Alcohol Effects On The Body

When alcohol gets into your system, it is immediately decomposed in several substances, in the stomach and the liver. These substances then reach the bloodstream and other organs too, including the brain.

Instant effects of alcohol

Why does alcohol make you lose your senses? In first instance, when an alcoholic beverage reaches your stomach, the alcohol in it goes through several chemical changes, thanks to the action of certain proteins that are present in the gastric tract and the liver. These proteins are known as enzymes, and what they do is that they chemically modify alcohol, transforming it into different substances.

Acetaldehyde is the one to blame for the silly behaviors, the excessive laughter, the anger and even the crying, or whichever feelings alcohol gets out of you.

Your genes determine your alcohol tolerance

More than 90% of the alcohol you consume in one go is eliminated through urine. This is not a fixed number, though, since it has been seen that alcohol elimination depends on the person’s genes. Are you one of those people that can drink all night and barely feel anything? Or one of those that with just a sip of gin and tonic starts feeling dizzy? 

Asians for example, have a slightly different enzyme that transforms ethanol into aldehyde, compared to the enzyme that Europeans, African or Latin Americans have. This difference reduces tolerance to alcohol in people with Asian descent and causes more intense hangover symptoms.

Alcohol effects have been widely studied by scientists, but they still don’t know with certainty how this toxic substance reaches the brain, crosses the barrier that protects it and alters behaviour. The main hypothesis is that one of the products of the ethanol decomposition, which is acetaldehyde, is the one that causes the so known alcohol intoxication effects on the brain.

Alcoholic brain

Acetaldehyde travels up to the brain by binding to certain substances that are present in the blood. When reaching the brain, acetaldehyde targets specific brain areas, including the cerebellum, the frontal cortex, the limbic system and other areas.

The cerebellum regulates motor coordination. 

The cerebral cortex, which is the outermost region of the brain, is also affected when you drink those sweet delicious Cosmos. This brain region is the one that is in charge of the thinking and rationalization abilities. When it gets disturbed, it switches off and then the person loses control of his or her behavior.

See Also: Worst Complications Of Alcohol Abuse

If you have phoned your ex- under alcohol effects, this is the reason why. When the cortex is no longer functioning properly, you cannot longer make wise decisions and your behavior is based mainly on instinct. 

Feeling Emotional With Alcohol

The limbic system has also something to do with the behavioral changes seen under alcohol effects. This system is in charge of controlling feelings and emotions and when altered, it can enhance certain feelings and suppress others.

From happiness to feeling miserable

When alcohol in the form of aldehyde reaches the limbic area, it promotes feelings of satisfaction, at first, including happiness, excitement and arousal; however, as time goes by, this feelings are replaced by less cheerful emotions and can even lead to a depressive state.  

Memory is also controlled by the limbic system and when an excessive amount of alcohol is consumed, memory mechanisms are severely affected. Most of the times, you cannot recall what happened the night you got drunk, so you have to live with the guilt and trust that your friends are telling you the truth about that blurry night.

More than just a few cocktails…

Chronic alcohol consumption has severe effects on the brain, for sure. It causes neuronal death and the cells that survive, shrink over time. This affects neuronal connections and therefore, a wide range of brain functions, including motor coordination, learning, memory, temperature regulation and mood control, which can lead to depression and anxiety problems.

Alcohol effects on the liver and heart

The liver is the detoxifying organ of the human body. Toxic substances reach the liver, where they suffer changes that allow the body to get rid of them through urine or excrement.

Chronic alcoholics have more liver damage than a casual drinker. This damage can lead to the development of alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis.

In the case of the heart, heartbeats are under the control of a natural pacemaker, which ensures that they occur with the same frequency all the time.

The heart can either start to beat very fast, causing a condition known as tachycardia, or with a desynchronized pace, refer to as arrhythmia.

The terrible hangover

The main hangover symptoms are head and muscle aches, fatigue, nausea, vomit, and dizziness, which have to do with the effects it has on the body. For example, alcohol causes dehydration because it makes us pee a lot. It is a diuretic substance, which induces the production of urine and as so, the constant lose of fluids. It also severely irritates the stomach and causes gut inflammation, promoting nausea and vomit.

Hangover symptoms can last from 8 to 24 hours and unfortunately, there is no other cure to it but to keep hydrated and wait for toxic substances to be eliminated by your body.