People are heard raving about the advantages of moderate drinking, often validating their opinions by quoting doctors. However, the truth is that each drop of alcohol could damage the organs in your body. The health problems created by this aren’t too noticeable as the cells can regenerate. The liver is the main organ that gets regenerated the most, but there is a limit to that too. Meanwhile, organs like the brain cannot regenerate. Alcoholism may lead to dehydration, stroke and demyelination where the myelin sheath surrounding the neurons is damaged. Besides, new neuron cells aren’t generated if they get damaged.
The ‘capacity’ claims
Those who consume alcohol often brag about their ‘capacity’; however, it is not a great achievement. When you consume alcohol regularly, the body’s ability to handle alcohol increases. So, you feel the urge to consume more alcohol to get the ‘kick’.
It is a popular misconception that the body’s temperature increases when you consume alcohol during winter. You feel as if your body is warming up when the blood vessels under the skin expand. Moreover, alcohol works like anaesthesia or temporary loss of sensation. Besides, it is a common misconception that alcohol mainly affects the liver. It also affects the health of bones, teeth, skin, muscles and hair. These are some of the severe health problems caused by alcoholism:
1) Fatty liver, hepatitis caused by alcohol consumption, cirrhosis and liver cancer.
2) Heart diseases like high blood pressure, arrhythmia and damage to heart muscles.
3) Cancer in the breast, mouth, liver and throat is commonly seen in alcoholics
4) Mental health issues like stress, anxiety and depression.
5) Brittle bones and premature ageing too are the side effects.
Alcohol acts like a silent killer of the liver as it injures the organ slowly over ten or twenty years. Swelling, vomiting blood and brain issues are some of the symptoms of severe liver diseases. The extent of liver damage could be identified using imaging techniques like fibroscan. If diagnosed early, then it is possible to save your liver with proper medication.
