Do you know how alcohol affects your body?

Alcohol remains the big, undiscovered land in the minds of so many persons and is of importance to us all because it kills bout 5% of people. We easily adopt the habit of drinking alcohol, starting first as a social encourager but eventually leading to addiction for many. While alcohol seems to be the escape for the problems people face in life, those problems are just as present as when the bottle is not. Many alcoholics become dependent on the substance causing them to overlook various health detriments. So that’s what we’ll be focusing on today.

Firstly, your liver can only process a certain amount of alcohol at a time so when you consume beyond that, the excess goes directly into your blood stream and can affect your heart and brain. A safe amount of alcohol depends on a person’s body weight, size and whether they are male or female. Women absorb more alcohol from each drink in comparison to males, so they are at greater risk of liver damage. Consuming 2 to 3 alcoholic drinks daily can harm one’s liver. Furthermore, binge drinking, or drinking 4 or 5 more drinks in a row, can also result in liver damage.

Here are some effects of alcohol on the body:

Diabetes complications - excessive alcohol consumption may prevent your organs from properly balancing your blood sugar level.

Infertility – over a long period of time, drinking excessive amount of alcohol may cause infertility.

Sexual dysfunction – men who have alcohol use disorder are more likely to experience erectile dysfunction.

Malnutrition - alcohol prevents your body from properly absorbing the vitamins and minerals from the foods you eat.

Shrinking brain – long term exposure to alcohol can shrink the frontal lobes of the brain.

Heart damage - chronic heavy drinking is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular diseases.

Cancer – chronic drinkers of alcohol are more likely to develop throat, mouth and esophagus cancer. Breast cancer is more common in women who drink excessively.

Liver damage – chronic alcohol use can damage and prevent it from properly removing harmful substances from your body.

Lung infections – people who drink frequently have a hard time fighting off bacteria and viruses and are more susceptible to tuberculosis and pneumonia.

Thinning bones – drinking increases your risk of osteoporosis or thinning bones.

Muscle cramps - people who drink often experience muscle cramps, weakness and eventually muscle death.