The Effects of Alcoholism on the Brain
Alcoholism is a chronic disease that can make you lose your job, your money and your social life. Worst of all, it ruins your health. Heavy alcohol consumption can harm the brain in many ways. Some people think switching from hard liquor to wine or beer can protect the brain from alcohol toxicity, but this is a misconception. Alcohol is alcohol regardless of its form.
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Alcoholism versus Alcohol Abuse
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Not all heavy drinkers are alcoholics. There is a distinct difference between alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is usually considered a behavioral or psychological problem, whereas alcoholism is a physical disease. People who suffer from alcohol abuse and those who suffer from alcoholism may have similar symptoms such as excessive craving, inability to control the amount of drinking, and higher alcohol tolerance. What makes alcoholism a physical disease is that it causes the body to be dependent on alcohol. Once alcoholic patients have stopped drinking, they will experience withdrawal symptoms such as shakiness, sweating and nausea. Alcohol abusers, on the other hand, will not develop any of those symptoms after quitting.
The Intoxicated Brain
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Once you drink alcohol, your bloodstream will absorb it from your stomach wall, carry it to every single cell in your body and weaken your central nervous system. The part of your brain that controls reasoning and judgement will be affected first. As you drink more and the alcohol level in your blood rises, your coordination and reflex actions will become temporarily impaired. If your bloodstream contains over 0.3 percent alcohol, the activity of your lungs and heart can be extremely depressed, and you might need hospitalization. Once it reaches 0.4 percent, you might become comatose. The expression "dead drunk" is not an exaggeration at all.
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Alcoholism and Brain Shrinkage
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According to the February 7, 1987 issue of the British Medical Journal, heavy drinking can shrink the brain; the brains of alcoholics weighed on average 105 grams less than those of social drinkers. Scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical Center recently did further research on this matter and found that the reduction in density happened mostly in the left hemispheres, the part of the brain that controls logical thinking. These brain changes, said the University of Nebraska research team, can occur at a fairly early age among alcoholics.
Alcoholism and Vitamin Deficiency
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Heavy alcohol consumption can stop the body from absorbing certain vitamins that are vital for brain function such as vitamin B1, B6 and C. A deficiency of these vitamins can lead to serious neurological problems such as memory loss, confusion and depression. An acute brain disorder called Wernicke's encephalopathy or cerebral beriberi, for example, is caused by vitamin B1 deficiency and is often associated with alcoholism. The symptoms of cerebral beriberi include delusions, loss of balance, inability to think of a word, and confusion.
Alcoholism and Stroke
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Moderate drinking, say, a glass of wine a day, is believed to be good for your heart. Heavy drinking, however, can increase the risk of neurological diseases. The Honolulu Heart Program had studied more than 8,000 alcoholic patients for more than 12 years and found that the majority of the subjects developed various forms of brain diseases and stroke such as cerebral thrombosis, cerebral embolus and brain hemorrhage.
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