What are the effects of alcohol on the body?
Those who have studied the effects alcohol has on the human body will tell you there’s hardly a part of the body that is not adversely affected by the consumption of large amounts on a regular basis. It’s not a pretty picture, putting practically every part of the body at risk.
Begin with the mouth and the esophagus, where alcohol enters the body. As MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) notes on its web site, studies show that alcoholism is associated with nearly half of the cancers of the esophagus, mouth and larynx.
The brain? Alcohol is a depressant, destroying brain cells and eventually resulting in problems with cognition and memory. The heart? We’re not talking a casual glass of red wine during dinner most nights. We’re talking ongoing, heavy consumption of alcohol, which will lead to heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure.
Perhaps the liver is the human organ most associated with damage resulting from alcoholism. Cirrhosis of the liver refers to the ongoing buildup of scar tissue. This ultimately affects blood flow and can ultimately lead to catastrophic bleeding.
This description of the affects of alcohol on the body hasn’t even touched on the lungs, stomach, the kidneys, joints and muscles, and the reproductive system in both men and women. Nor have we begun to mention the serious, even permanent effects prenatal exposure to alcohol can have on children.
As we said, it’s not a pretty picture.
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