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It is already known that more than occasional alcohol consumption is not a habit encouraged by any health professional. In addition, more and more recent research indicates that even moderate alcohol consumption can have a negative impact on health, despite small amounts and low frequency.
Conversely, excessive and constant alcohol consumption can have truly disastrous consequences on the body’s long-term health. From the organs and organ systems directly involved in the process of metabolizing alcohol to other key structures indirectly related, but with a vital role for the functioning of the body, this type of consumption leaves its mark on health in an extremely pronounced.
Below are four long-term effects of excessive alcohol consumption:
1. Liver diseases
The liver is the organ directly involved in the alcohol metabolism process. At the same time, it is also the organ most prone to cell destruction as a result of excessive consumption.
Excess alcohol found in hepatocytes (liver cells) over a long period of time causes the formation and accumulation of fat, a fact that translates into a chronic inflammatory process (condition also known as hepatic steatosis).
As consumption continues in large and frequent amounts, the liver tissue becomes scarred and gradually loses its normal function. This condition represents a new evolutionary stage and is called liver cirrhosis.
Over time, cirrhosis causes liver failure, with the onset of jaundice, the accumulation of fluid in the abdomen (ascites) and the appearance of gastrointestinal bleeding (esophageal varices). Unfortunately, the only curative treatment for liver cirrhosis is liver transplantation.
2. Cardiovascular diseases
The cardiovascular system, with the heart as its main representative, is another vital target affected by chronic and excessive alcohol consumption. Abuse significantly increases the risk of high blood pressure. It can also cause various structural and functional pathologies of the heart, such as cardiomyopathy and heart failure.
Last but not least, being a well-known major risk factor, alcohol can be responsible for causing fatal stroke and ischemic heart attack (heart attack).
3. Central nervous system disorders
The brain is an extremely sensitive structure to the toxic effects of alcohol caused by its metabolites. Thus, excessive alcohol consumption can irreversibly destroy certain key areas of the brain, predominantly the frontal cortex (responsible for executive functions, motor skills, abstract thinking, creativity and social behavior).
Cognitive deterioration also gradually sets in, with impairment of movement coordination, short-term memory and reasoning (also as a result of damage to the cortex).
Encephalopathies can occur and, in addition, the risk of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke increases exponentially (as was also mentioned in the case of the cardiovascular system).
4. Immune system disorders (immunosuppression)
An extremely dangerous and very little-remembered effect of long-term alcohol consumption is the suppression of the immune system. Due to the direct and repeated toxic action, alcohol consumed in large quantities and with an increased frequency weakens the body’s ability to fight against common infections (viral and bacterial).
Thus, in the case of heavy drinkers, the risk of pneumonia, infections such as tuberculosis, urinary tract infections, septicemia and even certain types of cancer (especially liver, but other areas can also be affected) increases significantly.
Last but not least, chronic alcohol consumption slows down the processes of wound healing and, at the same time, of post-operative recovery.
In conclusion, excessive alcohol consumption over long periods of time has the property of inevitably leading to serious health consequences for the body. Although sometimes the effects are not immediately visible and thus it is difficult to justify the need for abstinence from alcohol, they set in over time and recovery becomes extremely difficult or impossible. In order to prevent these problems, it is essential that each of us adopts a responsible drinking lifestyle.
2023-09-23 10:39:26
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