Healthy Diet Plans >> Articles >> Diet and Wellness

Alcohol and Health Adversaries

Submitted by Loring A. Windblad on July 22, 2010

Effects of Alcohol Consumption: Excessive consumption of alcohol can cause a lot of health problems, which include strokes, cirrhosis, accidents, sleep disturbances, and suicide. There are several adverse health problems that can arise because of excessive alcohol consumption. It is advisable to know about the risks before opting to drink.

Safe drinking: You need to know if the amount of alcohol that you consume is safe for you or not. If you are pregnant or have any medical problems, then you should not drink. Research has also shown that moderate consumption of alcohol can reduce the risk of heart disease.

The safe amount is two drinks per day for men and a drink a day for women. If you drink more than this per day or even binge over the weekends, then drinking can be hazardous to your health.

Alcohol Related Health Problems:

Accidents – If you drink a lot, then it leads to motor skill impairment. This means that people become more prone to accidents and injuries can be serious.

Studies have shown that several car accidents in the United States happen because of drunk driving.

Cancer – Alcohol can also increase the risk of certain cancers of the liver, breast, esophagus, mouth, lips, larynx, pharynx, and gastrointestinal tract.

Cirrhosis - Heavy drinking can cause cirrhosis of the liver and a lot of people die of this.

Digestive disturbances – Digestive problems and heartburn are some of the problems that people suffer from if they drink heavily.

Heart disease – Binge drinking and drinking too much can increase the chances of heart disease. People who already suffer from cardiovascular disease can die suddenly if they drink heavily.

Hemorrhagic stroke – People who drink a lot are more at risk of getting hemorrhagic strokes.

High blood pressure – People who drink more than three or four drink a day have a higher risk of getting high blood pressure.

Immune system suppression – The immune function is suppressed because of excessive consumption of alcohol. So people who are heavy drinkers often take more time to recover from diseases and infections.

Neurological disorders – Neurological disorders and alcohol-related dementia can lead to memory loss and cognitive impairment in heavy drinkers.

Obesity – There are a host of other health problems that can happen because of obesity. Since alcohol has high sugar content, diabetes is one of the main health problems that can happen.

Pancreatitis, performance deficits, and poor judgment are some of the health problems that can happen because of excessive consumption of alcohol.