5 Diseases That Are Linked To Drinking Alcohol
Drinking is something many people enjoy doing, but there have been numerous studies over
the years that have linked alcohol consumption to multiple health concerns.
Today, we're going to explore those afflictions that can be brought on by alcohol.
But before we begin, hit subscribe and click that notification bell as well!
Cancer.
Despite there being some studies that claim a drink every now and then is healthy, a more
recent study says that drinking alcohol can cause up to 7 different kinds of cancer.
You may need a drink after reading this.
The study, published in the journal ADDICTION, found strong evidence that alcohol can actually
cause cancer in several places in your body, The different types of cancers that have been
confirmed in this list include: liver, colon, rectum, female breast, larynx (throat organ),
orolynx (behind the mouth), and esophagus.
The study reports that ‘in the last decade there has been more research, literature,
reviews, and comment on the association of alcohol consumption with cancer.
In some parts of the world the scientific consensus that alcohol causes cancer has already
led to more explicit consideration of cancer risk in policy-making, and programmes to increase
public knowledge of the risks.’
The research also explained that the current estimate of the cancers caused by alcohol
consumption make up for 5.8 percent of all cancer deaths worldwide.
Scary stuff.
The study drew upon research from other institutions like the AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH,
and the INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RESEARCH ON CANCER, and some independent studies.
The team conducted an analysis of every major study that was done over the last decade on
the link between alcohol and cancer.
The good news is that the risks associated with consuming alcohol are reversible.
Some findings with people that quit drinking show a reduction in the effects that could
lead to cancer.
The bad news is that according to JENNIE CONNOR, the lead researcher of the study ‘there
doesn’t seem to be any threshold below which drinking is actually safe with respect to
cancer.’She adds ‘so the straightforward obvious answer to your question is that no
alcohol is safe, and any alcohol increases your risk of some types of cancer.’
In 2013, a study found that even light drinkers still faced an increased risk of certain types
of cancer.
Liver Disease.
The worst part about liver disease and alcohol is that you don't even have to drink all that
much in order to contract it.
According to the U.S. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE, liver disease can start to form
even after chronic, moderate drinking.
Keep in mind however that the more you drink, the more likely you are to contract some thing.
There are a couple of things to think about when association these two, how ever.
For starters, genetics play a huge part in whether or not you develop liver disease.
You might not ever develop any thing if you got lucky in the gene pool.
Others, however, might not be so fortunate.
Women also have a tougher time than men and are more susceptible to afflictions.
Finally, if you mix alcohol and medication, like say Day-Quil, you have a MUCH bigger
chance of getting liver disease.
Some of the first symptoms that indicate you might be developing an issue with your liver:
Low energy.
If you're feeling sluggish or sleeping more often, then you might be developing an issue
with your liver.
Loss of appetite.
If you're eating less, then there might be a chance you're getting closer to issues with
your liver.
Stomach pain and Nausea.
The appearance of small, spider-like blood vessels on the skin.
Those are just some of the preliminary symptoms, too.
There are even more severe symptoms that, if you're experiencing them, you should definitely
see a doctor.
Here they are:
Fluid buildup in the legs and abdomen.
Yellow skin.
Red Palms.
Bruising.
Difficulty thinking.
Impotence or shrinking testicles in men.
These symptoms might come all at once, or they might appear over time.
Keep in mind that liver diseases usually start out as fatty afflictions, then after drinking
a lot, they turn into alcoholic hepatitis.
Finally, they usually end with Alcoholic cirrhosis, which we'll touch on briefly before moving
on.
Alcoholic Cirrhosis.
This disease is deadly.
Period.
According to DRUG REHAB.COM, "Liver cirrhosis is responsible for a large portion of the
roughly 40,000 deaths caused by chronic liver disease each year".
And obviously, it's a disease associated with heavy, HEAVY drinking.
Essentially, when you have Alcoholic Cirrhosis, your liver is scarred.
While your liver can usually regenerate damaged tissue, it's unable to do anything with scarring.
That's when the real problems start.
The scarring on your liver stops blood from flowing through the liver.
That, in turn, disrupts your liver's ability to process all the good things your body needs–
such as nutrients and hormones.
You get enough scar tissue and eventually, you'll find that your liver just doesn't work
any more.
Which, as you probably have guessed, is a really bad thing.
The worst thing about this awful affliction– you don't even need to drink that much, or
that often, to contract it.
According to DRUG REHAB.COM: "A person may develop cirrhosis after averaging six drinks
per day for eight years or after averaging two drinks per day for 15 years."
This sickness might make you feel the effects of malnutrition because the liver isn't processing
substances properly.
Fluid might build up in the abdomen, you might be in pain, you might experience hernias.
You might also experience:
High blood pressure
Diabetes
Kidney failure
Gallstones
Liver cancer
Hepatic encephalopathy (confused thinking and behavior changes)
Variceal bleeding (a type of internal bleeding).
And that about wraps it up for our liver.
Honestly, we think we need a drink of water after this.
Brain Damage.
Being the health conscious, genius person that you are, you obviously know that the
most important part of the body is the brain.
Besides eventual alcoholism, which is a constant craving for the stuff, the NATIONAL INSTITUTE
ON ALCOHOLISM AND ALCOHOL ABUSE says that you might experience short term memory loss
and even some issues processing visual information.
In fact, your brain might also shrink.
You heard us right, you might just get a smaller brain if you drink too much.
This is in part because when you drink, alcohol kills the grey brain cells in your head that
are responsible for spatial processing.
Alcohol also kills white brain cells, which help people process visual cues.
Some can get cured through drinking less, how ever, some afflictions are permanent.
Afflictions like...
Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome.
Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome is also known as "wet brain" and it's probably the worst
piece of brain damage any one could get from drinking all the time.
And the most ironic part is that it isn't directly related to the actual consumption
of alcohol.
When you drink a lot for a long time, it causes a thiamine (vitamin B-1) deficiency.
When you don't have enough of this stuff swimming around in your head, eventually, you might
contract wet brain.
The symptoms of this disease are really scary and are defined by confusion, incoordination,
vision problems, and psychosis.
Yeesh.
We'd like to end this section with a quote from RICHARD MOLINA, HEAD THERAPIST at THE
RECOVERY VILLAGE.
He says: “Alcohol produces what is known as ‘Wet Brain’ which is basically symptoms
of dementia.
When it gets to that point, it is very difficult to be reversed.”
Heart Disease.
Your ticker is in a lot of danger if you drink a whole bunch.
In fact, there are several different things that could happen to you and your heart if
you take up alcohol as a hobby.
You might develop high blood pressure, increased risk of diabetes and obesity.
Each of these is associated with heart disease.
However, drinking too much just doesn't develop these symptoms, they also directly contribute
to damage in the heart.
DRUG REHAB.COM says that "When it passes through the heart, it does a small amount of damage
to muscle cells.
Drinking a lot of alcohol for a long period of time can weaken the heart, making it work
harder to pump blood.
Mixing energy drinks and alcohol or other caffeinated products with alcohol, may increase
the risk of heart problems".
One of the worst things you can get from drinking too much is Alcoholic cardiomyopathy, also
known as alcoholic heart disease.
This occurs when after a while, the heart becomes large and thin and then starts to
fail.
The symptoms don't usually start to occur until the heart has already started to fail.
Some symptoms include:
Swelling of the feet or ankles
Shortness of breath.
If you're having a sudden trouble breathing, then you might have an issue with your heart.
Decreased alertness
Lower urine output
Fatigue
Irregular heartbeat
While some studies link drinking small amounts of red wine helps with the reduction of heart
disease, it's advisable not to go too crazy.
If you really want to help your heart, try a healthy diet and moderate exercise.
You can totally go to our channel and look up all sorts of different workouts and diets
on our channel, hint, hint.
We know those don't sound as good as drinking a glass and watching Grey's Anatomy, but you
wouldn't want to become a patient in a hospital... would you?
And so, our video about the health risks of alcohol is complete.
What did you think of our list?
Did you learn some thing new about the risks of drinking?
Did we miss any of the most alarming diseases?
Let us know in the comments section below every thing we might have missed!