What Alcohol Does to Your Body

TO UNDERSTAND how alcohol affects your body, you need to know something about the cells and organic systems of the human body. These cells and organs do not regularly work at full capacity. They have what some term a “functional reserve,” available for use when your body is put under extra stress. Thus, one of your kidneys can be completely removed without its interfering with a normal life. Even with about 90 percent of a normal liver removed, or a considerable portion of the brain taken out, a person can continue to perform the normal activities of life.

Because of this “functional reserve” you can put your body under considerable stress by drinking an excess of alcohol without your even being aware of what is going on inside. But you ought to know.

When a cell is put under stress, it enlarges. If the stress is too great for too long, the cell will eventually burst and die. But if the stress is removed in time, the cell may gradually recover its normal size and function. It is only when you have used up the reserve, when too many cells have been damaged or killed, that you will be forced to admit that you are sick and have gone too far over too long a period of time.

For many somewhat heavy drinkers, there is no major health collapse. But there may be a number of alcohol-related sicknesses that the person does not realize result from his drinking habits. His death may appear to be due to some common sickness. Yet, death may come perhaps 10 years before that of others his own age in the community.

Do you use alcoholic drinks? If so, how much do you drink? How much can a person drink without its doing harm to him?

Safe Level of Drinking

The question as to how much alcohol the human body can cope with is very complex. Each person’s capacity is different. What causes no problem for one person may be too much for another. Some persons experience adverse effects when they consume any alcohol at all.

Authorities differ as to what they classify as a “risk level” in regard to daily consumption. However, many of them agree that the body of a normal healthy adult can absorb and break down only one ouncea (one shot) of spirits or two ounces of fortified wine or four ounces of table wine or eight to ten ounces of beer in one hour. Other authorities say that two hours must be allowed. Of course, not everyone is healthy, and that can change the picture considerably.

If a person consumes more alcohol than his body can break down, his blood-alcohol level rises. At first he may feel relaxed, but an increase of alcohol in the bloodstream causes loss of good judgment and of emotional control. Then muscle coordination becomes impaired, and even more serious problems follow.

Most teen-agers would be affected adversely if they tried to imitate the drinking done by average adults. Because their body build is not that of an adult, they usually experience the sedative effects of alcohol more rapidly and to a greater extent. Likewise, because of the state of development of a young person’s emotions, these quickly give evidence of intoxication and he may very easily give in to sexual urges.

Can it be assumed, though, that no harm will result to an adult so long as he spreads his drinks out over a period of time, consuming no more per hour than his body can handle? That does not necessarily hold true. There is a limit to what a person’s body can safely handle in a day. What is that limit?

The World Health Organization (WHO) and medical literature give a wide variety of figures. For example, one report from the WHO labeled 120 grams of alcohol (12 average-sized drinks) as “excessive consumption.” Two years later a WHO report said that the danger level might be at less than half that figure. And a study in France has indicated that women who take even one normal-sized alcoholic drink (of 10 grams of alcohol) on a daily basis are more likely to suffer from cirrhosis of the liver than are nondrinkers, and that two drinks daily can have damaging effects on men.

Why the difference in figures? For one thing, the tests were run with different groups of people. Individuals differ. Not everyone can tolerate the same amount of alcohol. It would be foolish to drink a certain amount each day just because that is what people “are supposed to be able to drink.”

Remember, it is your health that is at stake. If your drinking subjects your body to excessive stress on a regular basis, you are destroying your “functional reserve.” That means that you are headed for trouble.

The Bible plainly condemns drunkenness. (Eph. 5:18; Gal. 5:21) Not only does a drunkard damage his own health and endanger his life; he also puts the lives of others in jeopardy. Additionally, however, the Scriptures warn: “Do not come to be among heavy drinkers of wine.” (Prov. 23:20) The wisdom of that counsel is highlighted by what has been learned about how alcohol abuse affects the various body organs.

Effects You Ought to Know About

If the body is frequently subjected to an overload of alcohol, many parts are affected, and the poisonous effects are cumulative.

LIVER: This organ is one of the body’s principal detoxifiers, neutralizing fumes that we breathe, chemicals from our food and water and from medicine. Drinking too much alcohol not only interferes with that vital work; it adds to the load of chemicals in the body. Furthermore, it reduces the liver’s ability to contribute to the formation of red blood cells, coagulating factors and defense mechanisms against bacteria. Liver damage may result in loss of energy, varicose veins, swelling of the ankles, hormone imbalance, sexual impotence and jaundice, to mention a few.

Normally soft, the liver becomes enlarged and hardens when abused. If drinking stops soon enough, it can return to its normal size. But if heavy drinking has already destroyed a good portion of its cells, it may have shrunk and permanently hardened.

ESOPHAGUS: If the liver is seriously inflamed, pressure on the veins in the digestive tract increases and those located where the esophagus enters the stomach become dilated and thin walled. These easily bleed, sometimes profusely.

STOMACH: While small quantities of alcohol stimulate the secretion of gastric juices, large quantities and strong concentrations of it inhibit their secretion. The stomach becomes inflamed. The surface of the stomach that secretes digestive juices deteriorates and stomach muscles break down. As a result, food does not get sufficiently mixed or chemically broken down. Malnutrition develops, often because the body is not receiving the full benefit from what is eaten, and also because one who drinks excessively satisfies his appetite with alcohol but deprives it of the more necessary food elements.

PANCREAS: The pancreas supplies enzymes to break down food material, as well as insulin to regulate the blood-sugar level. But alcohol excess causes enzymes to attack and kill large portions of the pancreas. As a result, insulin production is reduced, causing mild diabetes, and because of lack of digestive enzymes food is not absorbed properly. An associated danger is that one becomes dependent on drugs (analgesics) because of the pain caused.

HEART AND BLOOD CIRCULATION: Hypertension (high blood pressure) and abnormalities of heart rhythm also develop with excessive drinking. As the heart cells enlarge, the whole heart becomes bigger. The heart valves then fail to function properly, its muscle action weakens and blood circulation is impaired. The entire body is deprived of proper nourishment, and toxins accumulate. The individual so afflicted becomes disposed to heart attacks and strokes.

LUNGS: Chronic bronchitis and pneumonia are common among alcohol abusers. Tuberculosis is a common complication, thought to be due to poor nutrition and a greater susceptibility to lung infections. One study showed that at least 50 percent of those with tuberculosis were alcoholics.

KIDNEYS: The overconsumption of alcohol causes the blood vessels in the kidneys to dilate. The amount of urine discharged becomes excessive, depriving the body of needed fluids.

BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM: Excesses of alcohol are particularly damaging to the nervous system. The brain, like other organs, has a large “functional reserve,” so many cells may be destroyed without the appearance of disturbing symptoms. But, unlike what happens to other organs, the damage here may be permanent. Brain scanners have shown that, not only alcoholics, but social drinkers who have more than they ought to, experience an actual shrinkage of the brain.

Alcohol’s effect on the nervous system may become manifest in loss of memory. A person may remember drinking, but the next morning he cannot recall how he got home or where he parked his car. Shakiness and lack of muscle coordination, not merely for a few hours, but on a prolonged basis give further evidence that the nervous system is being impaired.

Some people boast about their ability to “hold their liquor.” They may drink heavily but appear to be sober. What has really happened? It is not necessarily that the drinker can consume more with less damage. Rather, he has developed only a seeming tolerance for the alcohol and as a result is consuming more before his brain and the nervous system sound a warning. At the same time, if the liver has been damaged due to excessive drinking, the body’s ability to handle the alcohol has actually diminished. Continued drinking under these circumstances results in increased damage to his entire system. It is nothing to brag about.

The brain and the nervous system also control breathing. So there is severe danger in drinking bouts. When the blood-alcohol level goes too high, vital functions of the body may cease.

Because of the effect of excess alcohol on the brain, the personality of the one who drinks too heavily is adversely affected. This does not await the time when his health has deteriorated to the extent that he seeks medical help. Long before that a man may mistreat his wife physically and he may lose several jobs because of unreliable or irrational behavior.

Knowing what happens inside a person’s body when he drinks too much, and what others see happening to his personality, ought to make any sensible person stop and take a serious look at his own drinking habits. Why wait until your “functional reserve” is all gone before you try to turn back?

Mixing Alcohol with Drugs

The risk of serious organ damage is greatly increased when alcohol is taken with drugs, even such common household drugs as aspirin and antihistamines. One medical study showed that more than 50 of the 100 most often prescribed drugs contain at least one ingredient known to react unfavorably with alcohol. At least one girl, Karen Quinlan in the United States, has been in a coma for a number of years because of having mixed alcohol with tranquilizers.

It is not that a new toxic element develops when two toxic ingredients are mixed, but in many cases one ingredient or the other increases in strength many times when the wrong combination is used. The already weakened liver is faced with a potency far beyond what it can safely handle without further damage to itself.

How to Cope with Alcohol Abuse

The way to cope with alcohol abuse is not by resorting to such things as eating potato chips or eggs to slow down the absorption rate. Drinking cream before an alcoholic binge is not the solution. It is true that slowing down the absorption rate may keep you from becoming tipsy, but you may still be drinking too much.

The answer does not lie in taking a cold shower, drinking black coffee, going out into the cool air, exercising or going for a swim to “liven oneself up.” Such activities may change the way one feels, but they do not change the blood-alcohol level of the body or slow down the cell damage.

What is really needed is to be moderate in your use of alcoholic drinks, if you use them at all. What can help you to do that?

[Footnotes]

[Diagram on page 9]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

What happens when you drink too much too often?

HEART

Circulation impaired

LIVER

Toxins accumulate

KIDNEYS

Excessive urination; needed fluids drained from the body

BRAIN

Loss of memory; adverse effects on personality

ESOPHAGUS

Danger of bleeding

LUNGS

50% of TB patients are alcoholics

STOMACH

Digestion impaired

PANCREAS

Partially destroyed