Everyone knows that alcohol is bad for your health.
Nevertheless, there are very few people who do not drink alcohol at all.
This article examines whether you should give up a glass of Shiraz to a steak or a bottle of beer to a TV show.
How exactly alcoholic beverages affect health and how to recognize alcohol addiction.
What does alcohol do to a body?
A person can feel the effects of alcohol on their body only after some time.
But despite this, the corresponding processes are already triggered after the first sip.
We will tell you about their chemical component below, but for now let us look at their external manifestation.
The short-term consequences of drinking alcoholic beverages include:
- Feeling relaxed, drowsy, or euphoric;
- dizziness;
- mood swings;
- slower reactions;
- impulsive behavior;
- Slow or slurred speech;
- nausea and vomiting;
- diarrhea;
- headache;
- changes in hearing, vision, and perception of 11 reality;
- loss of coordination;
- Problems concentrating or 14 making decisions;
- Loss of consciousness or memory loss.
Some side effects (drowsiness, euphoria) can occur almost immediately after drinking alcohol.
Some (such as those associated with dehydration – headache, nausea, vomiting) occur after a few hours.
They also go away quite quickly.
How alcohol is perceived by the body
Alcohol is perceived by the body as a substance from which you need to get rid of.
The main job in this case is done by the liver with the help of enzymes produced in it.
The enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase converts ethyl alcohol into acetaldehyde, a colorless, poisonous liquid.
It is acetaldehyde that causes the hangover.
But the chemical reactions don’t end there.
The enzyme acetaldehyde dehydrogenase converts acetaldehyde into acetic acid, which then splits into carbon dioxide and water.
Intoxication occurs when a person drinks more alcohol than their liver can process.
Then the alcohol enters the bloodstream and causes all the effects we discussed above.
