Unfortunately, in today’s world, drinking has become a quite popular habit amongst all age groups, including teenagers. However, if people were slightly aware of the harmful temporary and permanent effects of alcohol on all of their body organs, they would most likely stop drinking or at least try to drink moderately. In fact, one reason alcohol harms our body, most specifically, our digestive system, to such an extent, might be due to the way it is absorbed and detoxified in our body; moreover, not only can alcohol severely impair our digestive system, it can also affect other crucial organs, such as the heart and brain. Thus, with a little awareness and discretion, we can protect our organs from getting impaired by alcohol; the best alternative to do so is to control our drinking habits.
As a matter of fact, the way alcohol is dealt with and absorbed in our body through the digestive system, can leave our digestive organs with serious malfunctions. For instance,">when an alcoholic beverage is consumed, it passes down the esophagus, enters the stomach and then the small intestine. Although a small amount of alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream through the mucous membrane, that vast majority of alcohol enters the bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine. In fact, alcohol is absorbed through a process called metabolism; Metabolism is the body's process of converting ingested substances to other compounds; it involves a number of processes, one of which is referred to as oxidation. Through oxidation in the liver, alcohol is detoxified and removed from the blood, preventing the alcohol from accumulating and destroying cells and organs. Hence, as a result of alcohol passing through all digestive organs, there will be a great risk exposed to these organs, as alcohol is considered to be a poisonous substance.
For instance, as the liver possesses the main role of detoxifying and breaking down alcohol, it can be impaired the most; chronic alcohol abuse can cause fatty liver, cirrhosis, and alcoholic hepatitis. Fatty liver is a condition where large particles of triglyceride fat accumulate in liver cells. Moreover, cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by scar tissue and regenerative nodules. In cases of severe liver disease, the only treatment option may be a liver transplant in alcohol abstinent patients. Furthermore, alcohol is a leading cause of liver cancer in the Western world, accounting for 32-45% of hepatic cancers. Moreover, liver damage can cause fluid to build up in extremities, which decreases the production of blood clotting factors and may cause uncontrolled bleeding in our digestive system. In addition, alcohol can also disrupt many of our organs’ functions permanently. For instance, Alcohol misuse is a leading cause of both acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis, which are
sudden inflammations of pancreas. Chronic excessive intake of alcohol can cause destruction of the pancreas resulting in severe chronic pain, which may progress to pancreatic cancer. Chronic pancreatitis often results in mal-absorption problems and diabetes. Furthermore, alcohol can cause serious irritation of the lining of the intestinal tract and colon; chronic drinking may result in inflammation, ulcers, and cancer of the intestines and colon. Moreover, alcohol can seriously impair the small intestine’s ability to process nutrients and vitamins. In addition to its harmful effects on the digestive system, alcohol can also cause malfunction in other systems as well. For instance, alcohol acts as a sedative on the central nervous system, depressing the nerve cells in the brain, dulling, altering and damaging their ability to respond. Large doses can cause sleep, anaesthesia, respiratory failure, coma and even death. Moreover, alcohol can also weaken the heart muscle and its ability to pump (cardiomyopathy). It can also cause heart enlargement, abnormal heart signs and irregular heart beat. It can also drastically increase blood pressure, risk of heart attack and strokes. Alcohol can also weaken our immune system as it inhibits the production of white and red blood cells.
As a result, despite most people’s opinion, alcohol is a harmful and poisonous substance that should be consumed discreetly in small amounts. For instance, as alcohol passes down the esophagus, and enters the stomach and small intestine, it can seriously irritate the linings of these digestive tracts. Moreover, as alcohol is mainly broken down by the liver, it can scar the liver tissue and cause fluids and fatty molecules to build up in the liver. In addition, alcohol can also cause high blood pressure and weaken the heart muscle as a result. Hence, although drinking is considered to be enjoyable for most of us, do we really want to replace our healthy organs with functionally impaired ones in exchange for only a couple of hours of euphoria?
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