Some religions forbid it, some cultures embrace it as part of “you only live once, might as well live happily” doctrine, some political systems provoke it as a strong tactic of controlling the nation. I was brought-up in a system like that. With scarcity of everything but alcohol which was meant to get people drunk. It wasn’t subtle nor elegant; it was strong to numb people-up so they wouldn’t think about freedom. Thankfully there were plenty of independent people who didn’t fall for it. Poland was the first Eastern European country to break free from the Soviet Union, a move that created a whole new world.

So, how about digging into your digestive track to see what really happens when you drink alcohol? 

Consider these points and become more educated during this 4th of July celebration. As when you know better, you do better…

DON’T DRINK ON AN EMPTY STOMACH!

Most of the alcohol you drink is absorbed through the small intestine. From there it flows through a large blood vessel into your liver. If you drink your alcohol on an empty stomach, about 20% gets absorbed right through the walls of the stomach and reaches your blood and your brain within minutes.  

 ENJOY A SMALL AMOUNT 

 The normal, healthy liver can process about 1/2 ounce of pure alcohol (that’s 6 to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1 ounce of spirits) in an hour. The rest flows on to your heart.

 Most people need an hour to metabolize this amount of alcohol. But some people have alcohol circulating in their blood for up to three hours after taking a drink.  

RESPECT YOUR HEART

Alcohol reduces your heart muscle contractions. You pump out slightly less blood, blood vessels all over your body relax, and your blood pressure goes down temporarily. A weakened heart droops and stretches and cannot contract effectively. As a result, it cannot pump enough blood to sufficiently nourish the organs. 

Both binge drinking and long-term drinking can affect how quickly a heart beats. The heart depends on an internal pacemaker system to keep it pumping consistently and at the right speed. Alcohol disturbs this pacemaker system and causes the heart to beat too rapidly, or irregularly. These heart rate abnormalities are called arrhythmias. Drinking to excess on a particular occasion, especially when you generally don’t drink, can trigger either of these irregularities.   

RESPECT YOUR BRAIN

Alcohol reduces your brain’s production of antidiuretic hormones, which keep you from making too much urine. You may lose lots of liquid, vitamins, and minerals. Excessive drinking leads to dying of the brain cells! When I was a teen we had a presentation at school that referred to alcohol causing scrambled eggs out of brain cells. That stuck with me, especially as I began to witness that effect on some of my friends who have become alcoholics.

RESPECT YOUR LIVER  

….more than 2 million Americans suffer from liver disease caused by alcohol!  

By performing more than 500 different functions, the liver is essential to our health. Its primary role is to filter all the blood in our bodies by breaking down and eliminating toxins and storing excess blood sugar. It also produces enzymes that break down fats, manufactures proteins that regulate blood clotting, and stores a number of essential vitamins and minerals. 

Liver keeps us alive by enabling us to digest food, absorb nutrients, control infections, and get rid of toxic substances in our bodies.

To the human body, alcohol is a toxin that is broken down by the liver as the body begins the process of getting rid of these foreign components. However, chronic heavy drinking causes the liver to become fatty. This condition makes the liver more vulnerable to dangerous inflammation, such as alcoholic hepatitis, and its associated complications. 

With continued drinking, persistent inflammation causes fibrous tissue to increase in the liver, which prevents the necessary blood supply from reaching the liver cells.

Without the oxygen and other nutrients supplied by this blood, the liver cells eventually die and are replaced with scar tissue, creating a condition known as cirrhosis. In mild cases, the liver can actually make repairs and continue to function. However, advanced cirrhosis causes continued deterioration and liver failure.

DON’T DRINK A LOT AT ONCE

When you consume a lot of alcohol at the time, your body will try to clear it out of the body faster than the liver, kidneys or urine can handle and that is usually the time that most people start to vomit. If this did not happen the alcohol would poison us.  In the long run, the heavy drinking leads to an irreversible liver cirrhosis, the dying of the liver and dying of the brain cells. 

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

The hotter your body, the drunker you’ll feel. Alcohol impairs your ability to control your body temperature. 

ALCOHOL IS METABOLIZED IN OUR BODY LIKE FAT 

Using an enzyme known as alcohol dehydrogenase, the liver converts the metabolic by-products of alcohol into fatty acids. These may be stored in the liver or transported for storage in other tissues. 

BE RESPECTFUL TO YOUR BODY. IF YOU CHOOSE TO DRINK, DRINK RESPONSIBLY!

And remember, an innocent beer might not be so innocent if you are gluten sensitive. 

Happy 4th of July!

Joanna