Effects of Alcohol

Alcohol is a very serious and dangerous drug, although it is not treated this way anymore. College students have taken drinking to a new level in which, for many, is very scary. Alcohol is much more dangerous than many would think. Kids see a night of drinking as a great way to have fun and party but do not see the consequences. Getting drunk and even blacking out can lead to many problems. When alcohol is consumed in unhealthy amounts it can lead to not only short-term effects, but long term ones as well.

Many people could tell you what alcohol will do to you. Blurred vision, memory loss, slurred speech, difficulty walking, and slow reaction times are all very common side effects depending on how much one consumes (“Alcohol Alert”). To most there is really nothing wrong with this. Party all night, have a good time, find somewhere to sleep, pass out, and wake up in the morning. A couple of Advil and a glass of water and you’re good to go, no harm done. This is where many are wrong. These effects are not just short term, they all add up in the long run. “Some of these impairments are detectable after only one or two drinks and quickly resolve when drinking stops. On the other hand, a person who drinks heavily over a long period of time may have brain deficits that persist well after he or she achieves sobriety” (“Alcohol Alert”).

Ethyl alcohol or ethanol, or most often known as simply alcohol can come in the form of beer, wine, or liquor. It is a depressant that affects the central nervous system although many would believe it to be a stimulant. Many people get more energetic and stimulated but this is only because alcohol affects parts of the brain that control judgment. The “stimulated” affect of alcohol actually amounts to a depression of self-control. Alcohol ultimately slows down the brain and, depending on the amount of alcohol consumed, can lead to many side effects such as slurred speech, hazy thinking, reduced reaction time, impaired vision, and lucid memory. Side effects vary depending on how much and how fast one drinks and also on gender (Dunlap).

Many believe that alcohol affects women much more than it does men. This can sometimes be due to the fact that men are much bigger than women but at the same time, men usually metabolize faster when means that their bodies can break down the toxins much quicker. Studies have shown that women are “more vulnerable than men to many of the medical consequences of alcohol use. For example, alcoholic women develop cirrhosis, alcohol–induced damage of the heart muscle (i.e., cardiomyopathy), and nerve damage (i.e., peripheral neuropathy) after fewer years of heavy drinking than do alcoholic men” (“Alcohol Alert”). Studies comparing men and women’s sensitivity to alcohol–induced brain damage, however, have not been as conclusive.

Alcohol is considered a food as well as a liquid because it contains calories but these are considered empty calories because there is no positive use that the body can get out of it. Alcohol though is very different in the sense that it is not digested like other foods. Normal foods are processed and carried into cells and tissues to be used as energy. Alcohol on the other hand goes directly into the bloodstream. It is absorbed mostly through the small intestine and partially through the stomach. It then gets diluted in the water volume of the body and travels throughout most of its vital organs. The alcohol ultimately gets into the water, which is necessary for all the vital organs and into the bloodstream, which obviously is a bodily necessity. This is how men and women are affected differently. In general, men have more muscle content and less fat content whereas women have much less muscle. Muscle tissue has more water than fat tissue. Men usually have about ten percent more water in their bodies than women. This means that men will be able to break down the alcohol quicker and more efficiently than women (Dunlap).

Not only does alcohol affect the brain but it also considerably affects the liver. The human liver essentially cleans the blood and filters out all the toxins running through it. It breaks down the alcohol and turns it into harmless byproducts so that the body and can discard them with ease. Excessive drinking therefore makes the liver work much harder than it would normally or sober. All this work can cause prolonged liver problems such as “liver cirrhosis resulting from excessive alcohol consumption can harm the brain, leading to a serious and potentially fatal brain disorder known as hepatic encephalopathy” (“Alcohol Alert”). This can lead to changes in sleep patterns, mood, and personality; psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression; severe cognitive effects such as shortened attention span; and problems with coordination such