Nutrition and Health - Term Paper Example

? Health problems associated with alcoholic beverages Health problems associated with alcoholic beverages Healthy food habits are essential for keeping our physical and mental health intact. In fact many of the physical and mental health problems were associated with wrong food habits. Scientific studies have proved that the continuous use of certain food and drink items may affect our health in the long run. Alcohol is the most damaging substances as far as the physical and mental health are concerned. No other behaviours or habits can produce the same level of health problems as alcohol produces. Still every year, billions of money is spent for consuming alcohol. No country seems to be free from alcoholism and the after effects of alcoholism. Every year millions of money is used for the promotion of alcoholic beverages. Many people have the illusion that beer is comparatively less dangerous than other alcoholic drinks. However, extensive and continuous use of beer and other alcoholic drink may have detrimental effect on our health. The most common physical health problems associated with alcoholic beverages are liver problems, pancreas problems, epilepsy, alcoholic dementia, heart disease, cancer, nutritional deficiencies, sexual dysfunction etc. Psychological problems like anxiety, depression, psychosis, schizophrenia etc are also found to be associated with binge drinkers. No scientific studies have ever proved any benefits associated with consumption of alcohol. In fact all the studies are pointing towards the negative impacts of alcoholism. Yet, a substantial number of people in our world including males, females, children, youths and old people, are binge drinkers. These people are knowingly or unknowingly causing severe damages to their physical and mental health. This paper examines the physical and mental health problems associated with alcoholic beverage usages. Physical and mental health problems associated with Alcohol use Obesity or overweight is one of the major health problems associated with alcohol use. From my own personal experience I can say that there is definite relationship between alcohol use and obesity. I used to drink at least 6 beers a day and gained lot of weight and since quitting, I have shed 40+ lbs. Obesity or overweight is considered as a major reason for some kind of mental problems like depression by many psychologists. Overweight has many negative effects on physical and mental health of a person. High blood pressure, diabetics, cholesterol, heart problems are some of the physical problems associated with overweight. Lack of self esteem, depression, emotional problems etc is some of the psychological problems associated with overweight or obesity. One of the major problems associated with obesity is the fact that obese people will often comfort themselves with the help of excessive food and beverages. When they get depressed about their appearance or other physical problems, they consume more and more food and drinks and their obesity problems could be intensified. Thus alcoholic drinks can contribute indirectly to the obesity related physical and mental problems. Liver is one of the major organs in our body and it is proved with the help of scientific studies that alcohol consumption will increase the normal functioning of liver. “More than 2 million American people experience alcohol-related liver disease and some drinkers develop alcoholic hepatitis; i.e., inflammation of the liver. About 10% to 20% of drinkers who abuse alcohol develop cirrhosis of the liver: i.e., scarring of the liver” (Effects of alcohol abuse). The symptoms of alcoholic hepatitis are fever, jaundice abdominal pain etc. In short, alcoholic diseases can lead towards several other diseases also. Diabetes is another major health problem associated with alcoholic beverage use. “Alcohol can make blood glucose too high or too low. Moderate amount of alcohol can cause blood sugar to rise but excess alcohol can actually decrease your blood sugar level” (Lifemojo, 2009). Liver is the human organ which controls the blood sugar level. As mentioned earlier, alcohol can affect the normal functioning of liver and hence its ability to control the blood sugar level will be damaged. When alcohol enters the body liver try to get rid of it and till all the alcoholic contents were cleared, the liver will not undertake any other mechanisms like the blood sugar control. Thus the blood sugar level will either be lowered or increased in the case of a person who consumes alcoholic beverages. Many people have the false belief that alcohol consumption is better for people with heart problems. Such people are of the view that the alcohol has the ability to increase the blood pumping mechanism of heart. But researches have shown that if the alcohol consumption exceeds certain levels, heart attacks, strokes etc can occur to patients with coronary problems. Excessive alcohol consumption will increase the blood pressure and subsequently heart problems can develop. When we consider the effects of alcohol on other parts of the body, the advantages of alcohol consumption seems to be negligible. It is impossible for us to limit the alcohol spreading only in the heart alone. It will spread the entire body and affect all the other body parts adversely. Osteoporosis is another disease which is suspected to be associated with alcohol consumption. Binge drinkers often cause damages to their bones because of alcohol consumption. “Alcohol can increase the risk of certain cancers of the liver, breast, esophagus, mouth, lips, larynx, pharynx, and gastrointestinal tract” (Windblad, 2010). Alcohol can affect various part of our body and it can affect the normal functioning of some of the prominent organs in our body. It is believed that around 4% of all cancer diseases reported in the world is alcohol related. Mouth and liver are the major areas which are affected by alcohol related cancer. Males have slightly more resistive power than females as far as the alcohol related cancer problems are concerned. In general, cancer risks increase after about one daily drink for women and two daily drinks for men. Breast cancer is another major alcohol related cancer among females. Females are genetically more vulnerable to cancer diseases. Breast cancer and uterus cancer are seen among females alone. Along with the risks of other forms of cancers, females have the risk of these specific cancers also. In short, risk associated with cancer is more among females than in males as far as alcohol consumption is concerned. “Neurological disorders and alcohol-related dementia can lead to memory loss and cognitive impairment in heavy drinkers” (Windblad, 2010). Alcohol related memory loss is often referred as a black out. In a black out condition, the person cannot recall the past. Even though the person has no problem with the consciousness, in black out condition he may completely forget his past. Various studies have established the connection between alcohol use and memory loss beyond doubt. Some specific studies have indicated that alcohol impairs the brain's ability to take short-term memories and convert them to long-term memory. “Research has shown that women become addicted to alcoholic beverages more quickly than men” (Battaglia, 2009).  Generally, women are weaker compared to men physically and mentally and they are more vulnerable to alcohol addiction. The women fertility will be considerably reduced due to alcohol addiction. The addicted women may have delayed pregnancy, menstrual and sexual problems as well. Miscarriage rate is more in the case of alcohol addicted women compared to normal women. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a disorder of permanent birth defects occurred to offspring of women who have drinking habits when they were pregnant. The growth of the embryo depends on the life styles of the pregnant women. The pregnant woman’s physical and mental health can affect the embryo also in different ways. ALCOHOL IS THE DRUG most strongly associated with interpersonal aggression and violence alcohol's indirectly causing aggression through its effects on cognitive processing. Cognitive models posit that alcohol indirectly causes aggression by disrupting attentional, mnemonic and higher processing abilities, leading intoxicated individuals to attend to only the most salient cues of an interaction between a possible aggressor and victim (Ogle, & Miller, 2004) “Alcohol causes aggression directly by anesthetizing the center of the brain that normally prevents aggressive responding. Alcohol facilitates aggression indirectly by causing certain cognitive, physiological, and emotional changes that increase the probability of aggression” (Bushman & Cooper, 1990, p.342). Alcoholic beverages have the ability to develop short temper. Alcohol has the ability to affect our brain systems which help us to control our temper and aggressive behavior. Cognitive changes which accompany alcohol consumption may reduce the logical thinking abilities, awareness, and it can also increase the emotions and feelings. In short, decision taking abilities will be destroyed as a result of continuous alcoholic beverage uses. Alcohol addiction can create problems in sexual life. Women under alcohol influence can be easily exploited sexually. Under the influence of alcohol, it is difficult for the males and females to take sound decisions about sexual activities. Thus unwanted pregnancies may increase and the abortion rates may also increase. Untimely and repeated abortions may destroy the physical and mental health of the women. Thus alcoholic drink can indirectly damage the physical and mental health of the addicts through crazy sexual life. Apart from physical and psychological health problems, alcoholism can lead towards some social problems also. For example, binge drinkers are not respected in the society because of their behavioral problems. The negligence of the society will further increase their vengeance towards the society. Thus they will start to develop more and more antisocial behaviors. For example, a driver driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol can make accidents which may not only affect him, but also other innocent people as well. One of the major causes of domestic violence is alcoholism. In short, alcohol addiction can create physical and psychological problems not only to the person himself, but also to other innocent people as well. Conclusions Alcoholic beverages can cause severe physical and mental health problems. Alcohol can affect the entire parts of our body. Different types of cancer like, mouth cancer, breast cancer, uterus cancer, liver cancer, hepatitis, heart problems, liver problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis etc are some of the major physical health problems associated with alcoholism. All these diseases can lead towards other diseases also. Memory loss or black out, neurological disorders, problems in sexual life, increase of aggressive behaviour, reduced ability for critical thinking, etc are some of the psychological problems associated with alcoholic beverages. Another major problem associated with alcoholism is the social problems it may generate. Alcoholism can affect not only the user alone, but it can affect innocent people also; both physically and mentally. References 1. Battaglia E. (2009), A Short History of Female Addiction in America, Retrieved from http://www.drugalcoholaddictionrecovery.com/?p=52   2. Bushman B.J. & Cooper H.M. (1990), Effects of Alcohol on Human Aggression: An Integrative Research Review, Retrieved from http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bbushman/bc90.pdf 3. Effects of alcohol abuse (n. d) Retrieved from http://www.about-alcohol-abuse.com/Effects_of_Alcohol_Abuse.html 4. Lifemojo, (2009). Diabetes and Alcohol. Retrieved from http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/diabetes-and-alcohol-6356390 5. Ogle, R. L. & Miller W. R. (2004). The effects of alcohol intoxication and gender on the social information processing of hostile provocations involving male and female provocateurs, Retrieved from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-113681416.html 6. Windblad, L.A (2010). Alcohol and Health Adversaries. Retrieved from http://www.diethealthclub.com/articles/507/diet-and-wellness/alcohol-and-health-adversaries.html Read More