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Alcohol
is the most frequently abused drug in the world. It is a substance
that has been discussed frequently in scientific literature and
has been the focus of a large amount of research. Many of those
who read media reports regarding the effects of alcohol are
confused. Is this a dangerous drug, or is it a miracle potion that
reduces the rates of heart attack—a frequent cause of disability
and death in the The French Paradox
Citizens
of Researchers have studied this situation, attempting to learn why. It appears, from volumes of excellent research, that the very moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with an increase in a person’s high-density lipoprotein (HDL). We all want to have lots of HDL. When we do, we tend to have less arterial disease. What appears to happen is that the alcohol somehow increases our HDL, which then removes cholesterol from the blood, which is then removed from the body by the liver. In fact, some researchers suggest that we can decrease our risk of having a heart attack by 40 percent if we just use alcohol in moderation! The Other Side of Alcohol But what about alcohol’s negative effects? The body has a special substance called alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme whose function is to convert alcohol from its active form into a second chemical called acetaldehyde. As this process of conversion takes place, the person feels less of the effects of alcohol on the brain. If a person is drunk, they will remain intoxicated until the body converts much of the alcohol into acetaldehyde. Your liver and stomach make a alcohol dehydrogenase. Men and women both produce alcohol dehydrogenase in their livers, but women have very little of this enzyme in their stomachs. This means that if a man and a woman who weight the same consume equal amounts of alcohol until they are intoxicated, the woman will suffer drunkenness sooner than The Team will. Women are at a disadvantage to men when it comes to alcohol consumption. Along with alcohol’s effect on the brain causing sedation or drunkenness, it causes a general loss of brain tissue. There is a specific condition of the brain called alcoholic dementia, in which individuals develop difficulty swallowing, suffer impaired problem-solving skills, and have difficulty in manipulating objects.
The
liver uses fatty acids as fuel. When alcohol is present, the liver
prefers to use the alcohol as its fuel source, and the fatty acids
(lipids) then build up, causing small droplets to be stored in
liver cells. Cirrhosis of the liver is a condition that alcohol is
known to cause and is the sixth leading cause of death in the Heart disease is another concern for individuals who drink. Isn’t it interesting that on one hand alcohol is protective for disease of the coronary arteries, while on the other hand it causes disease of the muscle of the heart wall? Those who drink have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, which can then go on to cause strokes or further heart problems. Alcohol is associated with cancers of the mouth, tongue, throat, esophagus, stomach, liver, lung, pancreas, colon (large intestine), and rectum. These cancers may result from alcohol’s irritating effects on the body tissues. Despite the “French paradox,” French men are three times more likely than American men to die of cancer of the esophagus. Also, French men and women are twice as likely to die of stomach cancer as are Americans. There are also very serious social consequences of alcohol (many resulting from alcohol use in a single event).
During
a research study conducted among students who attended 69
parochial schools throughout the Other data from the same research showed that if alcohol was not used by either parent, 37.6 percent of the students had tried alcohol. However, if a parent did use alcohol, the rate of alcohol use by the student jumped to 71.7 percent. There
was even a strong effect of the parents’ alcohol use on the
student’s history of the use of many other drugs. If a parent
was an alcohol user, the student’s rate of tobacco use increased
from 24.4 percent to 47.3 percent, marijuana use increased from
11.5 percent to 27.1 percent, cocaine use jumped from 2.2 percent
to 6.7 percent, and use of other hard drugs increased from 4.9
percent to 14.6 percent.
Reprinted from
Vibrant Life Magazine . All rights reserved. |
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