Alcohol can have some health benefits in small amounts, but excessive drinking can cause serious health problems, cognitive issues, and even death. One standard drink per day may benefit the cardiovascular system, but more than two standard drinks increase the risk of health problems. Excessive alcohol consumption can cause behavioural, cognitive, and psychomotor changes, and too much alcohol or binge drinking can cause alcohol poisoning. Long-term heavy drinking can cause liver damage, peripheral neuropathy, brain atrophy, and irreversible cognitive changes, among other health problems.
Alcoholic beverages are often enjoyed by a large percentage of the world’s population. Small amounts of alcohol can have some beneficial health effects, but drinking too much alcohol can cause serious health problems in many organs, cognitive problems and can even lead to death
A standard drink holds approximately 0.42 oz. (12 g) of ethanol, which equals 12 oz. (340 g) beer, 4 oz. (113 g) of unfortified wine, or 1.5 oz. (42.5 g) of an 80 proof liqueur. One standard drink per day in an otherwise healthy, non-pregnant person may benefit the cardiovascular system. More than two standard drinks a day increases the risk of health problems. In the United States, for example, legal alcohol intoxication defines a blood alcohol concentration of at least 0.08-0.10 grams per deciliter (g/dL). The acute effects of alcohol intoxication can be observed at levels of 0.02 to 0.03 g/dL.
The acute effects of excessive alcohol consumption involve behavioural, cognitive and psychomotor changes. Diminished inhibitions can be seen after drinking one or two standard drinks. Too much alcohol or binge drinking, quickly consuming five or more standard drinks, can cause alcohol poisoning. Symptoms of alcohol poisoning include vomiting, confusion, slow and irregular breathing, stupor, seizures, low body temperature, pale or bluish skin, and coma. Individuals who are in a coma are at risk of death.
Drinking too much alcohol on a regular basis shortens lifespan by about a decade. Also, too much alcohol is toxic to most organ systems. Long-term heavy drinking causes peripheral neuropathy, brain atrophy, and irreversible cognitive changes. Psychiatric syndromes, such as severe anxiety, auditory hallucinations, and/or paranoid delusions, can also be experienced during heavy alcohol consumption and subsequent withdrawal. Although alcohol makes it easier to fall asleep, it causes sleep fragmentation with longer and longer waking episodes.
The major adverse effect of alcohol is liver damage, such as alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver. The development of esophagitis, gastritis, gastric ulcer, esophageal varices, pancreatitis, cerebrovascular disease, and cancer is also associated with long-term heavy drinking. Heavy drinking can also cause folic acid deficiency, alcoholic myopathy, and blood cell abnormalities. It also affects sexual functioning in both men and women by decreasing erectile ability in men and increasing the risk of infertility and miscarriage in women.
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