Side Effects of Alcohol for health

Side Effects of Alcohol on the Body Central Nervous System

When alcohol is present in the Central Nervous System, it affects emotional and sensory function, judgment, memory and learning ability. A person's sense of smell and taste are dulled. As alcohol level rises in the blood, one's ability to withstand pain increases. Three evident effects of alcohol on the brain are memory loss, confusion, and augmentation. Long-term effects of alcohol on the central nervous system include tolerance and dependency. With each drinking episode, a person's central nervous system functions deteriorate. This process starts with impaired intellectual functioning, followed by disruption of sensory and motor controls. Finally, the automatic biological functions including breathing and heart action are affected. All these effects are influenced by some factors listed below:
Family history of alcoholism
Age of the person when started drinking and how long he/she has been drinking
Gender of the person
Quantity and frequency of drinking
Health status of the person
Liver

With small amounts of alcohol, the liver is able to cleanse the body of toxins. However, when the amount of alcohol is high, imbalances occur and the person may suffer from Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD). This is a cover term for the health conditions like hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), hyperuricemia (as in arthritis or gout), fatty liver (which may lead to alcoholic hepatitis or cirrhosis), and hyperlipemia (build-up of fats sent to the bloodstream, which leads to heart problems).

Blood

One of the dangers of alcohol is that it can result in the breaking of capillaries and blood vessels. This can lead to hemorrhage, and even death. It can also cause anemia, decreased resistance to infection, and a lowered ability to fight them. It can cause sedation of the bone marrow, which is reduction in the red and white blood count. This action weakens the bone structure.

Gastrointestinal Tract

Comprising the stomach, small and large intestines and pancreas, the side effects of alcohol on the gastrointestinal tract can include gastritis and intestinal or stomach ulcers. Alcohol can prompt the pancreas to produce insulin which causes a rapid drop in blood sugar, and the consequent symptom of low blood sugar or hypoglycemia. Eventually, the pancreas may stop producing insulin entirely, which can result in diabetes.

Muscles

Alcohol reduces blood flow to the muscles, including the heart. This causes heart muscle to weaken and deteriorate. The outcome of this can be cardiomyopathy (sluggish heart), arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), or "holiday heart". Some people experience skeletal muscle damages due to excessive alcohol consumption. Protein synthesis is badly affected, which in turn affects muscle growth. Muscle build-up in the body takes place because of growth hormone. This growth hormone is secreted during sleeping hours and as the natural sleeping hours are disrupted by alcoholism, the growth hormone release decreases affecting muscle development. Other than this, hangovers include muscle aches in both men and women.

Endocrine System

The Endocrine System controls the body's hormones. One of the side effects of alcohol consumption is the decrease in the production of hormones. The outcome of this decrease includes higher susceptibility to allergies and hampered sexual functioning. It can decrease sexual functioning in men and women in many different ways. Prolonged use of alcohol in men also leads to an increase of the "female hormone" estrogen, and the consequent development of features such as enlarged breasts and a decrease in body hair. It also cause infertility in both men and women.

Apart from all the above mentioned serious alcohol side effects, the one that seems to bother people the most is weight gain. The other factors that affect one's appearance after alcohol consumption are poor skin and brittle hair and nails.