Download brain and body

Alcohol interferes with the way neurotransmitters in your brain
communicate with each other. This can cause drowsiness, mood
and behavioral changes, depression, anxiety, memory loss, and even seizures. Long-term alcohol use can reduce the size of brain cells and shrink brain
mass; amongst other neurological changes. This can affect motor coordination,
sleep, mood, temperature regulation, and cognitive functions such as learning and
memory.
Alcohol use can cause alcoholic cardiomyopathy also referred
as “sluggish heart”. In cardiomyopathy the heart muscle is so weak that it
is unable to pump blood efficiently through your body, which can lead to organ and
tissue deterioration. Symptoms include shortness of breath, fatigue, irregular
heartbeat, swollen legs and feet, and even heart failure. Binge drinking and
long-term alcohol use can also cause arrhythmias or “irregular heart beat”. This is
often seen in the ER after a holiday of drinking! Alcohol triggers your body to
release stress hormones which constrict your blood vessels and cause your blood
pressure to rise. Heavy drinking can also lead to strokes, high blood pressure, and/
or hypertension.
Long-term drinking can cause cirrhosis, a condition characterized by a
buildup of scar tissue that appears when liver cells die. Continuous drinking
causes fibrous tissue to increase in the liver which limits nutrients and oxygen
from reaching liver cells. Overtime, these cells die and are replaced by scar tissue
which may cause liver deterioration and even failure.
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When you drink alcohol, some of it is absorbed into your bloodstream while the rest continues to travel through your GI tract. Most of it will then
be absorbed by your small intestine into your bloodstream or it can stay in your
stomach and cause irritation. Since alcohol acts as an irritant, it increases the
amount of digestive juice secreted by your stomach lining– chronic irritation can
cause the stomach lining to deteriorate. Continuous alcohol consumption can
cause gastritis, ulcers, and severe bleeding.
Kidneys serve as a filter to your blood—They regulate the
volume and composition of your bodily fluids which include potassium,
sodium, electrolytes, and chloride. Alcohol acts as a diuretic, increasing the
amount of urine leaving, leading to an imbalance of the body’s fluids and
electrolyte levels. These changes can cause severe dehydration.
The pancreas is in charge of sending enzymes out to the small intestine to metabolize food. Alcohol consumption disrupts this process and
causes the pancreas to secrete its digestive juices
internally. This change can cause inflammation and a condition known as
pancreatitis. In chronic alcohol users this condition can cause pancreatic cancer.
Alcohol users may not be able to detect damage until a pancreatitis attack sets off.
Some of the symptoms may include: diarrhea, fever, rapid heart rate, nausea and
vomiting, abdominal pain, and sweating. In severe cases it can lead to blood sugar
problems, improper digestive function, diabetes and even death.
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