Alcohol is poison for humans in any quantity. Alcohol is poison
Almost no celebration not only in Russia, but throughout the world is complete without the use of alcohol. Toasts with wishes of good health to the hero of the occasion or to all members of the feast come into some contradiction with the nature of alcohol. But, nevertheless, the festive mood, joy and happiness in our country are strongly associated with a drinking glass. And it is precisely the psychological attitude and traditional influence that makes inherently dangerous alcohol a welcome guest at every holiday.
Alcohol is poison, or why it is called slow poison
In official documents, ethyl alcohol is called a potent psychoactive substance that contributes to excessive stimulation of the nervous system and can cause paralysis.
It is the ability of alcohol to have a stimulating effect on the nervous system that causes binge drinking.
Effect of alcohol
The effect of alcohol as a poison on the body is generally toxic. When ethyl alcohol molecules enter the membranes of the body's cells, their permeability changes. A change in the lipid factor does not allow potassium and magnesium ions to properly interact with nutrients and water entering the cells, causing a general metabolic disorder. A deficiency of nutrients and water has a negative impact on the activity of organ cells, which can cause a general disruption of metabolic processes in the body.
Alcohol molecules cause increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier. This allows toxins produced by the breakdown of alcohol to penetrate the membranes of brain cells and disrupt their functioning. These substances include not only the breakdown products of alcohols, but also fusel oils, sugars, dyes and flavors. In addition, water does not penetrate into the brain cells in the required amount, which causes an imbalance in the water-salt balance and causes a severe headache the next day. General dehydration of the body cannot be eliminated even with increased consumption of water along with alcohol.
By interacting with amino acids necessary for the construction of new body cells, ethyl alcohol releases esters and blocks protein synthesis.
In liver cells, ethyl alcohol is converted into a highly toxic substance - acetaldehyde. The interaction of this substance with adrenaline and dopamine receptors in the brain can cause mental disorders. The person may experience behavioral changes and hallucinations. This phenomenon, which leads to a feeling of pleasure and euphoria in the initial stages of intoxication, can subsequently lead to a disorder of consciousness, delirium or psychotic deviations.
Alcohol begins to poison the body the moment it enters the body. Its complete penetration into cells and tissues occurs an hour after administration. Alcohol reaches its highest concentration in brain cells. Even with very strong intoxication, only 10-15% can be excreted unchanged from the body. The rest of the ethyl alcohol will participate in metabolic processes, destroying the body.
The most vulnerable, along with nervous tissue and the brain, are the gastrointestinal tract, as well as the liver and kidneys.
When it enters the stomach, alcohol does not undergo the digestion stage and is not dissolved by digestive juices. It is absorbed directly by the stomach wall, causing irritation and burns. The rate of intoxication depends on the rate of metabolism, that is, the absorption of alcohol by the stomach wall. The part that is nevertheless dissolved by the gastric nipple enters the small intestine, also irritating its wall. There, alcohol is absorbed into the blood and travels through the bloodstream to the liver.
The rate of alcohol penetration through the stomach wall is faster than through the small intestine. This is explained by rapid intoxication after drinking alcohol on an empty stomach. But no amount of tricks can get alcohol through the body without a significant part of it being absorbed by the body.
Video about the problem “Alcoholism” from Oleg Boldyrev
Treatment of alcoholism. Candidate of Medical Sciences, psychiatrist-narcologist, psychotherapist - Oleg Boldyrev, on whether it is possible to cure drug addicts and alcoholics forever or not.
Is there an alcoholic in your family? Our specialists will tell you what to do!
Regular consumption of alcohol can cause irritation and swelling of the stomach wall. This can cause chronic gastritis and gastric or duodenal ulcers. Drinking alcohol can interfere with intestinal motility, which can cause diarrhea.
Alcohol has a detrimental effect on the pancreas. She is very sensitive to ethyl alcohol. Regular consumption of alcohol leads to disruption of enzyme production and chronic pancreatitis. This disease is one of the first in a series of significantly shortening human life expectancy. Alcoholism can cause diabetes.
Ethyl alcohol has a huge impact on liver function. Removing alcohol breakdown products from the blood places an additional excessive load on this organ. Alcohol detoxification causes disruption of glucose production, which can lead to hypoglycemia and coma. In addition, there is a decrease in the oxidation of fatty acids. This causes the degeneration of liver cells into a fatty type and provokes fatty liver degeneration. Permanent injuries caused by the neutralization of large amounts of acetaldehyde lead to the formation of scar tissue and cirrhosis.
The penetration of alcohol into the blood causes agglutination of blood cells, as a result of the clumping of red blood cells, the blood forms blood clots, and its ability to carry oxygen is reduced, which causes hypoxia of all organs and tissues. This especially affects the myocardium. Coronary heart disease is a characteristic phenomenon for all alcoholics. A decrease in myocardial contractility leads to a decrease in pressure, which leads to an increase in heart rate. Oxygen starvation, along with increased workload, carries the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Regular drinking of alcohol leads to a decrease in the production of leukocytes and granulocytes with low mobility. This is a severe blow to the immune system.
With excessive alcohol intake, the stimulation of the central nervous system turns into inhibition of nervous tissue cells, which can serve to suppress the cerebral cortex and the respiratory center. This can be fatal.
Drinking alcohol is a Russian tradition
It cannot be said that drunkenness is a Russian tradition. At all times, alcohol consumption on holidays was moderate. In some cases it was completely banned. The widespread alcoholization of the population occurred in Russia mainly as a result of government reforms. We can recall two striking periods of alcoholization of the population - during the reforms of Peter I and during the post-war rule of the Communist Party of the USSR. The latest outbreak of alcoholism in the population is associated with economic difficulties in the 90s. The impoverishment of the population and lack of confidence in the future served to significantly rejuvenate alcoholism. Lately this wave has been declining. There is a change in the amount of alcohol consumed depending on the region. In the Northern regions of Russia, traditionally, slightly more alcohol is consumed than in the Southern regions or regions populated predominantly by Muslims. Recently, regions where the Muslim population predominates have become almost equal in alcohol consumption to the rest of Russia.
Is alcohol more harmful than drugs?
Alcohol addiction, like drug addiction, are serious diseases that have social roots. Any psychoactive substances cause persistent physical and mental dependence and require systematic targeted treatment. It cannot be said that alcohol is more harmful than drugs. All these substances cause destruction of the body, harm the human psyche, and also lead to a large number of crimes that arise as a result of the search for a means to purchase psychoactive substances or as a consequence of their use.
Alcohol and drugs simplify the human psyche and serve to degrade the individual. The criminalization of communities that take certain psychoactive substances is at the highest level.
From a physiological point of view, alcohol destroys internal organs faster, but HIV, hepatitis and other deadly diseases are more common among drug addicts.
Almost no holiday in our country is complete without alcohol. Drinking on the occasion of a big purchase, wishing all the best to the hero of the occasion, the advent of the New Year are so closely associated in people's minds with alcoholic beverages that there is a general opinion that one cannot do without the participation of alcohol. Relaxation and good mood are also almost not perceived by the consciousness of many separately from a bottle of beer or cognac with a barbecue. This is the most dangerous effect of alcohol - psychological. The universal worship of the green serpent does not even allow the thought that alcohol is a poison that affects all organs and systems of the human body.
The text of the official GOST 18300-72 contains a direct indication that ethyl alcohol “is a potent drug that first causes excitement and then paralysis of the nervous system.”
Without exception, all alcoholic drinks consumed for pleasure contain ethyl alcohol in varying concentrations.
It is the stimulating influence of ethanol that determines the effect of the intoxicant on the state of those who drink a glass of vodka or a glass of wine “for the mood.”
General toxic effect of alcohol
The toxic effect of ethyl alcohol on the body is explained, first of all, by the fact that when it interacts with the lipids that make up the membranes (walls) of cells, it changes their permeability. This leads to the fact that some substances necessary for cell activity (calcium, magnesium, etc.) and enzymes do not get to where they are needed at this moment. Their deficiency negatively affects the work of the cells that make up a particular organ, and the work of the organ itself.
At the same time, alcohol increases the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, allowing substances in the blood to penetrate the brain. Among these substances are the alcohol itself, its toxic products formed during incomplete decomposition, and a whole set of other alcohols that are part of fusel oils and are present in almost every alcoholic drink.
When interacting with amino acids, from which the body builds proteins (hormones and enzymes), ethanol forms esters, depriving the body of some of the necessary building material and blocking protein synthesis.
Due to its chemical structure, alcohol actively interacts with water, taking it away from any tissues of the body. As a result, their dehydration occurs and normal metabolism is disrupted.
The intoxicating effect of alcohol is due to the fact that when it decomposes in the liver, an even more toxic substance, acetaldehyde, is formed. When it enters the blood and interacts with hormones (norepinephrine, dopamine, etc.), hallucinogenic and psychotropic compounds are formed. This causes the euphoria characteristic of the initial stage of intoxication, leading in large doses to alcoholic psychosis and delirium.
The toxic effect of alcohol begins the moment it enters the body. After 30-60 minutes, the entire simultaneously taken amount of poison will be in the blood, organs and tissues. The largest amount of alcohol is concentrated in the brain, with slightly less reaching the lungs, spleen, kidneys and liver. Only 5-10% of the total amount of alcohol is excreted unchanged from the body. The rest is part of metabolic processes, exerting its detrimental effect on the entire body as a whole.
The effect of alcohol on organs and organ systems
Ethanol entering the body affects all organs and tissues. The central nervous system, cardiovascular and digestive tracts are most susceptible to the effects of poison. This is explained by the fact that, first of all, alcohol molecules react precisely with substances in the cells of these organs: being absorbed and processed in the gastrointestinal tract, entering the blood and with its current into the heart and brain.
In order to be absorbed in the stomach and intestines, the poison does not require exposure to digestive juices. Once in the stomach and intestines, alcohol enters the blood unchanged. Part of it goes to the liver for processing, the other part is carried throughout the body. The speed at which symptoms of intoxication appear depends on how quickly the alcohol enters the bloodstream.
Absorption in the stomach occurs more slowly than in the intestines. This explains the fact that, given the same quantity, a drink taken on an empty stomach causes intoxication more quickly than when combined with a snack or after a meal. The alcohol simply lingers longer in the stomach along with food, but it will still end up in the blood and organs.
The effect of the poison on the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines causes irritation and swelling. Long-term consumption of even small doses of strong drinks leads to gastritis and atrophy of the gastric mucosa, inflammation of the duodenal mucosa (duodenitis) and constant diarrhea as a result of excessive peristalsis of the small intestine.
The penetration of alcohol into the tissue of the pancreas leads to their damage and the occurrence of pancreatitis. As a result of acute or chronic inflammation in this organ, the production of digestive enzymes and insulin is disrupted.
The bulk of the ethanol absorbed in the small intestine goes to the liver for processing. As a result of the intense work of liver cells to decompose the toxic substance, the formation of glucose is suppressed and the oxidation of fatty acids in the Krebs cycle is reduced. Because of this, hepatocytes accumulate lipids, gradually degenerating into fat cells. Fatty liver degeneration and cirrhosis occur.
The cardiovascular system is at risk
Once in the blood, the toxic substance primarily affects blood cells, causing their agglutination (clumping of red blood cells) and disruption of hematopoiesis, which becomes quite significant after a few days of binge drinking. This leads to a disruption in the transfer of oxygen by blood cells; the entire body, and especially the brain, suffers from hypoxia.
Chronic alcoholism is accompanied by reduced formation of leukocytes, low mobility of granulocytes and slows down the body's response to new antigens. The consequence of this is a decrease in immunity and an increased risk of damage to the body by various infections.
Entering the heart through the bloodstream, ethyl alcohol reduces the contractility of the heart muscle and slightly lowers blood pressure, leading to a compensatory increase in heart rate and increasing the heart's need for oxygen, the transfer of which is difficult.
Chronic consumption of small doses of alcohol (30 ml) leads to increased blood pressure and hypertension. When taking significant doses of alcohol, the formation of cardiomyopathy occurs with its characteristic arrhythmias and decreased function of the left ventricle, or heart failure.
Within 24 hours after taking large doses of alcohol, the risk of cerebral circulatory disorders increases due to vasospasm and the formation of blood clots caused by the effect of alcohol and its derivatives on blood cells and vessel walls.
The effect of alcohol on other organs
The cells of the central nervous system, in which it causes a characteristic excitation, are very sensitive to the effects of alcohol. With further poisoning of the body with poison, the excitation processes are weakened and depression of the cerebral cortex, spinal and medulla oblongata and the respiratory center occurs.
Penetrating into the reproductive organs, alcohol disrupts the formation of germ cells and, when exposed to the fetus, creates risks of congenital deformities and diseases. When it penetrates the mammary glands, it causes defects in the development of a child fed by a mother who abuses the poison.
The main metabolite of ethanol, acetaldehyde can damage the DNA of cells of various tissues, leading to the development of malignant tumors. The carcinogenic effect of acetaldehyde occurs even when consuming “safe” doses of alcohol (15-30 ml).
Poison in any dose
Depending on the amount of alcohol taken, its effect on the body is manifested only in the severity of symptoms, but not in their absence:
- A mild degree of intoxication (0.5-1.5 ppm) is characterized by central nervous system excitement, high spirits, impatience, and impaired attention. Neurological disorders are noticeable in the form of impaired coordination of movement, vegetative ones are expressed in redness of the skin (vasodilatation), increased heart rate and breathing, and the release of large amounts of saliva.
- The average degree (1.5-2.5 ppm) is characterized by slow thinking, speech becomes unclear, and attention is impaired. The person is unable to adequately perceive the situation and becomes aggressive. Central nervous system disorders are increasing, the gait is unsteady, sensitivity is weakened. As a result of vasoconstriction, the skin turns pale. Nausea and a gag reflex may occur.
- With a severe degree of intoxication (2.5-4 ppm), the central nervous system is so affected that the person loses consciousness and does not respond to painful stimuli, the pupils are constricted. At a concentration of 4 ppm or more, respiratory arrest and death may occur as a result of depression of the respiratory center.
The day after intoxication, disorders of the nervous, digestive, cardiovascular systems, and autonomic disorders are noted, which indicates that alcohol is a poison in any dose.
It may take from several hours to 1-2 days until the pronounced symptoms of poisoning disappear, depending on the amount of alcohol consumed. To completely remove alcohol and its breakdown products from the body, it takes 12 to 20 days. Therefore, even drinking relatively small portions of any alcoholic beverages 2 times a month creates conditions for the development of any pathologies associated with the effect of alcohol on the body. There is only one way to avoid this: do not take poison voluntarily.
Thank you for your feedback
Comments
Megan92 () 2 weeks ago
Has anyone succeeded in ridding their husband of alcoholism? My drink never stops, I don’t know what to do anymore ((I was thinking about getting a divorce, but I don’t want to leave the child without a father, and I feel sorry for my husband, he’s a great person when he doesn’t drink
Daria () 2 weeks ago
I have already tried so many things, and only after reading this article, I was able to wean my husband off alcohol; now he doesn’t drink at all, even on holidays.
Megan92 () 13 days ago
Daria () 12 days ago
Megan92, that’s what I wrote in my first comment) I’ll duplicate it just in case - link to article.
Sonya 10 days ago
Isn't this a scam? Why do they sell on the Internet?
Yulek26 (Tver) 10 days ago
Sonya, what country do you live in? They sell it on the Internet because stores and pharmacies charge outrageous markups. In addition, payment is only after receipt, that is, they first looked, checked and only then paid. And now they sell everything on the Internet - from clothes to TVs and furniture.
Editor's response 10 days ago
Sonya, hello. This drug for the treatment of alcohol dependence is indeed not sold through pharmacy chains and retail stores in order to avoid inflated prices. Currently you can only order from official website. Be healthy!
Sonya 10 days ago
I apologize, I didn’t notice the information about cash on delivery at first. Then everything is fine if payment is made upon receipt.
Margo (Ulyanovsk) 8 days ago
Has anyone tried traditional methods to get rid of alcoholism? My father drinks, I can’t influence him in any way ((
Andrey () A week ago
Alcohol is a poison for the body in any dose. If a person thinks that nothing will happen from one glass of vodka or a glass of beer, then he is deeply mistaken. Even a small amount of alcohol affects the health of the drinker. Within one hour, the poison spreads throughout the body. Ethanol and its breakdown products primarily affect the liver, heart and brain. Frequent consumption of small doses of alcohol causes dangerous addiction and causes irreparable harm to health. This leads to many ailments that require expensive treatment.
Why is alcohol so popular in the world?
Alcoholic drinks can be classified as drugs. And one of the most dangerous. Manufacturers offer a huge variety of intoxicating elixirs.
They differ in:
- alcohol content;
- endurance;
- composition;
- mind;
- name;
- color and smell.
Every person has a preference for their favorite drink. But no matter how different they are, they still cause harm.
The popularity of alcohol can be explained by its ability to relax and relegate pressing problems to the background. This is very convenient for people who do not know how to solve serious issues.
Many people use it because they have nothing to do. Simply put, out of boredom. So much for the popularization in various advertisements of how alcoholic drinks liberate and make life easy and relaxed. Drink a can of beer and become “cool.” This influence on the masses and brainwashing leads to the development of alcoholism. Quite a common problem among young people.
How alcohol affects the human body
But internal changes are already starting to happen:
- Brain. Neurons and their connections are destroyed. Simply put, brain cells are washed out along with urine.
- Vessels. They become clogged, losing their elasticity - blood clots form.
- Heart. It increases, its work and the flow of blood to the organs and the brain are disrupted.
- Liver. A large amount of poison impedes the activity of this organ. As a result, the liver generally ceases to perform its functions.
- Stomach. Ethanol is quickly absorbed into the walls of the stomach, disrupting their integrity and functionality.
- Cells. Their permeability deteriorates and membranes are destroyed.
If you drink frequently and in large doses, the destruction of the human body occurs in the shortest possible time. Changes affect internal organs and systems, appearance, memory and reaction speed, character traits. Alcoholism is very difficult to stop. Even poor health does not slow down such people. As soon as they feel better, everything starts all over again.
Changes in personal qualities from drinking strong drinks
The most interesting thing is that alcohol affects not only internal organs and systems. Poison destroys the human personality. When withdrawal begins, all his thoughts are aimed at only one thing - getting what he wants. At this moment nothing else exists. Just me and alcohol.
Regular consumption of alcohol leads to personality degradation:
- There is only one interest. How to get a bottle of intoxicating liquid.
- Ready for anything. In order to get what he wants, an alcoholic will resort to deception, even crime.
- Renunciation of family. Under the influence of the poison, whose name is ethanol, a person forgets about his family and friends.
- Asocial personality. People who drink do not go to work, they are no longer accepted in society and no one takes them into account.
- Suicidal tendencies. Under the influence of alcohol, a person dissatisfied with his life is capable of “killing himself.”
Alcoholism is a very terrible disease. No one is immune from this. Anyone can find themselves in the shoes of an unshaven man spending the night at a bus stop with a bottle of vodka.
Such people should be pitied. After all, they have lost their place in normal society. Therefore, before drinking another glass of alcohol, you should think carefully about what it can bring, other than trouble.
Negative consequences of drinking alcohol
A poison such as alcohol, consumed every day, leads to negative consequences. The changes occurring in the body are initially invisible. Functionality is impaired, immunity declines, and at this moment negative consequences begin to appear.
The main ones include:
- constant increase in blood pressure;
- enlargement of the heart muscle;
- cirrhosis of the liver;
- gastritis;
- poor blood circulation;
- memory loss;
- persecution mania;
- withering of the skin;
- forgetfulness, inattention and aggressiveness.
Will there be consequences from drinking a glass of wine once a month? Of course not. “Even poison is useful in small quantities.” But if you drink a lot and often, then everything is simple.
Negative elements accumulate without having time to be eliminated. Gradually, various ailments develop - deviations in physical health and mental disorders. Sooner or later the poison will do its job and death will occur.
What is alcoholism
Alcoholism is an addiction to alcoholic beverages. When you use it, you get a narcotic effect. As the frequency of use increases, the dependence increases. The incoming poison poisons the body. The person becomes powerless. Alcohol enslaves him, preventing him from thinking soberly.
Alcoholism is a disease that has several stages:
- First stage. A person begins to crave alcohol. Not getting what you want, the attraction disappears for a while. If you drink strong drinks, the dose becomes uncontrollable. Irritability and aggressiveness appear. And in some cases even memory loss. Justifications for their rash actions begin.
- Second stage. Alcohol is consumed in unlimited doses. A person perceives this absolutely calmly. Physical dependence occurs. Dizziness, nausea, heart problems, trembling of the hands or the whole body appear.
- Third stage. In which people experience an irresistible craving for alcohol. They only need a small dose to get drunk. There is complete degradation of personality. Mental disorders destroy a person.
In alcoholism, the poison in the body is in high concentration. Only timely seeking help can help overcome drug psychosis.
How not to cross the line
Alcohol is a quickly acting, harmful poison that has a narcotic effect. Before you know it, you’re in his dependence. But the poison completely poisons the human body. Each organ is negatively affected, collapsing and falling into disrepair.
To avoid the “death” of your mind and body, you need to be careful and always think soberly. It is easier to prevent a disease than to deal with its consequences.
Therefore, it is very important to remember a few basic rules:
- do not drink more often than at least once a month;
- drink alcohol in small doses;
- give preference to proven drinks;
- do not be influenced by others;
- do not perceive alcohol as a harmless “pill” for a bad mood;
- At the first sign of addiction, seek help.
Much depends on the character of the person and his physiology. There are people with chemical dependency. All they have to do is smell the ethanol vapor and a signal goes off in their brain. Therefore, if you do not have the strength to give up alcohol, it is better to generally avoid situations that lead to drinking strong drinks. Since ethanol contained in alcohol is a poison that has a poisonous and destructive effect. You should learn to fight your addictions and not succumb to their influence.
Dedicated to alcohol lovers...
Dedicated to everyone who has recovered from the New Year's binge...
The whole country celebrated the New Year 2015 on a grand scale. The citizens of Russia entered the New Year with new hopes, wishes for success and prosperity. At the same time, many could not resist drinking alcohol, believing that without it life would not be the same and there would be no holiday. The problem is that consumption even once a year, for example, a glass of champagne on New Year’s Eve, is already its first stage. And you should not delude yourself in this regard, since a step along this disastrous path has been taken, and after it there will be the next and the next until this path ends tragically, or until you go in the other direction - into sobriety.
We have already written several times on the topic of alcohol, see the article “A drunk person does not understand sobriety”, we also analyzed the Sobering Strategy of Karelia. According to doctors, what distinguishes “New Year’s alcoholism” from a classic binge is only the preservation of self-control and the absence of physical dependence among the majority of those celebrating. However from a clinical point of view, people who drink for many days in a row develop a syndrome that is essentially a transitional form between a hangover and withdrawal.
Sad statistics confirm the views of doctors: it is during the New Year holidays that many household drunks become alcoholics, and for the period from January 8 to January 20, most of the registered deaths are associated with alcohol consumption. And this statistics is equally true for people who died at home, on the street and in hospitals.
In addition, the New Year's load on the body is made more difficult by another circumstance. New Year celebrations fall on darkest a period of time in a year with daylight hours not exceeding 7-7.5 hours per day. During this period, due to a lack of daylight, the body intensively produces melatonin, so the ability to process it decreases. Artificial lighting does not help the situation at all. In turn, a low metabolic rate reduces the body's ability to digest food and neutralize alcohol. Thus, the period of the body’s minimum capacity to process food and alcohol in our country corresponds to the maximum consumption of both.
A person always has a choice, even when it seems that there is none. It depends on the person whether to limit their capabilities or not, whether to drink alcohol or not. But often people are captured by various myths and stereotypes. Likewise, around alcoholic drinks there are a huge number of myths and misconceptions that serve as rationalization for those who cannot resist the “green serpent.” The website “Petersburg Narcologist” published 8 myths about alcohol.
Small doses of alcohol are harmless
There is a very widespread opinion that in small doses alcohol is not only harmless, but also beneficial. However, alcohol dependence develops with regular consumption of any amount of alcohol. As a rule, psychological dependence first arises, forcing one to increase the dose, and then develops physical dependence when a person drinks not so that he feels good, but so that he stops feeling bad. In addition, scientists have found that regular consumption of even small doses of alcohol over a period of 3-4 years leads to atrophy of brain cells and, as a consequence, to personality degradation.
Drinking alcohol is a Russian tradition
Many supporters of the “green serpent” claim that drinking strong alcoholic drinks is an ancestral Russian tradition. Allegedly, he has been drinking from time immemorial, and giving up alcohol, especially on holidays, is a violation of tradition.
In fact active alcoholization of the population has been observed only in the last few decades. This is especially facilitated by the long New Year holidays - as statistics show, a lot of people consume alcohol these days. Thank God that in recent years, alcohol consumption has begun to fall, especially among young people who consciously choose sober lifestyle.
Small doses of alcohol stimulate appetite
This rationalization is used by many so-called “hidden” alcoholics. They usually do not drink alcohol in large doses, but they regularly “take it on the chest for appetite.”
However, this habit has no less harmful effects on the human body than typical alcoholism. , especially taken on an empty stomach, causes irritation of the gastric mucosa and intensive production of gastric juice and enzymes. This creates the illusion of increased appetite - a person “eats” alcohol to reduce the discomfort that has arisen in the stomach.
Alcohol relieves stress
This misconception is based on the ability of alcohol to cause euphoria and dull all sensations, including unpleasant ones. However, this illusion is short-lived - after the intoxication passes, the stress only intensifies, plus the feeling of guilt is added.
Drinking alcohol increases performance
By stupefying the brain, it gives rise to a variety of illusions. One of them is increasing efficiency. To a person in a state of alcoholic intoxication, it seems that his mental and motor reactions have become aggravated and increased.
However, in fact, taking even a small amount of alcohol inhibits all reactions, negatively affects mental and creative abilities and reduces the quality of inferences.
Alcohol in small doses normalizes blood pressure
Alcohol can actually dilate blood vessels and lower blood pressure for a while - this is what explains the prevalence of this misconception. However, this effect is short-lived and is quickly replaced by vasospasm. This leads to sudden changes in pressure and threatens such serious complications as brain or myocardial infarction.
Moreover, regular consumption of alcohol leads to toxic damage to the cardiovascular system, which leads to the development of hypertension, myocardial dystrophy, arrhythmia and heart failure.
High-quality alcohol is not harmful
As studies show, all alcoholic drinks have a toxic effect on the human body, regardless of their quality. However, the effect of poor quality is aggravated by the harmful effects of fusel oils and other toxic impurities.
There are still so-called “scientists” who continue to stubbornly prove to everyone that alcohol is a “food” and also a “very healthy” product. Many of them are sincerely mistaken; some are paid well for it. But, in any case, they disorient society, teaching them to take narcotic poison lightly. Instead of raising the issue of completely eliminating ethanol from the food industry and protecting the population from the alcohol epidemic, these “scientists” stubbornly and without evidence insist on their erroneous and harmful position.
The stages of alcohol legalization in Soviet times are clearly visible in the illustration to the article.
Although back in 1910, the All-Russian Congress on Combating Drunkenness and Alcoholism, which brought together 150 doctors and medical scientists, specifically considered this issue. As a result, a special decision was made:
A food product can only be a substance that is absolutely harmless to the body. Alcohol, as a narcotic poison in any dose, causes enormous harm to a person: by poisoning and destroying the body, it shortens a person’s life by an average of 20 years.
And in 1915, the XIth Pirogov Congress of Russian Doctors adopted the following resolution: Alcohol cannot be classified as a nutritional product, which needs to be familiarized to the population.
However... beer, wine, champagne, vodka, cognac - this is not a complete list of toxic drugs that in our country are displayed on shelves next to food products. Although all these and other ethanol solutions cannot be called drinks or food products, since they do not nourish, but damage all organs of the human body, destroying their structure at the cellular and molecular levels.
The term “drink”, which is constantly used to promote this intoxicating potion, masks the true essence of the drug mixture and contributes to the establishment of a program in the mind that forces a person to poison himself.
The lie begins with the definition of what alcohol is. There are a lot of similar contradictions between scientific facts and superstitions existing in society on all other issues related to alcohol.
APPLICATION OF ETHANOL SOLUTIONS
Since ethanol has narcotic (and the ceremonies of its use are also accompanied by ritual and symbolic) properties, the victim very quickly gets used to it, and she develops a craving for alcohol. And this craving is stronger the more often and in large doses the body is saturated with solutions of ethyl alcohol (beer, wine or any other), and the consciousness is saturated with the blind faith that alcohol products are supposedly necessary for a “full life” in society.
Changes that occur in the body under the influence of alcohol occur when consuming any dose. And there are more and more people in our society with varying degrees of damage to physical and mental health...
At the current level of alcohol consumption, an “average” person in this regard “suddenly” faces a wide variety of ailments at the age of about 30-40 years. These are diseases of the stomach, liver, cardiovascular system, neuroses, and sexual disorders. However, diseases can be the most unexpected, because the effect of ethyl alcohol is universal: it affects all organs and systems of the human body.
According to the Great Medical Encyclopedia, EVERY THIRD person dies from causes in one way or another related to alcohol consumption.
According to WHO, the average life expectancy of a drinker is 15-17 years less than the average life expectancy, which, as is known, is calculated taking into account drinkers. If you compare it with the full, healthy life of a conscious teetotaler, the difference will be even greater.
MECHANISMS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST PERSONS
A person who is offered to try alcohol for the first time does not experience pleasant sensations from it. A child, to whom tipsy parents give champagne for the first time (“Look, what a beautiful lemonade!”), thinks after the first sip: “Well, this lemonade of yours is disgusting! How can you drink this?!”
A young guy or girl who finds himself in a company for the first time, where there is a bottle on the table (note: not with forty-proof vodka, but with champagne, beer, or some other “weak” and heavily sweetened alcoholic mixture), feels confused. The moment is about to come when there is nowhere to go and you have to choose: either obey the drunken “tradition”, or declare your image as a “black sheep”...
ALCOHOL IS EVERYONE'S PERSONAL ENEMY
Having taken the place of real, healthy drinks, firmly established in our society as an everyday, cheap or expensive “prestigious drink,” beer, wine and other mixtures of ethyl alcohol spoil the lives of not only individuals, but also the entire society.
Statistics confirm that alcohol indirectly claims more victims than the most terrible epidemics: the latter appear periodically, and the use of ethanol-containing liquids in our country has become an ongoing epidemic disease.
And although most often attention is paid to the physiological consequences of alcohol consumption, the social consequences are much worse. This is a constant deterioration in the neuropsychic health of the population, an increase in the number of accidents, especially car accidents, which disfigure and kill many people.
Alcohol is a powerful factor in the increase in the level of all crimes, and especially murders and suicides. According to WHO, suicide among drinkers occurs 80 times more often than among abstainers.
BLOW TO THE BRAIN
There is no organ in the human body that is not destroyed under the influence of alcohol. But the brain suffers the most. If the blood alcohol concentration is taken as one, then in the cerebrospinal fluid it will be 1.5, and in the brain - 1.75.
The human brain initially contains about 10,000,000,000 nerve cells (neurons). Ethanol causes a toxic blow to brain cells, from which they die en masse. Thus, after drinking a mug of beer, a glass of wine or 100 g of vodka, a whole cemetery of dead neurons remains in the brain, which the body is forced to remove through the genitourinary system.
And when pathologists open the skull of any “culturally” and “moderately” drinking person, everyone sees the following picture: either a “shrinked brain”, reduced in volume, the entire surface of the cortex covered in microscars, microulcers, protrusions of structures; or (if death occurred suddenly) - pronounced swelling of the soft meninges and substance of the brain. This is the result of systematic intoxication with alcohol and its breakdown products, primarily acetaldehyde.
According to American scientists, 200 g of dry wine suppresses a person’s intelligence within 18-20 days after consumption (!).
It is important to realize that changes in the brain substance that occur under the influence of any dose of ethyl alcohol are irreversible. They leave behind an indelible mark in the form of loss of the smallest brain structures, which inevitably affects its function. The damaged part is replaced by scars (connective tissue), and the resulting void is filled by displacement of neighboring areas of the brain. But even in these preserved areas of the brain, nerve cells undergo changes in the protoplasm and nucleus.
In this case, the cells of the cerebral cortex are affected much more than the cells of its subcortical parts, that is, alcohol has a stronger effect on the cells of higher centers than lower ones. As a result, perception becomes difficult and slow, attention and memory are impaired. As a result of these changes, unfavorable character distortions begin to appear. Paralysis of consciousness and will sets in. The barriers that keep a sober person from useless, thoughtless actions are removed. The personality changes, the processes of its degradation begin.
SHOT DIRECTLY IN THE HEART.
Ethyl alcohol causes damage to the cardiovascular system, including alcoholic hypertension and myocardial damage. Significant changes are noticed in the electrocardiograms of people who poison themselves with alcohol. Interruptions in cardiac activity (arrhythmia) become common.
Hypertension in drinkers occurs as a result of dysregulation of vascular tone caused by the toxic effect of ethyl alcohol on various parts of the nervous system.
The basis of alcoholic damage to the heart muscle is the direct toxic effect of alcohol on the myocardium. The resulting gross disturbances of interstitial metabolism lead to the development of focal and diffuse myocardial dystrophy, manifested by cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure.
The insidious effect of alcohol on the cardiovascular system also lies in the fact that a young person’s body has a significant, approximately 10-fold supply of capillaries; therefore, in youth, blood supply disorders do not appear as clearly as in later years. However, with age, the supply of capillaries is depleted, and the consequences of drinking alcohol in youth become more noticeable.
AN EASY WAY TO DESTROY YOUR STOMACH...
Ethanol causes a burn to the walls of the esophagus and stomach. In this case, a white coating forms on the walls of the stomach, similar to the white of a boiled egg. It takes considerable time for dead tissue to regenerate.
Even small doses of ethyl alcohol irritate the glands located in the wall of the stomach and producing gastric juice. At first they secrete too much mucus, and then they become exhausted and atrophy.
Digestion in the stomach becomes inadequate, food stagnates or, undigested, enters the intestines. Gastritis occurs, which, if its cause is not eliminated and not seriously treated, can develop into stomach cancer.
…AND GET DIABETES
Profound changes also take place in the pancreas, which explains drinkers’ frequent complaints of poor digestion and severe abdominal pain. Ethanol inhibits the release of digestive enzymes from the pancreas, which prevents the breakdown of nutrients into molecules suitable for feeding the body's cells.
By damaging the cells of the inner surface of the stomach and pancreas, ethanol inhibits the absorption of nutrients, and makes the transfer of some substances into the blood completely impossible.
Due to the death of special cells located in the pancreas and producing insulin, diabetes mellitus develops. Poor digestion and sharp abdominal pain are signs of pancreatitis, inflammation of the pancreas. Pancreatitis and diabetes due to alcohol are usually irreversible phenomena, which is why people are doomed to constant pain and illness.
BURIED ALIVE LIVER
Passing through the liver barrier, ethyl alcohol has a detrimental effect on liver cells, which die under its influence. In their place, connective tissue, or simply a scar, is formed that does not perform liver function. The liver's ability to retain vitamin A decreases, and other metabolic disorders are observed.
The liver gradually decreases in size, that is, it shrinks, the liver vessels are compressed, the blood stagnates in them, the pressure increases 3-4 times. And if a vessel ruptures, heavy bleeding begins, from which patients often die.
According to WHO, about 80% of patients die within a year after the first bleeding. The changes described above are called cirrhosis of the liver. By the way, the level of alcoholism in a particular country is determined by the number of patients with cirrhosis.
Alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver is one of the most severe and hopeless human diseases in terms of treatment. Liver cirrhosis as a consequence of alcohol consumption, according to WHO data published in 1982, has become one of the leading causes of death.
KIDNEY STRIKE
Small doses of ethanol increase urination, which is associated with the irritant effect of alcohol on renal tissue, as well as its effect on the cardiovascular system. Long-term alcohol consumption causes chronic kidney diseases - nephritis, kidney stones, pyelitis.
Due to the gradual destruction of kidney tissue cells, the dead cells are replaced by scars, as a result of which the kidneys, like the liver, shrink and decrease in size.
DEGRADATION OF PERSONALITY
When consuming alcohol-containing liquids, not just fleeting character irregularities develop, but deep and lasting changes in character. Willpower weakens early, thoughts lose depth and bypass difficulties instead of resolving them. The circle of interests narrows and only one desire remains - “to have a little drink.”
People have a habit of stopping thinking when the thought process becomes difficult. And as you know, it is at this stage that mental activity begins to be truly fruitful.
When a person begins to be tormented by the problem of making some important decision, he easily succumbs to the temptation to choose alcohol as a means to temporarily “hide” from the problem.
FATAL
Like any other poison, ethanol taken in a certain dose is fatal. Through numerous experiments, the smallest amount of poison (per kilogram of body weight) that is necessary to poison and kill an animal is determined - the so-called toxic equivalent.
From observations of alcohol poisoning, its toxic equivalent for humans was derived. It is equal to 7–8 grams per kilogram of weight. For a person weighing 64 kg, the lethal dose will be equal to 500 grams of pure alcohol. If you do the calculations for 40-proof vodka, it turns out that the lethal dose is 1200 grams.
For children, the lethal dose of alcohol per 1 kilogram of body weight is 4–5 times less.
Those who have decided to quit
Loading...
