Organic certification for Alcoholic

Courtesy: Organic certification for Alcoholic

Ethanol-containing beverages can cause alcohol flush reactions, exacerbations of rhinitis and, more seriously and commonly, bronchoconstriction in patients with a history of asthma, and in some cases, urticarial skin eruptions, and systemic dermatitis. Such reactions can occur within 1–60 minutes of ethanol ingestion, and may be caused by:

• genetic abnormalities in the metabolism of ethanol, which can cause the ethanol metabolite, acetaldehyde, to accumulate in tissues and trigger the release of histamine, or
• true allergy reactions to allergens occurring naturally in, or contaminating, alcoholic beverages (particularly wine and beer), and
• other unknown causes.

Long-term effects

Prolonged heavy consumption of alcohol can cause significant permanent damage to the brain and other organs resulting in dysfunction or death.

Brain damage

Alcohol can cause brain damage, Wernicke’s encephalopathy and Alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome (AKS) which frequently occur simultaneously, known as Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome (WKS). Lesions, or brain abnormalities, are typically located in the diencephalon which result in anterograde and retrograde amnesia, or memory loss.

Liver damage

During the metabolism of alcohol via the respective dehydrogenases, NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is converted into reduced NAD. Normally, NAD is used to metabolize fats in the liver, and as such alcohol competes with these fats for the use of NAD. Prolonged exposure to alcohol means that fats accumulate in the liver, leading to the term ‘fatty liver’. Continued consumption (such as in alcohol use disorder) then leads to cell death in the hepatocytes as the fat stores reduce the function of the cell to the point of death. These cells are then replaced with scar tissue, leading to the condition called cirrhosis.

Birth defects

Ethanol is classified as a teratogen. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), alcohol consumption by women who are not using birth control increases the risk of fetal alcohol syndrome. The CDC currently recommends complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages for women of child-bearing age who are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, or are sexually active and not using birth control.

Cancer

IARC list ethanol in alcoholic beverages are classified as a Group carcinogens in human beings and argues that “There is sufficient evidence and research showing the carcinogenicity of acetaldehyde (the major metabolite of ethanol) which is excreted by the liver enzyme when one drinks alcohol.”

Other effects

Frequent drinking of alcoholic beverages is a major contributing factor in cases of elevated blood levels of triglycerides