User:College2007
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alcohol is a depressant used in intoxicating people, which are found in beer, wine, and liquor. Alcohol is made when microorganisms metabolize the carbohydrates when there is no oxygen present calling this process fermentation. Beer, wine, and liquor have different amounts of alcohol in it affecting the drinker differently. Liquor is the alcohol with the highest percentage of alcohol and beer having the least percentage of alcohol. According to The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug dependence they stated that, “Studies have also shown that drinking alcohol moderately can be helpful to the coronary system. In general, for healthy people, one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men would be considered the maximum amount of alcohol consumption to be considered moderate use.” This shows that drinking can be beneficial but if used in moderation only and is more likely to be abused.
Drinking alcohol is known to slow down the central nervous system. This affects the body’s concentration and coordination. Drinking a small portion of alcohol will cause the body to become relaxed and increase the person’s confidence. This is hazardous because when this occurs the chances of inflicting an injury is considerably higher. After drinking excessively the effects may be unconsciousness or even death because of the slowing of the nervous system.
Young adults are the most prone to inflict injuries such as: automobile accidents, violence, falls, overdoes, and accidental deaths. This shows that college students are more likely to drink more alcohol in a short period of time having a higher chance of being in an accident. Drinking excessively at an early age can also affect the brain also. The result of drinking at an early age makes it difficult for a healthy brain to grow causing long term effects to the health.
Most college students don’t realize the long term effects of alcohol, but it’s very severe and will damage the body immensely. The start to having an unhealthy body is drinking so much that the liver becomes scarred. This is the first step to deteriorating the liver. There are also other organs affected by excessive drinking too like; the heart and brain. The liver is a very important organ in the body that supports it. There are more than one disease that can harm the liver such as; fatty liver, hepatitis, and cirrhosis. The earliest stage of liver disease is fatty liver which is developed when the liver is clogged with fat. This only happens because drinking causes the liver to be unable to transfer the fat but filter the alcohol. The result of this is the liver cells become swollen with water and fat. When this happens the body lacks nutrients and oxygen to the liver cells, this kills the cell which.When the liver has been scarred it becomes irreversible and will be a permanent part of the liver. When this occurs the blood that travels through the liver doesn’t properly filter the toxins. Not being able to filter the toxin as mentioned by the college drinking prevention, “can lead to mental confusion, agitation, or tremors.
The heart is also a very sensitive organ that is affected by drinking also. The heart is such a small organ that when you drink you work the heart a lot harder than it’s necessary. This makes it possible for the person to have a heart attack or a stroke. Continuing with excessive drinking will lead other heart problems such as: cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmia, and sudden cardiac death. Alcohol also affects the stomach and the brain. The stomach can easily be damaged when students drink excessively, especially when the excess alcohol is left in the stomach to irritate the stomach lining. This leads to damage of the stomach lining and loss of nutrition to the body. The brain damage is only possible in young teens that drink. Drinking has only been known to affect the growth of the brain in adolescence but no evident long term effects are present.
