Key Alcohol Info
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People have been drinking alcohol and have been aware of some of the negative consequences of excessive drinking for almost three
thousand years. In other words, alcohol consumption has been a part of human history for hundreds of years before Christ.
Why is it, then, that millions of people throughout the world continue to suffer from abusive, irresponsible, and hazardous
drinking? Is alcohol consumption unhealthy or is it the amount of alcohol that is consumed that is the important issue? Please
continue reading for more relevant alcohol info concerning the uses and the abuses of alcohol.
The Beneficial and Harmful Aspects of Alcohol Consumption
Although alcohol has been used in a multitude of different ways throughout much of human history that can be called beneficial or
"useful," it is significant to call attention to the fact that many hundreds of years ago some attentive and perceptive individuals pointed
out some of the negative consequences of excessive drinking and abusive alcohol consumption.
For instance, a recently found Chinese text written approximately 650 B.C. not only declared how hard it was for people at that
time to do without beer but it also included warnings about the "abuse" of beer.
Two or three hundred years later, moreover, two great Greek philosophers, namely Plato and Aristotle, were openly critical of
public displays of drunkenness.
| Some impritant alcohol info. The American Heart Association advises that excessive alcohol consumption can
raise levels of triglycerides in the blood and lead to increased risk of strokes and heart attacks. |
It is with a certain degree of irony, therefore, that despite the fact that many of the negative consequences of excessive
alcohol consumption and abusive drinking have been known for centuries, alcohol addiction, alcohol abuse, and binge drinking continue to wreck
havoc and destroy human lives in the "enlightened" and "aware" time period in which we live.
| Alcohol consumption causes changes in behavior. Even one or two drinks can impair the judgment and coordination
needed to safely operate a vehicle and can cause the drinker to engage in aggressive behavior. |
Alcohol Consumption for Most People is Enjoyable
For the vast majority of people, alcohol consumption is a pleasurable experience. This is especially the case when people
are engaged in recreational and social activities and when their alcohol consumption can be considered as "moderate."
Moderate alcohol consumption can be defined as having up to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. In
most instances, additionally, drinking in moderation is not harmful for most adults. A relatively large number of people, however, for a
variety of reasons cannot engage in alcohol consumption because of the problems they experience when drinking.
Since approximately 14 million Americans abuse alcohol or suffer from alcohol addiction, the group of people who should not or
cannot involve themselves in alcohol consumption makes up a sizeable and a significant number of people. It almost goes without saying that
alcohol abuse and alcoholism to this extent cannot be ignored in a civilized society.
| Substance abuse research shows that hangovers are a symptom of abusive and excessive alcohol consumption.
Although hangovers are not necessarily an indication of addiction, they certainly are one of the symptoms of alcohol abuse.
The following represents some of the manifestations of hangovers: dizziness, headache, thirst, nausea, fatigue, and
vomiting. |
To drive the point home more emphatically, consider the following: according to recent substance abuse research, it has been
demonstrated that roughly 53 percent of the adults in the United States have articulated that one or more of their close relatives has a drinking
problem. Apparently there is a fairly sizeable group of Americans who are “problem drinkers,” who should not involve themselves in alcohol
consumption, and who need access to effective and successful alcohol abuse and alcoholism treatment.
| If the alcoholic is not ready to reach out for help, efforts by friends and family to try to force them to admit
to the problem, usually causes more problems. It's only when the consequences of their alcohol consumption becomes painful enough
that they will reach out for help. |
Blood Alcohol Level and the Short-Term Effects of Alcohol
The more immediate effects of alcohol on your body are predominately a function of the amount of alcohol in your blood
(known as blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level). Factors that affect your blood alcohol level include the following:
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How much food is in your stomach at the time you drink
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How much alcohol you ingest
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How quickly your body metabolizes the alcohol
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How strong the alcoholic drink is
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How quickly you consume the alcoholic drink
What is ironic about this "alcohol info" is that virtually every drinker, if exposed to the above factors that result in the
almost instance effects of alcohol that are usually experienced, would say that they already know this information. If this is the case,
then why don't more drinkers use this information to their advantage and learn how to enjoy drinking alcohol while at the same time drinking
responsibly and in moderation?
Alcoholism Videos
We have included some alcoholism videos so that you can see and hear directly from various
people about their struggles with this disease. If you, a family member, or one of your friends has a "drinking problem," seeing what
others have gone through and how they attained successful recovery is much more "real" than any information you can read about.
Furthermore, watching these videos may help you understand more about hazardous alcohol consumption and what others with a drinking problem are
experiencing while you learn some additional and important alcohol info. So make sure you look at these excellent videos!
| Personal, social, and perhaps legal problems that would cause any reasonable person to conclude that their alcohol
consumption habits should be curtailed or eliminated do not seem to have much effect on those who are alcohol dependent, at least
not in the long run. |
Key Alcohol Info: Conclusion
When a person stops to think about alcohol from an historical perspective, one bit of alcohol info that is virtually amazing is
that the beneficial as well as some of the key negatives about alcohol have been known for thousands of years.
As a result, it seems that the "leaders" of the industrialized nations of the world need to make use of this knowledge and
upgrade their alcohol and drug abuse educational and preventative efforts to drastically reduce the number of people in our "enlightened age" who
suffer from chronic alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
For the vast majority of people, alcohol consumption is a pleasurable experience. This is basic alcohol info 101. Due to
the fact, however, that millions of people in American society are alcohol abusers or are alcohol dependent, it is clear that there is a
relatively large group of individuals in the U.S. who probably should not involve themselves in alcohol consumption due to the negative and
destructive effects they experience.
The short-term effects of alcohol on a person's body depend primarily on his or her blood alcohol level, that is, the amount of
alcohol in a person's blood. The following factors influence a person's blood alcohol level: how much alcohol the person has
consumed, how quickly the person's body metabolizes alcohol, how much food is in the person's stomach at the time he or she drinks, how strong
the alcoholic beverages are, and how quickly the person ingests the alcoholic beverages.
All of these factors, not surprisingly, also explain why the effects of alcohol can be almost instantaneous. One would hope
that knowledge of these factors as well as a basic understanding of alcohol info would motivate a person to learn how to enjoy alcohol
consumption in a responsible, non-abusive manner.
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| If abusive alcohol consumption continues over years, many of the organs of the body can be negatively affected.
For instance, excessive alcohol consumption is especially harmful to the liver since the liver does most of the work of
metabolizing alcohol. Alcohol destroys liver cells and it destroys the ability of liver cells to regenerate. This condition leads
to progressive inflammatory injury to the liver and eventually can result in a serious disease called cirrhosis of the
liver. |
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