Alcohol
Nutrition Facts
__________________________________________________________________
One of the key alcohol nutrition facts is that as alcoholism
continues, the alcoholic, in most instances, suffers from
malnutrition. While this information should probably be no surprise
to most people, please read on for the "real reasons" why
malnutrition is a serious problem for alcoholics.
Another alcohol nutritional fact, it must be
pointed out, is that in moderation, drinking
alcohol can add antioxidants to an individual's diet.
Alcoholism, Malnutrition, and Organ
Malfunctioning
As alcoholism
progresses, the alcoholic experiences a number health-related
problems. One of the key reasons for these problems is the
poor nutrition of the alcohol.
Essentially, the alcoholic's poor nutrition is the result of two
issues. First, as the disease progresses, most alcoholics
exhibit an almost total disregard for everything, including
necessities such as food and water. Consequently, many
alcoholics suffer from malnutrition.
Unfortunately, it is not mainly the alcoholic's poor eating
habits that lead to malnutrition; it is the malfunctioning of his
or her organs. More specifically, over time, alcoholism
gradually breaks down the proper functioning of the body's main
systems and organs.
As a result, the alcoholic cannot replenish the minerals,
vitamins, and other essential nutrients his body requires due to
the fact that his damaged organs prevent the proper absorption,
digestion, metabolism, and utilization of the nutrients needed for
growth, repair, development, and essential system maintenance. In
short, over time, the alcoholic slowly kills himself or herself by
his or her drinking behavior.
Vitamin Deficiencies Exhibited by Most
Alcoholics
Having said
this, the following is a list vitamin deficiencies most, if not
all, alcoholics manifest:
- Severe thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency that leads to
Korsakoff's syndrome, a degenerative brain disorder and Wernicke's
disease, a memory disorder
- Vitamin A deficiency (a deficiency that might cause night
blindness)
- Vitamin D deficiency (a deficiency that can result in bone
fractures)
- Vitamin deficiencies (such as selenium, folate, riboflavin, and
vitamin B6)
| Alcoholism can increase the risk
for certain cancers, especially those of the throat, voice box
(larynx), liver, colon, kidneys, rectum, and the esophagus.
Excessive drinking can also cause immune system problems, brain
damage, harm to the fetus during pregnancy, and cirrhosis of the
liver. |
Alcohol Nutrition Facts:
Conclusion
One of the main alcohol nutrition
facts that perhaps most people don't realize is that the
vitamin and nutrition deficiencies experienced by most alcoholics
is not mainly due to poor eating habits, but from the
malfunctioning of the body's organs and systems.
Stated differently, if chronic alcoholics were to
eat the most nutritional food available and took the best vitamins
and minerals in existence, most of them would still suffer from
malnutrition because their systems and organs are not capable of
absorbing, digesting, metabolizing, and utilizing the nutrients
necessary for repair, development, growth, and basic system
maintenance.

Please Add Our Website To Your Favorite
Bookmarks!
| Depression and alcoholism have a
high comorbidity — in other words, they occur in the same people at
a rate higher than they would occur if both disorders were not
linked. The link could be genetic, social, psychological,
biological, or most likely a combination of many of these factors.
The population in industrialized countries is becoming older;
therefore depression and alcohol misuse will become a serious
problem to our society. |
____________________________________________________
|