lengthy; the patient often dies before a transplant takes place. Medical experts in the UK, US, and Canada site cirrhosis as a progressive and eventually terminal condition.

4. Alcoholic Hepatitis

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Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver. This inflammation can vary from mild to severe.

• Mild hepatitis may actually not have any effects on the body. The only indication of inflammation may be an abnormal level of liver enzymes in the blood which can be detected by a blood test.

• When the hepatitis becomes more serious, symptoms can include feeling sick, jaundice and some feelings of abdominal pain in the area of the liver.

• The worst situation is when severe bouts of alcoholic hepatitis lead to liver failure. This can then cause deep jaundice, blood clotting problems, confusion, coma, bleeding into the guts, and death.

When the hepatitis becomes persistent and chronic, the liver will become damaged and eventually can cause cirrhosis as explained above.

5. Fatty Liver

When you drink too much on a consistent basis, fat can build up within the liver. It is not generally seen to be serious and can be reversed once you reduce or give up alcohol. However it is also seen to be the first step towards cirrhosis of the liver so must be considered as an important warning sign.

Fatty liver can be detected through some of the blood tests which indirectly measure liver disease. The National Health Service in the UK estimates that 20 to 30% of people with fatty liver who continue to drink

heavily will develop alcoholic hepatitis or inflammation of the liver. Of the people with alcoholic hepatitis, the NHS goes on to say, approximately 10% of people will then develop full cirrhosis.

6. Overview of Liver Problems

The key issue with liver problems is that there are generally very few early symptoms of this disease. This is because there are few nerve fibres in the liver and what pain you might feel will be over the right hand side of the stomach.

Other symptoms to consider are fatigue, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhoea, especially in the mornings. Any excessive drinker who experiences these symptoms should immediately make an appointment for a complete evaluation by his/her physician.

There are several types of

hepatitis; the type that most

commonly affects alcoholics is

hepatitis C. Cumulative global

medical research indicates the

link between excessive alcohol

use and intravenous drug abuse,

which is the actual source of

hepatitis C. This form of hepatitis

can remain dormant IF the

drinker maintains strict

abstinence from alcohol for

his/her lifetime. Failure to be

alcohol-free can cause serious

medical complications from

hepatitis that can be fatal.

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While liver damage is the main source of fatalities with excessive drinkers, other illnesses – usually fatal – are also noted, such as cancer, multiple organ failure, and irreversible brain damage, called the “wet brain syndrome.”

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Effects on other parts of the body

1. Overview

The liver is, unfortunately, not the only part of the body which suffers damage from drinking alcohol. There are other elements which will be explored here. In particular the kidneys, the skin, the heart and the brain.

2. Kidneys

The kidneys’ role is to eliminate excess water and salts in the body as well to filter and

remove wastes in the bloodstream. The kidney is controlled by the brain. Anti-Diuretic

Hormone (ADH) is the hormone which is used to control exactly how much water is

excreted.

Each kidney contains about 1 million nephron units. These are a collection of thinly

walled capillaries (smallest of the blood vessels) where waste can filter through the cell

walls and can then be removed as urine. The constriction of these capillaries affects the

filtering ability of the kidneys.

When the body needs to conserve water, which is needed as alcohol is a diuretic and

dehydrates the body - the pituitary gland (located in the brain) excretes a hormone called

vasopressin (also known as anti-diuretic hormone or ADH). ADH causes the nephron

filters to become permeable (yielding passage), retaining more water in the blood stream

and allowing less water to be excreted in the urine.

Along with the filtration of excess water, the kidneys also regulate the

concentrations of the ions sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, and

phosphate. These ions have to be in balance in the blood stream to maintain

healthy metabolic processes.

Alcohol can have major impacts on the kidneys. The main ways are from causing cell

damage and enlarging the kidneys to impacting the various hormones that control kidney

function. Alcohol causes an ionic imbalance in the body that can affect many metabolic

processes.

The Impact of Alcohol on the Kidneys

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Alcohol impacts the balance of the ions and water in the body by altering the filtering

ability of the kidney. Kidney problems can also be exacerbated if the person also has

liver damage as detailed in the previous chapter.

Alcohol affects the amount of ADH available which makes the nephrons in the kidney

less permeable to water and so more water travels through the ureters to the bladder.

This is why you may need to urinate only 20 minutes after drinking.

With more water than usual leaving the body ,all of the concentrations of ions in the body

negatively impact many of the essential metabolic processes. The kind of alcohol

consumed can either increase or decrease the concentrations of certain ions in the

blood stream. Beer is low in dissolved nutrients.

When a person drinks beer, large amounts of water enter the body; that lowers the

concentration of metabolic nutrients and because of the effect of ADH impairment, an

equal amount of water does not leave the body in the urine.

Fluid overload in the blood stream decreases the body’s ionic concentrations and can be

very dangerous, especially for advanced alcoholics who also have liver disease.

The Effects of Decreased Ionic Concentrations

When a person drinks hard alcohol (such as whiskey or vodka), the ionic concentrations

can increase in the blood stream. The suppression of ADH causes more liquid to leave

the body as water, and ionic concentrations left in the blood can rapidly increase as

more ions (mostly sodium) are ingested with the alcohol. Alcohol can also impact the

muscle cells of the body, causing them to release ions (i.e. phosphate).

The effects of more ions in the blood stream impacts the water held in the cells of the

body through osmosis. Osmosis pulls the water that resides in the cells into the blood

stream to counteract the ionic imbalance. This drying effect can negatively impact the

normal function of cells and organs.

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Effects of Decreased Ionic Concentrations

Ion Sodium Potassium Phosphate Magnesium

Effects

- Impaired

mental

activity.

- Seizure in

extreme cases.

- Increased thirst.

- Hormonal

imbalance

promoting fluid

intake.

- Decreased blood acidity

resulting in a breakdown

of glucose and increased

metabolic activity.

- Resulting low blood

sugar.

- Possible

enzyme

impairment

Source: Montana State University, United States

The Effects of Increased Ionic Concentrations

One alcohol drink can affect the normal function of a person’s kidneys. While only

severe alcoholics suffer from some of the complications, keep in mind that these ionic

imbalances occur each time you have a drink.

Ion Sodium Potassium Phosphate Magnesium

Effects

- Osmotic flow

of water out of

body cells to

areas of high

sodium.

- Osmotic flow

of water out of

body cells to

areas of high

potassium.

- Creates a buffer

imbalance in the blood.

- Increase in blood pH.

- Possible

enzyme

impairment.

Source: Montana State University, United States

Since the kidneys work to eliminate liquid toxins from the body, when they cease to function, death will occur usually within 7-10 days from uremic poisoning. To save a patient’s life, a kidney transplant is necessary. Humans can function with only one kidney rather than two; the first place physicians look for possible kidney donors are within the patient’s family, siblings in particular. If blood and kidney types match, a transplant can be successful although the affected person

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receiving a donor kidney must take anti-rejection medication for the remainder of his/her life.

While waiting to receive a donor kidney, the patient undergoes blood dialysis via a machine that removes the patient’s blood, filters out toxins, and then replaces the “clean” blood. Dialysis is a temporary measure, and abstinence from alcohol is a medical requirement for both dialysis and transplant.

3. Skin

Because alcohol dehydrates your body and skin, this causes redness of the skin

and makes it appear blotchy. This can lead to permanent enlargement of the

peripheral vessels of the skin.

This is particularly more marked with women. Women's skin is thinner than men's

so the effects of drinking on their complexions is more marked. Alcohol dilates

blood capillaries that causes the face to flush while drinking. A tell-tale sign of a

chronic alcoholic is broken red capillaries on the nose. The skin also becomes

greasy and blemished. Alcohol dries the scalp, too, which leads to severe

dandruff and hair loss.

The face can become puffy and bloated because alcohol acts as a diuretic,

forcing water to leave the body in the form of urine. This stresses the kidneys, as

noted above, causing imbalances in the body’s salts, which in turn upset the

balance of fluid in the cells, particularly in the face.

Excessive drinking will lead to the development of telangiectasias or chronic

dilation of the capillaries and a permanent flush on the face. Alcohol also

worsens acne rosacea, a skin disorders that is characterized by redness,

flushing, puss heads, pimply bumps and telangiectasias.

Alcohol also depletes the body of vitamins A and B6 (thiamine), important anti-

oxidants for healthy bodily function. The general malnutrition in the body from

excess drinking combined with the junk foods often consumed after nights out

will further lead to damages in the skin.

4. The Brain

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While alcohol is waiting to be processed by the liver it travels in the blood through

the heart to all the other organs of the body, including the brain. Alcohol is

traditionally called a depressant drug because although it can make people feel

"revved up" at low doses, it does so by closing down different circuits in the brain.

It is both a stimulant and a depressant in small doses. Drinking more than two

drinks further impairs the brain and depressant effects take over, as illustrated in

the following paragraphs.

At low levels alcohol increases the electrical activity in the brain affecting

pleasure and euphoria, (working in a similar way to cocaine and amphetamines).

In this respect it acts like an accelerator. It also works on the circuits targeted by

tranquilizing drugs like Valium, Klonopin, Ativan and Xanax - calming, easing

anxiety, and acting more like a brake pedal. Alcohol also acts on the serotonin

neurotransmitters in the brain which (like Prozac, Zoloft and Effexor) increases

self-confidence and reduces depression and alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Unfortunately this is usually short lived. Drinking more than a couple of drinks

can ruin any short-term emotional gains. In large amounts, alcohol interferes with

some of the chemical messages in your brain. It can make you clumsy, affect

your coordination and slur your speech. It dramatically reduces your ability to

learn and form memories, which is why people experience "blackouts." Regular

drinking sessions can make it very difficult to learn new skills or retain new

knowledge.

Does Alcohol Actually Kill Brain Cells?

Dr. Roberta J. Pentney, a former researcher at the State University of New York

at Buffalo, found that alcohol disrupts brain function in adults by damaging

message-carrying dendrites on neurons in the cerebellum, a structure involved in

learning and motor coordination. Excessive an chronic alcohol use decreases

biochemical communication between neurons, alters their structure, and causes

some of the impairment associated with intoxication. It does not kill off entire

cells, however, according to Dr. Pentney.

A study in 1999 that examined the brains of alcoholics appeared to confirm this.

Published in the journal Neuroscience, the research found that subjects who

developed Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a severe disorder that ravages the

memory and stems from a thiamine (vitamin B6) deficiency associated with

alcoholism, had a marked reduction in cell density in the cerebellum. Alcoholics

who suffer from Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome have intact long-term memory;

they can recall where and when they were born, for example. However, their

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short-term memory is severely affected. To fill in the gaps of what happened two

days ago, these alcoholics make up far-fetched stories; this is called

confabulation. The alcoholic seeks to prevent others from realizing the severe

extent of their brain damage.

But there was little difference between alcoholics who did not develop the syndrome and normal subjects, suggesting that it was largely a lack of thiamine in the Wernicke-Korsakoff patients that killed off their cells. Thus, a primary treatment involved in recovery from alcoholism involves administration of thiamine doses on a regular basis.

Other studies, including one published in The British Medical Journal in 1997, have produced similar findings.

5. Other potential illnesses from alcohol

There are many other ways in which the body is affected by alcohol. They include:

• Inflammation of the pancreas • Cancer of the throat and mouth • Trembling hands and fingers • Frequent colds and reduced resistance to infection • Impaired autoimmune system • Impairment of sexual performance

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Psychological Impacts of Drinking

1. Overview

Many people believe alcohol is a stimulant and is a 'social lubricant'. A good way of relaxing and freeing yourself from shyness and being more able to socially communicate and interact with new potential friends or romantic partners.

However, as we have already seen, alcohol is both a poison and a drug. In this section we will learn how alcohol affects you emotionally and socially, causing you to become dependent and reliant on its effects.

Unless you deal with the underlying causes of your emotional and social impairment e.g. low self-esteem, a stressful job, feeling of social awkwardness, and anxiety in social situations, you will have an additional problem to deal with, i.e. the serious effects of alcohol rather than just the issue at hand. And it can also exacerbate these negative emotional feelings and magnify them.

So, if you are in a good emotional state and then drink you are more likely to be able to moderate your drinking. If you are using alcohol to change your emotional state then excess is a likely possibility as well as frequently drinking in order to get back to the change in emotional state.

2. Emotional Effects

The most recognised form of emotional effect of drinking alcohol is the reduction

of inhibitions you feel upon drinking. This is because of its role as a depressant.

This means that alcohol starts to change how you act and speak, and it is these

behaviours that cause problems for you emotionally and socially.

“I hate who I am when I’m sober.

The only time I like myself is

when I’m drunk or high.”

--Robert Downey, Jr.

Actor

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Drunk people can put both themselves and others in danger through aggressive

or inappropriate behaviour. The lack of awareness can put drunk people in

danger of physical and sexual violence. In the US, UK and Canada, researchers

found that most domestic violence incidents (spouse and child abuse) occur

when the perpetrator has been drinking excessively.

Excessive drinking also affects chemical balances within the brain. Such as the

production of serotonin, which regulates moods. So depressive feelings,

insomnia, and a loss of concentration can be the results.

Heavy drinking interferes with the balance of chemicals in the brain. It lowers the

production of serotonin, which regulates to mood - this leads to mild symptoms of

depression, including insomnia, sluggishness, anxiety and loss of concentration.

Magnifying Your Existing Emotions

Alcohol is like a magnifier. If you are depressed, it will make you more

depressed. The same goes for angry people who can become angrier and more

violent.

Psychological Impacts of Drinking

There are also other likely problems that result from excessive drinking:

• Addiction/dependence

• Cravings can develop as you rely on alcohol for mood change and

also to divert attention away from life problems

• Psychiatric issues e.g. clinical depression, dementia, and/or

anxiety and impulse control disorders

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negative thoughts and patterns can be developed and exacerbated

by reliance on alcohol

• Distorted sense of

judgement

• Anti-social behaviour

and negative social

relationships can be the

consequence of

excessive drinking

3. Drinking leads the brain to incorrectly assess threats

A report published in the April 30 2008 Journal of Neuroscience shows how alcohol consumption reduces your biological ability to feel fear. MRI scans were conducted at the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse on 12 volunteers. These had an average age of 26 - and crucially - were social drinkers, so they did not drink everyday although they did drink every week. The averages were 1.9 days a week and 3.6 drinks per day on the days they would drink. They were injected either with alcohol or a saline solution both of them. The test was for them to look at images of human faces and

some of these faces were designed to provoke a natural fearful response in the viewer. The scan was conducted to track activity levels where emotions are processed. The findings were that the parts of the brain which deal with rewards were boosted whereas the parts of the brain dedicated to fear were muted. So even with social drinkers, you can run the risk of the consequences of not being able to judge dangers which you would normally avoid when sober

A man died, went to

heaven, and was met at

the Pearly Gates by St.

Peter, who asked him

what good deeds he had

done in his life that

merited his entry into

Paradise.

“Well,” said the man, “I

was drinking in a local

pub. I noticed that a group

of thugs were harassing a

woman who was alone in

the pub. I had another

beer, and then walked up

to the thugs and told them

I would beat them

senseless if they didn’t

leave the woman alone.”

“That’s very impressive,”

St. Peter replied. “When

did this happen”?

“Just a few minutes ago,”

the man answered.

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4. Feelings of Shame

Having a problem and not being able to deal with it can lead to you feeling

shameful in revealing the full extent of the problem to yourself and your family.

This can also lead to avoiding people or situations in which the problem can be

exposed. Feeling shameful about some aspect of life is a major trigger to over-

drink. It has long been established that the primary reason for excessive drinking

is to bring about a mood change.

This avoidance, however, will only lead to further isolation and to exacerbate

reliance on alcohol to deal with the pain and loneliness in which you feel trapped.

4. Negative Patterns To Protect Addiction

A lot of people with alcohol problems rely on drinking to relax and deal with issues such as stress and depression. Thus, it is essentially an addiction that originates in these kinds of circumstances.

People in these situation will therefore develop thinking patterns to protect the source of their addiction and preserve their ability to continue with the addiction. A common saying among addiction counsellors is, “How can you tell when an alcoholic is lying? When his lips are moving.”

The main issues are those commonly associated with drug dependency which include obsessive thoughts of obtaining and drinking alcohol. Avoiding the seriousness of the condition and that recovery is possible, the alcoholic remains in deep denial.

Hopelessness is a common side effect of alcohol dependence. Nothing and no-one, least of all yourself can help you so you might as well continue to drink. This is obviously distorted thinking, or “stinking thinking.” In many ways, hopelessness is a form of denial of a drinker’s alcoholism.

The main issue is that alcohol becomes an emotional and social crutch rather than coping directly with the underlying reasons of why you turn to alcohol, e.g. job stress, family and relationship problems and low self-esteem. If you were to resolve these issues, often the need and craving for alcohol would naturally disappear.

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Long Term Effects of Drinking

1. The Long Term Overall Effects of Drinking

This section can be kept short because as you drink large amounts both frequently and over the long-term, you run the risk of setting in motion the processes which will affect your body and mind as detailed in the previous chapters.

Long-Term Physical Effects of Drinking

In terms of the body, it is the liver that is the most likely organ for long-term damage as it is responsible for breaking down the ethanol in alcohol. Frequent and excessive drinking will overload the liver and lead to the development of a fatty liver and usually to hepatitis and cirrhosis.

Another issue is skin damage - you can often tell someone who is a heavy drinker because of their red cheeks and nose due to broken capillaries. In addition, there are physical signs - the “beer belly” from the excess calories in beer, particularly.

Drinking too much too often will cause physical damage, increase the risk of getting some diseases, and make other diseases worse. Excessive drinking over time is associated with:

• Hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver • Gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining) or pancreatitis (inflammation

of the pancreas) • High blood pressure/Hypertension (which can lead to stroke) • Certain types of cancer, including mouth, oesophagus, and throat • Permanent damage to the brain • Heart failure • Neurological problems such as epilepsy and peripheral neuropathy (lack

of feeling in the hands and feet) • Certain types of vitamin deficiency leading to malnutrition

Emotional Long-Term Effects of Alcohol

We also know about the emotional long-term effects; the primary effect is the likelihood of alcohol addiction or dependence. Using alcohol as a drug to change your mood, making you feel, in the short term, good about yourself will lead in the long term to an addiction. This is because it becomes your strategy; you are psychologically reliant on alcohol to feel good.

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Over the long-term, it becomes a habit to drink and therefore the body and mind expects it. It can also signify boredom because over a long period you have the same behaviours; variety is often needed for enjoyment and excitement in life, a task which alcohol can no longer do for you.

The other issue is hopelessness which can lead to feelings of helplessness and suicidal thoughts. You come to believe that you cannot help yourself or anyone else. Only alcohol can do this for you; you believe that you can never change your destructive alcohol addiction.

Denial of the problem can lead to both guilt and shame and make it harder to admit you have a problem, especially because the problem has gotten worse over time. Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive, and terminal illness. Unless alcoholism is treated, It’s end result is death.

So, the earlier you can deal with any issues with alcohol the better - for you both emotionally and physically.

The definition of insanity is doing the same destructive thing day

after day and expecting a different result.

--An addiction therapist’s view

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Dealing with your Drinking

1. Taking Control of your Drinking

With all of the negative, destructive physical and psychological effects of drinking we have explored, it is essential that you are able to drink safe amounts of alcohol. However, to do this is not always easy.

I too had issues with drinking too much alcohol. I was not an alcoholic but I started drinking 2-3 times per week when I suddenly had a lot more free time after becoming a freelancer.

This lead me to not knowing my limits and starting to drink too much, waste the next day and worryingly become dependent on alcohol to feel good and change my emotional state. As I noticed the drinking was starting to get heavier I decided to make a change and developed a solution to help me change my relationship with alcohol.

You can find out more about this solution at the following link:

www.alcoholfreesociallife.com

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Appendix

A Simple Self-Quiz About Your Alcohol Use

(Please answer the following questions about your drinking habits; circle the correct answer) 1. Do you believe that you can’t have fun socially without drinking? No Yes 2. Do you believe that you drink to excess at times? No Yes 3. Deep down, do you think you have an alcohol problem? No Yes 4. Are friends and family members concerned about your drinking? No Yes 5. Do you have difficulties with your self-esteem and confidence? No Yes 6. Are you experiencing any of the physical, emotional and social effects of excessive drinking? No Yes 7. Do you drink alcohol to change your mood? No Yes 8. Are you denying that you use alcohol to excess? No Yes (Please answer the following questions: circle all that apply to you) 1. Reading this book helped me understand the effects of excessive alcohol use. a. Yes, greatly b. Yes; I have some of these symptoms c. Not much 2. I have experienced the following consequences of excessive drinking: a. Legal b. Occupational c. Family d. Emotional/Psychological e. Social f. Medical g. Financial 3. I believe I should modify my use of alcohol in the following way(s): a. Not at all b. Let limits and drink less c. Become abstinent from alcohol

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Suggested Reading and Resources For Help and Information

Web Sites: 1. www.alcoholfreesociallife.com 2. www.alcoholdrugsos.com 3. www.familydoctor.org 4. www.e-health-fitness.com/addiction_recovery_solutions.htm 5. www.alcohol-help.co.uk Books: (hint: Amazon.com may carry these books at a lower price than the publisher!) Responsible Drinking: A Moderation Management Approach for Problem Drinking by F. Rotgers, M.Kern, & R, Hoeltzel. Order from New Harbinger Publications, Inc. At www.newharbinger.com Alcoholics Anonymous –Called the “Big Book” available via any AA centre in your town. The Small Book: Rational Recovery by Jack Trimpey. Available via the publisher, www.SimonSays.com Rational Recovery: The New Cure for Substance Addiction by Jack Trimpey. Available via the publisher, www.SimonSays.com The Pathways to Sobriety Workbook by William Fleeman. Available via the publisher, www.hunterhouse.com Sober for Good: New Solutions for Drinking Problems by Anne Fletcher. Available via the publisher, www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com

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