The Effects of Alcohol

  

How Alcohol Works

According to World Health Organization (WHO) figures from 2016, 2.3 billion people consume alcohol. In addition, more than half of the world's population consumes alcohol in three regions: the Americas, Europe, and the Western Pacific. Beer is still the most common alcoholic beverage among adults in the United States, with 26.4 gallons (99.9 liters) consumed in 2017, but wine, spirits, and other alcoholic beverages are also popular. Although over 31% of adults are labeled "abstainers," meaning they haven't taken a drink in the previous 12 months, the reality remains that alcohol is an incredibly popular social phenomenon.

If you've ever seen someone who has consumed too much alcohol, you know that it's a drug with a wide range of effects on the body that differ from person to person. Drinkers can be the "life of the party" or they can become melancholy and tired. They may slur their words and have difficulty walking. It all depends on how much alcohol is consumed a person's alcohol history, and personality.

Even if you've noticed the physical and behavioral changes, you may be curious about how alcohol affects the body to achieve those results. What exactly is alcohol? What is the body's reaction to it? What effect does alcohol have on the chemistry of the brain? We'll look at all of the ways that alcohol affects the human body in this post.

Contents

1.  What Is Alcohol?

2.  How Alcohol Enters the Body

3.  How Alcohol Leaves the Body

4.  Blood Alcohol Concentration

5.  How the Body Responds to Alcohol

6.  Alcohol and the Brain

7.  Alcohol and Other Bodily Functions

8.  Alcohol Abuse

9.  Long-term Effects of Drinking

What Is Alcohol? 

Alcohol is available in a variety of forms, including wine, beer, liquor, whiskey, and even moonshine. 

Understanding the nature of alcohol as a chemical is helpful in understanding its effects on the body, so let's have a look.

Here are several facts:

• Alcohol is a clear liquid at room temperature.
• Alcohol is less dense and evaporates at a lower temperature than water. (This property allows it to be distilled, by heating a water and alcohol mixture, the alcohol evaporates first).
• Alcohol dissolves easily in water.
• Alcohol is so flammable, it can be used as a fuel.

Alcohol can be made by three different methods:

• Fermentation of fruit or grain mixtures. This is often followed by the distillation of fermented fruit or grain mixtures (Spirits such as whiskey, rum, vodka, and gin are distilled.)
• Chemical modification of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, or coal (industrial alcohol)
• Chemical combination of hydrogen with carbon monoxide (methanol or wood alcohol)

Ethyl alcohol, sometimes known as ethanol, is in the form of alcohol present in alcoholic beverages. Ethanol has the molecular structure C2H6O. It's also known as CH3CH2OH and C2H5OH.

C stands for carbon, H for hydrogen, and O for oxygen in this structure. The OH (O-H) group on the molecule is responsible for the alcohol's chemical characteristics. When we mention "alcohol" in this article, we're referring to ethanol.

Most drinks do not contain pure alcohol; yet, consuming pure alcohol can be fatal because merely a few ounces of pure alcohol can swiftly boost blood alcohol levels into the danger zone. The ethanol concentration (by volume) in various types of beverages is as follows:

• Beer= 4 to 6 percent (average of about 4.5 percent)
• Wine= 7 to 15 percent (average of about 11 percent)
• Champagne= 8 to 14 percent (average of about 12 percent)

    • 40% to 95% distilled spirits (e.g., rum, gin, vodka, whiskey). The majority of spirits sold in liquor stores have a 40% alcohol content. In liquor stores, you can get rum and whiskey with high concentrations (75 to 90 percent). Illegally manufactured and/or purchased extremely concentrated variants of whiskey (i.e. moonshine) are available.

In most countries, you must be 21 years old or older to purchase alcoholic beverages, and offering or selling alcoholic beverages to minors is punishable.

How Alcohol Enters the Body 

When a person drinks an alcoholic beverage, the stomach absorbs around 20% of the alcohol; the remainder is absorbed through the intestines.

When a person drinks an alcoholic beverage, the stomach absorbs around 20% of the alcohol and the small intestine absorbs the remaining 80%. The rate at which alcohol is absorbed is determined by numerous factors:

• The drinker's biological sex. Due to differences in body composition, alcohol is processed differently in men and women..

• The alcoholic content of the beverage. The faster the absorption, the higher the concentration.

• The type of beverage. Carbonated drinks have a tendency to hasten the absorption of alcohol.

• Whether or not the stomach is full. Alcohol absorption is slowed by food in the stomach.

The alcohol enters the bloodstream after absorption and dissolves in the blood's water. The alcohol is carried throughout the body by the blood. The alcohol in the blood penetrates and dissolves in the water within each human tissue (except fat tissue, as alcohol cannot dissolve in fat). Alcohol has an effect on the body once it enters the tissues. The observed effects are directly proportional to the person's blood alcohol content (BAC), which is proportional to the amount of alcohol drank. Within 20 minutes of drinking, a person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) might skyrocket.

Alcohol in Men vs. Women

When men and women of the same height, weight, and build are compared, men have more muscle and less fat. A given dose or amount of alcohol will be diluted more in a male than in a woman because muscle tissue contains more water than fat tissue. As a result, a woman's blood alcohol content from that dose will be higher than a man's, and she will feel the effects of that dose of alcohol sooner than a man.

How Alcohol Leaves the Body

Alcohol departs the body in three ways after it is taken into the bloodstream:

• The kidneys eliminate 5 percent of alcohol in the urine.
• The lungs exhale 5 percent of alcohol, which can be detected by breathalyzer devices.
• The liver chemically breaks down the remaining alcohol into acetic acid.

An average person can eliminate 0.5 ounces (15 ml) of alcohol every hour as a rule of thumb. To remove the alcohol from a 12 ounce (355 ml) can of beer, would take around one hour.

When the body absorbs alcohol quicker than it can expel it, the BAC rises. Because the body can only eliminate around one dose of alcohol per hour, drinking numerous drinks in an hour can significantly raise your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) compared to drinking one drink over an hour or more.

The liver is where ethanol is broken down, or oxidized. Alcohol dehydrogenase, a liver enzyme, converts ethanol to acetaldehyde by stripping electrons from it. In the presence of oxygen, another enzyme called aldehyde dehydrogenase transforms acetaldehyde to acetic acid, the primary component of vinegar. Acetic acid has the following chemical structure: CH3COOH.

Two protons and two electrons are created when ethanol is converted to acetic acid. Acetic acid can be converted to fatty acids or broken down further into carbon dioxide and water.

Blood Alcohol Concentration 

Someone with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.03 to 0.12% is likely to have poor judgment and be more impulsive than someone who is sober.

If you've ever seen someone who has consumed too much alcohol, you've definitely seen noticeable differences in their performance and demeanor. The body reacts to alcohol in stages, each of which corresponds to a rise in blood alcohol levels.

The percentage of alcohol in a person's bloodstream is referred to as blood alcohol concentration (BAC). A BAC of.10 percent indicates that one part alcohol per 1,000 parts of blood is present in a person's blood supply. BAC is affected by a variety of factors, including body weight, biological sex, the number of beverages drank (and how quickly), drugs, and more. The body, however, reacts to the amount of alcohol in the blood:

Euphoria (BAC = 0.03 to 0.12 percent)

• They may become more self-confident or daring.
• Their attention span may shorten.
• They may look flushed.
• Their judgment may be skewed and they may be more impulsive; they may speak the first thing that comes to mind rather than the most appropriate response to the scenario.
• They may have trouble with fine movements, such as writing or signing their name.

Excitement (BAC = 0.09 to 0.25 percent)

• They could become sleepy.
• They might have trouble understanding or remembering things (even recent events).
• They might not react to situations as quickly.
• Their body movements may become uncoordinated.
• They may begin to lose their balance easily.
• Their vision could become blurry.
• They may have trouble sensing things (hearing, tasting, feeling, etc.).

Confusion (BAC = 0.18 to 0.30 percent)

• They are likely to be confused — they may not know where they are or what they are doing.
• They may be dizzy and stagger on their feet.
• They might be highly emotional, aggressive, withdrawn, or overly affectionate.
• They may not see clearly.
• They may be sleepy.
• They likely have slurred speech.
• They may have uncoordinated movements (trouble catching an object thrown at them).
• They may not feel pain as readily as a sober person.

Stupor (BAC = 0.25 to 0.4 percent)

• They may barely be able to move at all.
• They may not be able to respond to stimuli.
• They may be unable to stand or walk.
• They may vomit.
• They may lapse in and out of consciousness.

Coma (BAC = 0.35 to 0.50 percent)

• They are unconscious.
• Their reflexes are depressed (i.e. their pupils do not respond appropriately to changes in light).
• Their skin feels cool to the touch (lower-than-normal body temperature).
• Their breathing slows and becomes more shallow.
• Their heart rate may slow.
• Their life could be in danger.

Death (BAC more than 0.50 percent)

• The person usually stops breathing and dies.

How the Body Responds to Alcohol

Alcohol affects the nerve cells in the brain predominantly. Alcohol disrupts communication between nerve cells and all other cells by reducing excitatory nerve route activity while enhancing inhibitory nerve pathway activity.

The ability of alcohol (and inhaled anesthetics) to amplify the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, for example, is discussed in the University of Chicago Medical Center: Alcohol and Anesthetic Actions. Sluggishness is a common side effect of increasing an inhibitor, and it's similar to what you'd notice in an intoxicated person. Alcohol not only strengthens an inhibitor, but it also weakens glutamine, an excitatory neurotransmitter. Sluggishness is caused by dampening the impact of an excitatory neurotransmitter. This is accomplished by alcohol interacting with receptors on receiving cells in these routes.

Alcohol has an effect on both higher and lower-order brain areas. The same BAC does not affect all of the centers equally; higher-order centers are more sensitive than lower-order centers. As the BAC rises, it affects more and more areas of the brain.

The order in which alcohol affects the various brain centers is as follows:

1.  Cerebral cortex

2.  Limbic system

3.  Cerebellum

4.  Hypothalamus and pituitary gland

5.  Medulla (brain stem)

How Nerve Cells Talk

Nerve cells communicate with one another and with other cells (such as muscle or gland cells) through chemical messengers. Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers that carry these messages. An electrical signal goes down one nerve cell, causing the neurotransmitter to be released into the synapse, a small space between cells. The neurotransmitter crosses the gap, attaches to a receptor protein on the receiving cell membrane, and induces a change in the receiving cell (electrical, chemical, or mechanical). Like a lock and key, the neurotransmitter and receptor are unique to each other. Neurotransmitters can either excite the receiving cell, causing a reaction or inhibit the receiving cell, preventing the response from occurring.

Alcohol and the Brain: 

Alcohol affects the parts of the brain that control emotions like anger and aggression, which can have negative consequences.

The cerebral cortex is the brain's uppermost layer. The cortex is responsible for processing information from your senses, consciousness (in collaboration with the basal ganglia), initiating most voluntary muscular movements, and influencing lower-order brain areas. Alcohol has the following effects on the cortex:

• Depresses the behavioral inhibitory centers: The person becomes more talkative, more self-confident, and less socially inhibited.
• Slows down the processing of information from the senses: The person has trouble seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and tasting also, the threshold for pain is raised.
• Inhibits thought processes: The person does not use good judgment or think clearly.

These effects get more pronounced as the BAC increases.

The limbic system is made up of the hippocampus and septal portions of the brain. Emotions and memory are controlled by the limbic system. As a result of the effects of alcohol on this system, the person experiences increased emotional states (anger, aggression, withdrawal) as well as memory loss.

The cerebellum is in charge of coordinating muscle movement. Muscle movement is triggered by brain impulses that begin in the cerebral cortex's motor centers and travel to the muscles via the medulla and spinal cord. Nerve impulses from the cerebellum alter nerve signals as they move through the medulla. The cerebellum is in charge of fine motor movements. If your cerebellum were not operating, you could typically touch your finger to your nose in one smooth motion with your eyes closed; but, the move would be exceedingly wobbly or jerky if your cerebellum was not functional. Muscle movements become uncoordinated as alcohol affects the cerebellum.

The cerebellum not only controls voluntary muscle movements but also coordinates tiny muscle movements that help you keep your equilibrium. As a result of alcohol's effect on the cerebellum, a person's equilibrium may be affected often. This guy may be classified as "falling down intoxicated" at this point.

The hypothalamus is a brain area that coordinates many chemical or endocrine functions (secretions of sex, thyroid, and growth hormones) through chemical and nerve impulse actions on the pituitary gland, and controls and influences many automatic functions of the brain through actions on the medulla. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which control sexual behavior and urinary excretion, have two distinct effects on alcohol consumption.

The nerve centers in the hypothalamus that control sexual arousal and performance are depressed by alcohol. Sexual behavior increases as BAC rises, but sexual performance falls.

Anti-diuretic hormone (ADH), which operates on the kidney to reabsorb water, is likewise inhibited by excessive drinking. Alcohol reduces the circulation levels of ADH by acting on the hypothalamus/pituitary. When ADH levels fall, the kidneys do not reabsorb as much water and generate more urine as a result.

All involuntary body functions, including respiration, heart rate, temperature, and consciousness, are controlled or influenced by the medulla, or brain stem. As the BAC rises, alcohol begins to affect upper centers in the medulla, such as the reticular formation, causing a person to become tired and maybe unconscious. If the BAC rises to the point where it affects the breathing, heart rate, and temperature centers, a person will breathe slowly or stop breathing entirely, and blood pressure and body temperature will fall. These conditions have the potential to be lethal.

Alcohol and Other Bodily Functions

Aside from the brain, alcohol can have an impact on the following body functions:

• Irritates the linings of the stomach and intestine: This can lead to vomiting.
• Increases blood flow to the stomach and intestines: This increases secretions by these organs, most notably stomach acid secretion.
•  Increases blood flow to the skin, causing sweating and a flushed appearance. Sweating produces a loss of body heat, and the person's body temperature may drop below average.

• Reduces blood supply to muscles: This can cause muscle aches, especially when a person is recovering from alcohol abuse (the "hangover").

All of the alcohol's effects continue until the ingested alcohol is eliminated by the body.

Alcohol Abuse

According to WHO's 2018 Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health, an estimated 237 million men and 46 million women worldwide have an alcohol-use problem.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic relapsing brain disease in which the affected person uses alcohol compulsively, loses control over their alcohol intake, and has a negative emotional state when they aren't drinking. In the United States, approximately 15.1 million adults ages 18 and older (6.2 percent of this age group) had AUD. There are 9.8 million guys in this group. Alcohol abuse cost the United States $249 billion in 2010.

Alcohol abuse (drinking to the point where it causes recurrent and significant life problems, and alcohol dependence, i.e. the inability to stop drinking) has increased by a greater percentage in recent years, according to research, particularly among women, racial minorities, older adults, and people from lower socioeconomic classes. How does the human body react or adapt to continued alcohol exposure? The following changes occur as a result of the body's greater tolerance to alcohol: An increase in level of liver's enzymes that are used to break down alcohol

• Increase in activity of brain and nervous-system neurons

The conduct of a person changes as a result of these biological adaptations. Long-term alcohol consumption raises the levels of alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase in the liver. This implies the body becomes more efficient at removing high levels of alcohol from the bloodstream. However, this means that the person will need to consume more alcohol to achieve the same effects as previously, which will lead to increased drinking and addiction.

To compensate for the inhibitory effects of alcohol, nerve cells' normal chemical and electrical processes increase. This increased neuronal activity allows people to operate normally when their blood alcohol content is high, but it also makes them irritated when they aren't drinking. Additionally, the increased neuronal activity may cause a desire for alcohol. When alcohol is discontinued, increased nerve activity almost likely contributes to hallucinations and convulsions (e.g. delirium tremens), making it difficult to overcome alcohol misuse and dependency.

Long-term Effects of Drinking

In addition to the adaptations, long-term alcohol use has a number of negative bodily consequences:

• The increased activity in the liver causes cell death and hardening of the tissue (cirrhosis of the liver).
• The brain cells in various centers die, thereby reducing the total brain mass.
• Stomach and intestinal ulcers can form because the constant alcohol use irritates and degrades the linings of these organs.
• Blood pressure increases as the heart compensate for the initially reduced blood pressure caused by alcohol.
• Male sex-cell (sperm) production decreases because of decreased sex-hormone secretion from the hypothalamus/pituitary and, possibly, direct effects of alcohol on the testes.
• Poor nutrition decreases levels of iron and vitamin B, leading to anemia.
• Because alcoholics lose balance and fall more often, they suffer more often from bruises and broken bones; this is especially true as they get older.

Finally, alcoholism and addiction result in emotional and social issues. Alcoholics can become worried, depressed, and even suicidal as a result of the limbic system's emotional centers being affected by alcohol. Alcohol's emotional and physical impacts can lead to marriage and family problems, such as domestic violence, as well as work-related issues including excessive absenteeism and poor performance.

While alcoholism has catastrophic consequences for a person's health and social life, it can be treated medically and psychologically. 

For more information on alcohol, treating alcoholism, and related topics, check out the links on the next page.