Organic certification for Alcoholic

Courtesy: Organic certification for Alcoholic

Over 40% of all assaults and 40 to 50% of all murders involve alcohol. More than 43% of violent encounters with police involve alcohol. Alcohol is implicated in more than two-thirds of cases of intimate partner violence. In 2002, it was estimated that 1 million violent crimes in the United States were related to alcohol use. Alcohol is more commonly associated with both violent and non-violent crime than are drugs like marijuana.

Health consequences

Alcohol use disorder is a major problem and many health problems as well as death can result from excessive alcohol use. Alcohol dependence is linked to a lifespan that is reduced by about 12 years relative to the average person. In 2004, it was estimated that 4% of deaths worldwide were attributable to alcohol use. Deaths from alcohol are split about evenly between acute causes (e.g., overdose, accidents) and chronic conditions. The leading chronic alcohol-related condition associated with death is alcoholic liver disease. Alcohol dependence is also associated with cognitive impairment and organic brain damage. Some researchers have found that even one alcoholic drink a day increases an individual’s risk of health problems by 0.4%.

entral nervous system impairment

Alcohol causes generalized central nervous system depression, is a positive allosteric GABA_A modulator and is associated and related with cognitive, memory or memory loss, motor, and sensory impairment. It slows and impairs cognition and reaction time and the cognitive skills, impairs judgement, interferes with motor function resulting in motor incoordination, loss of balance, confusion, sedation, numbness and slurred speech, impairs memory formation, and causes sensory impairment. At high concentrations, it can induce amnesia, analgesia, spins, stupor, and unconsciousness as result of high levels of ethanol in blood.

At very high concentrations, alcohol can cause anterograde amnesia, markedly decreased heart rate, pulmonary aspiration, positional alcohol nystagmus (PAN), respiratory depression, shock, coma and death can result due to profound suppression of central nervous system function alcohol overdose and can finish in consequent dysautonomia.

Gastrointestinal effects

Diagram of mucosal layer

Alcohol can cause nausea and vomiting in sufficiently high amounts (varies by person).

Alcohol stimulates gastric juice production, even when food is not present, and as a result, its consumption stimulates acidic secretions normally intended to digest protein molecules. Consequently, the excess acidity may harm the inner lining of the stomach. The stomach lining is normally protected by a mucosal layer that prevents the stomach from, essentially, digesting itself. However, in patients who have a peptic ulcer disease (PUD), this mucosal layer is broken down. PUD is commonly associated with the bacteria H. pylori. H. pylori secrete a toxin that weakens the mucosal wall, which as a result lead to acid and protein enzymes penetrating the weakened barrier. Because alcohol stimulates a person’s stomach to secrete acid, a person with PUD should avoid drinking alcohol on an empty stomach. Drinking alcohol causes more acid release, which further damages the already-weakened stomach wall. Complications of this disease could include a burning pain in the abdomen, bloating and in severe cases, the presence of dark black stools indicate internal bleeding. A person who drinks alcohol regularly is strongly advised to reduce their intake to prevent PUD aggravation.

Ingestion of alcohol can initiate systemic pro-inflammatory changes through two intestinal routes: (1) altering intestinal microbiota composition (dysbiosis), which increases lipopolysaccharide (LPS) release, and (2) degrading intestinal mucosal barrier integrity – thus allowing this (LPS) to enter the circulatory system. The major portion of the blood supply to the liver is provided by the portal vein. Therefore, while the liver is continuously fed nutrients from the intestine, it is also exposed to any bacteria and/or bacterial derivatives that breach the intestinal mucosal barrier. Consequently, LPS levels increase in the portal vein, liver and systemic circulation after alcohol intake. Immune cells in the liver respond to LPS with the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leukotrienes, chemokines and cytokines. These factors promote tissue inflammation and contribute to organ pathology