HEALTH - EFFECTS AND CONSEQUENCES
Alcohol is a drug and when we drink alcohol it is absorbed into the bloodstream
relatively quickly, travels rapidly throughout the body and begins to affect all the cells.
Our liver is designed to act as a filtering system and remove the toxins from the alcohol.
However it can only process a limited amount at a time – one unit an hour - and as
alcohol intake increases and exceeds recommended amounts our health starts to suffer.
In the short term excessive drinking can cause a range of physical and mental problems
from nausea, hangovers and accidents to insomnia, depression and suicide. On a social
level it can result in criminal damage, unwanted pregnancy and domestic violence.Drinking
to excess over a number of years will damage the liver and stomach causing illnesses
which can prove fatal.
Alcohol is packed full of calories which goes directly into the bloodstream resulting in
heavy drinkers putting on weight yet suffering from malnourishment as they replace food
with alcohol and don’t get essential nutrients and vitamins.
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