Risks factors and responsible drinking
Life is so full of colours and colourful events that gives rise to a new urge to continue or elevate the existing happiness. This is what is termed “Normal Human Behavior” which comprises expectations or disheartening, love or hatred, peace or uproar, and ups and downs. A human’s life is a satellite that revolves around a beautiful garden that includes both flowers and thorns. Man, a ‘Social Butterfly’ tries to extract the sweet taste of success over each flower called ‘Opportunity’. This butterfly turns into a ‘Party animal’ to unwind and let the hair loose after a stressful day’s work.
Hanging out with friends and gulping a few shots of alcohol is considered one of the most popular ways of stress-busting ways. This way an individual tries to achieve the state of ‘self-proclaimed joy’ which is due to the intake of alcohol and being minimally bothered about health facts. The mind-altering effect of those alcohol-rich beverages can take the human brain on a long drive on an endless road of pleasure. But is this practice a healthy one? Relying on alcohol for our everyday relaxation can be taxing for our health. Chronic alcoholism leads to several alcohol-related diseases that are irreversible and incurable. The health risks involved would be unfolded by GTA, by coming up with some of the alcohol facts that are lesser-known.
- Impotency:
Smaller Ovaries in alcoholic women and lesser Sperm counts and Erectile Dysfunction in alcoholic men have been found by researchers who have confirmed the adverse effects of consumption of alcohol beyond the safe and limited quantity. As compared to general stress due to the hectic lifestyle, heavy alcoholism is said to decrease the ability to procreate by 30%. Women who are alcohol addicted have reported more cases of menstrual irregularity, pregnancy complications, and other gynecological complications as compared with the controlled crowd.
- Damaged Liver:
The liver is the organ of the body that metabolises alcohol into a toxic and harmful substance called Acetaldehyde which puts the life of the Liver in permanent danger. The abnormal inflammation or the ‘Fatty Liver’ can prove fatal to the functioning of the liver by resulting in liver failure. The liver loses its cool and stops digesting the fat, in turn creating havoc in the complete metabolism process. Diseases like Hepatitis, Cirrhosis are some of the well-known ones that affect our life due to excessive consumption of alcohol.
- Risk of Cancer:
Alcohol can increase the risk of cancer due to its carcinogenic components which makes it a perfect recipe for ill health. Cancer of the mouth, esophagus, larynx, stomach, liver, colon, rectum, and breast is too common among those who consume excessive alcohol.
- The digestive system under attack:
Alcohol acts as a fuel aiding the burning process of the gastrointestinal area of the stomach. The intestine when comes in contact with alcoholic contents regularly, the chances are more of harming the productivity of the system. This lag in metabolic activity can leave a human struggling with stomach ulcers, acid reflux, heartburn, and inflammation in the stomach lining, better known as Gastritis.
- Heart diseases:
Alcohol is one of the major contributors to the bad health of a person’s heart. Cardiovascular ailments are considered to be a given side effect of excessive alcoholism. The complications include high blood pressure, increased risk of heart failure, and an easy chance of experiencing a stroke if the consumption limits are uncontrollably high.
- Weaker bones:
Alcohol imbalances the proportions of Calcium and Vitamin D in the body; resulting in weaker bones and brittle joints than compared to a non-alcoholic individual. As a result, an alcohol addict would experience lots of fractures if not careful and might even take a longer time to recuperate to normalcy. Weaker bones also mean a very weak vertebra which might badly affect the right posture.
- Nutrition deficiencies:
Malnutrition and the huge loss of vital nutrients from the body are some of the most common and serious effects of alcohol addiction. This undernourishment is one of the major reasons for the other diseases as the body loses the prime strength pumping factors to fight any abnormalities of the body. Due to under-performance in the gastrointestinal area, the nutrition in the food is hardly absorbed by the blood, giving way to fatigue and restlessness. The Bone Marrow which is the pump house of RBC fails to give the usual signals. Hence an alcoholic’s body suffers from severe dysfunctions like Anemia and decreased immunity.
- Troubled brain activity:
Blackouts, shrinking brains, and hallucinations are the usual companions of a compulsive drinker. The brain which is the CPU of human actions, speech, and thoughts, fails to send a necessary signal the way it is expected to. Anxiety, Nervous breakdown, tremors, and Seizures become very common.
- Weaker Nervous system:
Alcohol diminishes control over speech due to which fumbled speech or Slurred speech can be observed as one of the most common symptoms in an alcoholic. Tender soles, trembling palms and numbness in the feet are some of the signs of a weakening Central Nervous System. Excessive alcohol consumption can fail to regulate normal motor activity due to which a person usually fails to have emotional and physical control with add-ons like short-time memory loss and quick/logical decision-making capabilities.
- Lower Life Expectancy:
An obvious condition wherein one or more organs are under the risk of functioning failure. The cells get weaker, the bloodstream is affected, the metabolism hits a new low every time and the Brain fails to control the body due to the unwanted alterations done on its part by the toxins in the alcohol – each and every part starts deteriorating, resulting in an untimely death.
The above-listed diseases can be coupled with a few other risks like accidental deaths due to excessive drinking and driving and indulging in dangerous acts unknowingly as there would be no or very little communication between the mind and the body. Compulsive drinking can thus be extremely life-threatening. Any habit or addiction might be risky as it is finally us who would be paying the price for. Staying responsible and sensible before being prey to such villainous addictions would definitely prove a winning move.
STAY RESPONSIBLE AND STAY SAFE!