Your body sees alcohol as a poison, or at least as something it doesn't actually want inside it.

To fight
back, and sober you up, humans produce an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase

What alcohol can and does do to your brain is affect the way your neurons get their firing
triggers from glutamate. It infiltrates the glutamate receptors in your synapses, hurting their
ability to send off their normal "fire" messages. Alcohol has this impact all across your brain
the parts that control muscles, speech, coordination, judgment, and so on. Keep that in mind the
next time you or someone else claims that they drive, golf, or otherwise perform some task better
with alcohol's help. As Stephen Braun puts it in Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and
Caffeine:
Substances such as cocaine and LSD work like pharmacological scalpels, altering the
functioning of only one or a handful of brain circuits. Alcohol is more like a pharmacological
hand grenade. It affects practically everything around it.


http://lifehacker.com/5684996/what-alcohol-actually-does-to-your-brain-and-body

Toxic
However, drinking more than three drinks a day has been found to have a direct and damaging
effect on the heart. Heavy drinking, particularly over time, can lead to high blood pressure,
alcoholic cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure and stroke. Heavy drinking also puts more fat
into the circulation of the body.
The link between alcohol and cancer is well established, says Cancer Research UK. A study
published in the BMJ this year estimated that alcohol consumption causes at least 13,000
cancer cases in the UK each year - about 9,000 cases in men and 4,000 in women.
Cancer experts say that for every additional 10g per day of alcohol drunk, the risk of breast
cancer increases by approximately 7-12%.
Continue reading the main story
High alcohol intake - the surprises
Digestive problems
Spotty, bloated face
Cellulite
Disrupted sleep
Depression
Short-term memory failure
Reduced fertility
For bowel cancer, previous studies show that increasing alcohol intake by 100g per week
increases the cancer risk by 19%.
A recent report in BioMed Central's Immunology journal found that alcohol impairs the body's
ability to fight off viral infections.
And studies on fertility suggest that even light drinking can make women less likely to conceive
while heavy drinking in men can lower sperm quality and quantity.
Why alcohol has this negative effect on all elements of our health could be down to
acetaldehyde - the product alcohol is broken down into in the body.
Acetaldehyde is toxic and has been shown to damage DNA.

'Clear dose relationship'
Alcohol is a well-established cancer causing agent, he says.
"You cannot get a cancer cell occurring unless DNA is altered. When you drink, the
acetaldehyde is corrupting the DNA of life and puts you on the road to cancer.
"One of most common genetic defects in man is our inability to counteract the toxicity of
alcohol."
Dr Nick Sheron, who runs the liver unit at Southampton General Hospital, says the mechanisms
by which alcohol does damage are not quite so clear cut.
Continue reading the main story
Alcohol intake - the major health risks
Drinking about three drinks per day:
Cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, oesophagus, larynx, breast, liver, colon, rectum
Liver cirrhosis
Essential hypertension
Chronic pancreatitis
"The toxicity of alcohol is complex, but we do know there is a clear dose relationship."
With alcoholic liver disease, the greater the alcohol intake per week the greater the liver
damage and that increases exponentially for someone drinking six to eight bottles or more of
wine in that period, for example.
Over the past 20 to 30 years, Dr Sheron says, deaths from liver disease have increased by
500%, with 85% of those due to alcohol. Only in the last few years has that rise slowed down.
"Alcohol has a bigger impact than smoking on our health because alcohol kills at a younger age.
The average age of death for someone with alcoholic liver disease is their 40s."
'More harmful than heroin or crack'
Alcohol is undoubtedly a public health issue too.
Earlier this year, NHS figures showed that alcohol-related hospital admissions has reached
record levels in 2010. Over a million people were admitted in 2009-10, compared with 945,500
in 2008-09 and 510,800 in 2002-03. Nearly two in three of those cases were men.
At the same time the charity Alcohol Concern predicted the number of admissions would reach
1.5m a year by 2015 and cost the NHS 3.7bn a year.
Last year, a study in The Lancet concluded that alcohol is more harmful than heroin or crack
when the overall dangers to the individual and society are considered.
The study by the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs also ranked alcohol as three times
more harmful than cocaine or tobacco because it is so widely used.
Did you know? There are 16g of alcohol in a 175ml
glass of red or white wine.














Alcohol: A Poison to Your Body and Mind
Before you start on that third beer, rethink what you consider safe alcohol consumption to be. In
this infographic, youll learn about the effects on your body and mind when you drink more than
a sensible amount.
A Drunken Mind
Detrimental Effects on the Brain
Accelerated brain shrinkage.
Muscle movement and coordination issues.
Blackouts, memory loss, and emotional outbursts.
Development of learning disabilities.
The growth of new brain cells is slowed.
Changes in temperature, heart rate, and breathing can lead to unconsciousness and possibly
death.
Possible thiamine deficiency, which affects your cardiovascular and nervous systems.
Suppressed ability to become sexually aroused and perform sexual acts.
Improper sleeping patterns.
Numbness of body as a result of peripheral neuropathy.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
The Center for Disease Control estimates that .5 to 1.5 babies are born with FAS for every 1000
live births.
Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to:
o Inhibited nerve cell growth.
o Instead of proper nerve cell growth, the body could produce alternate cells.
o Possible defects in the formation of axonsthe carriers of brain signals between cells.
o Interference with genes that tell the infants body to make protein and when to stop.
Brain Damage During Child Development
First Trimester
o Detrimental damage to brain development and facial deformities.
Second Trimester
o Reduction in the number of brain cells.
Third Trimester
o Brain cells are killed outright and essential pre-birth brain development is nonexistent.
The Facts
7% of all people with FAS do not have a corpus callosumthe connection between the right and
left sides of the brain.
o This brain defect is 20 times more common in people with FAS than the general
population.
An estimated 4 out of 100 children of heavy drinkers will have full FAS, though birth defects may
still be present.
o Mothers who drink 7 to 14 alcoholic beverages a week will probably not see full fetal
alcohol syndrome in their babies.
o However, a fetus exposed to more than 7 drinks a week is 3 to 5 times more likely to
experience birth defects.
A Toxic Body
Its common knowledge that students will consume alcohol at some point in their college
careers, but what percentage of students actually see injuries as a result of their drinking?
College Drinking Incidents
# of Drinks Imbibed % of Students Drinking % of Students Reporting an Alcohol Related Injury
1 13 2
2 21 7
3 18 12
4 15 16
5 12 16
6 8 15
7 4 9
8 3 7
9+ 5 14
Drinking and Driving
85% of all drunk drivers are binge drinkers.
Age Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities
16 to 20 1,477
25 to 34 3,312
45 to 54 1,493
65 to 74 257
75+ 132
Short-term Alcohol Effects
Light Drinking
o Relaxation
o Sluggish Brain Activity
o Short Attention Span
o Slower Motor Skills
Moderate Drinking
o Slurred Speech
o Emotionally Unpredictable
o Lower Body Temperature
o Sleepiness
Heavy Drinking
o Blackouts
o Alcohol Poisoning
o Possibility of Death
o Impaired Breathing
Long-Term Effects of Alcohol on the Body
Heart and Circulatory System
o Veins constrict resulting in heat loss while the drinker experiences warmth.
o Increased blood pressure and heartbeat speed.
o Eventually can cause cardiomyopathy, heart disease, coronary heart disease, and
cardiac arrest.
o Increased chance of bruising and bleeding.
o Possible blood clots and anemia
o Damaged immune system.
Liver
o Fat metabolizes differently.
o Eventually scars the liver.
o Higher chance of developing hepatitis.
Digestive System
o Ulcers
o Acid Reflux
o Irritation of the pancreas.
o Erosion of stomach lining.
o Bleeding of the intestinal tract.
o Possible stomach cancer.
o Risk of esophageal, mouth, and larynx cancer.
o Low blood sugar and possibly diabetes.
o Could possibly develop malnutrition over time.
Lungs
o Can cause pneumonia, lung collapse, and infections.
o Fluid in the lungs.
Bones
o Joint Inflammation
o Muscle Atrophy
o Can cause osteoporosis from calcium loss.
Skin
o Drains vitamins and minerals necessary for a healthy look.
Kidneys
o Known to cause kidney failure, resulting in death.
Pancreas
o Reduces pancreatic secretion that can eventually cause digestive enzyme leaks, which
will cause the pancreas to eat itself.
How a Hangover Works
A hangover is your bodys way of saying youve poisoned it.
Symptoms:
o Cottonmouth
o Nausea
o Fatigue
o Headache
o Weakened Immune System
Men have more water in their bodies, allowing alcohol to be more diluted and therefore
allowing more alcohol to be consumed.
Sugary drinks can reduce a hangovers effects.
The saying liquor before beer, youre in the clear, is not a valid assumption. Its the amount of
alcohol consumed, not the order in which you drink it.
Having a drink the next morning will only delay your hangover until your BAC returns to 0.
Conclusion
Alcohol has many detrimental effects on the body, most of which you can prevent just by
avoiding drinking altogether. If you do choose to imbibe alcohol, you should forego drinking and
driving, not only for your safety but also for the safety of others. Alcohols damage can be
extensive to your body, wallet, and mind if you arent responsible and careful.