Author Topic: Physiological Effects of Alcohol Consumption  (Read 26 times)

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Physiological Effects of Alcohol Consumption
« on: December 15, 2016, 04:25:58 am »
  Alcohol (when used commonly refers to ethanol) is consumed widely around the world for numerous reasons. Its properties have been both praised and demonized. In humans it generally acts as a depressant with, conversely, mild stimulating effects of some parts of the brain.
 
At low levels of consumption alcohol has minimal effects on a person; at higher levels it leads to disorientation, coma, and death.
 
Most alcohol that is consumed is removed from the body via the liver, which breaks alcohol down before removal. However, alcohol can readily cross any cell membrane. Ethanol is widely used as a solvent and disinfectant. It is used as a solvent because it breaks down many proteins and other molecules, such as lipids, which form the main structure of cell walls. It is used as a disinfectant for the same reasons — it breaks down bacteria and many viruses.
 
When consumed, alcohol has similar effects on cells in the body. It can break down the lipids and proteins that form the walls of cells. Body tissue left in alcohol will dissolve over time (this is one reason why alcohol is sometimes used as a marinade or tenderizer for meat). Most of the time, the concentration of alcohol in the body is too low to do much, if any, damage to cells; however, over time as alcohol continues to be consumed it can have lasting effects on the body. This is one of the effects that leads to sclerosis of the liver; eventually the toxicity and solvent effects of alcohol are too much for the liver. In the brain, alcohol easily crosses the blood brain barrier, which serves to protect the brain from harmful substances (it also keeps out many good ones), and directly affects the neurotransmitters and receptors of neurons. At high enough concentrations (or over time) alcohol can weaken the blood brain barrier by damaging the tight junctions of blood vessels in the brain that form the barrier.
 
 
 
 
 
At high concentrations alcohol acts as a vasoconstrictor, increasing blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure can severely affect the brain leading to stroke and other disorders such as vascular dementia. Volatile (rapid changes in) blood pressure (such as could hypothetically occur secondary to frequent binge drinking) has also been linked to Parkinson’s disease. On the other hand, a recent study found lower rates of Parkinson’s disease in people who had consumed alcohol versus abstainers (Paganini-Hill, 2001). The etiology of this effect is unknown.
 
Alcohol intake can also lead to vitamin deficiency, which can severely damage the brain (e.g., Korsakoff’s Syndrome), resulting in memory loss, emotional disturbance, gait problems, and ataxia. Additionally, alcohol is physiologically and psychologically addictive.


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Re: Physiological Effects of Alcohol Consumption
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2016, 04:27:31 am »
Effects of alcohol



What does alcohol do to your body and brain?  Alcohol is a substance that effects the whole body and can effect it in a short time.  When alcohol is taken into the body, it travels to every part of the body effecting it in some way.

Bloodstream

What does alcohol do when alcohol enters the blood stream?  

When alcohol enters the blood, it causes the blood vessels to widen.  More blood flows to the skin's surface.  However, the drinker's body temperature drops as the increased blood flow to the surface allows body heat to escape.  People who drink alcohol in cold weather to get warm actually accomplish the opposite.

Brain

How does alcohol effect the brain?

 When alcohol reaches the brain, it immediately has a depressant effect. People who drink alcohol may describe the change as relaxing.  What they actually experience are physical changes such as loss of sensation and a decrease in sharpness of vision, hearing, and other senses.  Alcohol also affects the parts of the brain that control muscle coordination, which is why drinkers may loose their balance or stumble.

 If drinking continues, alcohol depresses the part of the brain that controls breathing and heart beat.  Breathing rates, pulse rates, and blood pressure, which initially increased, now decrease.  A drinker may loose consciousness, slip into a coma, or die from alcohol poisoning

Heavy drinkers and many first-time drinkers may suffer blackouts.  Other people recall seeing the drinker walking, talking, and in control. The following day however, the drinker has no memory of some events the day before.

Liver

 When alcohol enters the liver, the liver breaks down alcohol into energy and the waste products carbon dioxide and water.  The carbon dioxide is released from the body in the lungs.  The water passes out of the body as breath vapor, perspiration, or urine.  When people drink alcohol faster than the liver can break it down, they become intoxicated.

Kidneys

 Alcohol prevents the release of body chemicals that regulates how much urine the kidneys make.  The kidneys produce more urine than usual, and the drinker looses more water than usual.  The drinker becomes very thirsty.  In extreme cases, a drinker may loose water needed for the body to function properly.


 

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