3 Ways Alcohol Abuse Can Be Detrimental To Your Health

While it’s generally okay to drink conservative amounts of alcohol on an occasional basis, prolonged or excessive use of alcohol can have some very damaging effects on your health. Not only can your physical health be compromised by drinking too much alcohol, but your mental and emotional health can also be harmed. To show you exactly how this is done, and what really is happening inside your body when you drink, here are three ways alcohol abuse can be detrimental to your health.

Effects On Your Brain

Whether you’ve been drinking a lot throughout a particular day or you’ve had a history of heavy drinking over the span of years, the effect of this alcohol consumption on your brain can be damaging. According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, drinking alcohol can make the communication pathways of your brain become compromised. Not only can this make your brain work differently than normal, but the actual appearance of your brain can become permanently changed. This can affect things like your cognitive abilities, your mood, your memory, your personality, and your overall behavior and coordination.

Inflammation Of Organs

By exposing your body to large amounts of alcohol, different organs or glands can become inflamed, which can cause them to stop working how they should. According to Healthline.com, the most common areas of the body to become inflamed after prolonged alcohol abuse are the liver and pancreas. When your pancreas becomes inflamed, it can cause major problems with your digestive system. And because your liver is meant to remove harmful substances from your body, if this organ becomes compromised, your body will have a much harder time removing poisons and toxins from your body, which could cause you other major medical problems.

Harm to Your Heart

One of the most important parts of your body is your heart. When you have a problem with your heart, it often reverberates to other parts of your body as well. That’s why having harm to your heart as a result of alcohol abuse is so dangerous. According to American Addiction Centers, drinking alcohol can cause you to have an irregular heartbeat, higher blood pressure, and an increased risk of a stroke or heart attack. So if you currently have problems with your heart unassociated with alcohol addiction, do your body a favor and keep your alcohol intake to a minimum.

While nothing good can come from drinking too much alcohol, there is an untold amount of harm that can result from excessive drinking, either in one sitting or throughout your lifetime. So to keep your body healthy and strong, do what you can to limit your drinking to a safe level. If you or someone you know has problems with alcohol addiction, it might be worth looking into a rehabilitation program such as West Coast Recovery Centers. They can provide 24-hour support as well as create a personalized program for recovery as they understand that addiction develops differently from person to person.

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