Everyone knows that drinking alcohol excessively in one setting can be dangerous. It can cause one to make bad decisions, cause vomiting and even death by alcohol poisoning in severe consumption cases. But what about the long term effects? How can alcohol effect one’s health over time? What are the dangers that come with long-term alcohol consumption?

Here is a list of what body parts are largely effected by alcohol consumption and how long-term alcohol use can affect you.

Table of Contents

Liver

The role of the liver in the body is to break down food and convert it into energy as well as ridding your body of toxins. It is not easy for your liver to break down alcohol and, as far as your organs go, it is usually the biggest victim of alcohol consumption.

Your liver can become damaged from alcohol when your liver tries to break it down. When your liver attempts to break down alcohol, a chemical reaction happens that can damage the cells in your liver.

Some of the most common symptoms that come as a result of an alcohol damaged liver are fibrosis, alcoholic hepatitis, steatosis and cirrhosis. Frequent alcohol consumption can also result in liver cancer as well as throat, mouth and breast cancer.

Heart

There is some research that suggests alcohol can be benefit your heart, but only in very small amounts according to drinkaware.co.uk. Long term alcohol consumption and binge drinking can have massively negative effects on one’s heart.

Drinking regularly can cause blood pressure to be raised. It can also weaken the muscles around the heart. When this happens it makes it difficult for your heart to pump blood at the rate that it should.

Pancreas

Though the pancreas is small, it is also very important for digestion the pancreas produces hormones and digestive juices that help your body to digest food.

Alcohol can cause the pancreas to create toxins that result in the disease pancreatitis. Pancreatitis can lead to other diseases and kidney failure.

Drinking too much alcohol can lower the strength of your overall immune system. This can result in frequent sickness.

Brain

Your brain is greatly affected by alcohol consumption. Alcohol interferes with the way signals are sent to and from your brain. This can make it difficult to think straightly and make right decisions. It can also affect your mood, thoughts and actions.

Drinking regularly and heavily can cause depression. This is because alcohol is a depressant and can lower the levels of serotonin, a chemical in your brain that helps regulate your mood.

There is no doubt that that alcohol can cause short-term as well as long-term health problems. The key is moderation. Anything in excess can be damaging, it just so happens that excess alcohol can cause some serious health issues.

If you feel that you or a friend have a drinking problem then you should do whatever it takes to get help. The longer an addiction goes on, the better chance you have of suffering some health consequences.

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License: Creative Commons image source
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By Henry H. Hernandez

Henry Hernandez is originally from Los Angeles, CA. Henry was an army ranger, but now he does marketing for an outpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Fountain Valley, CA. www.stephouserecovery.com. Henry is on Google+.