Alcohol has various effects on our bodies. There are alleged advantages as well as pitfalls. It causes instant physiological changes among other organs in the brain, heart, and liver once it enters your system. Eventually, if you drink too much alcohol, these changes can lead to long-term health complications.
You may not understand much about this common substance found in some of your favorite cocktails, liquors, beers, and wines. Here are some of the alcohol facts that you may want to know about:
1. Alcohol has a broad range of impacts. It causes the release of dopamine in the brain, a neurotransmitter linked to enjoyment and happiness.
2. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health NSDUH also discovered that in the past year 70.1 percent of American adults had a drink, and in the past month 56.0 percent had one.
3. 86.4 percent of adults reported drinking alcohol at some stage in their lifetime, according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).
4. Alcohol is a depressant. This implies that it slows down a person’s brain activity.
5. Ethanol also is known as ethyl alcohol, is the “alcohol” in alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, and spirits. It is the only form of alcohol you can drink without causing severe bodily harm.
6. Another side-effect of drinking alcohol is stress relief. This is normally triggered by an increase in the uptake of another neurotransmitter, called GABA.
7. Alcohol is one of the addictive drugs that are most frequently used. Approximately 12.7 percent trusted Source of American adults meets the alcohol use disorder (AUD) criteria. That’s one out of eight adults.
8. The same research discovered that blue-eyed Americans of European descent had the greatest alcohol abuse rates, indicating a genetic connection that makes them more vulnerable to AUD.
9. Alcohol is processed in the human liver, in which enzymes help break down ethanol into acetaldehyde and acetate.
10. The drinking-related impacts happen when ethanol enters the bloodstream and passes through a person’s brain, heart, and other organs.
11. ResearchTrusted Source indicates that between 2001 and 2013 alcohol consumption levels, as well as high-risk consumption, increased.
12. AUD is known to have a genetic component. Researchers estimate that genes represent about 50 percent of the risk.
13. Males are more likely to use alcohol than females.
14. Alcohol has distinct effects on both males and females in terms of health. Long-term drinking is more likely compared to males, Trusted Source has adverse health impacts for females, even if the female drinks less for shorter periods.
15. Women dependent on alcohol are 50 to 100 percent more probable than males dependent on alcohol to die from alcohol-related causes.
16. Deaths attributable to alcohol are America’s third-leading preventable cause of death. Every year in the United States, 88,424 individuals die from alcohol-related causes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
17. Alcohol can be almost as ancient as civilization. Residues from a 7,000 to 6,600 B.C. alcoholic beverage was discovered in China.
18. Archeologists also discovered proof indicating that beer was paid to the laborers who constructed the Great Pyramids of Giza.
