The effects of alcohol on the human body can occur in many parts of the body, such as liver or even in muscles or skin.
The duration of the effects of alcohol on the body is related to how long the liver takes to metabolize alcohol. On average, the body takes 1 hour to metabolize only 1 can of beer, so if the individual has drunk 8 cans of beer, alcohol will be present in the body for at least 8 hours.
Immediate effect of alcohol in excess
Depending on the amount ingested and the individual's physical condition, the immediate effects of alcohol on the body can be:
- Swallowed speech, drowsiness, vomiting,
- Diarrhea, heartburn and burning in the stomach,
- Headache, shortness of breath,
- Changed vision and hearing,
- Change in reasoning ability,
- Lack of attention, alteration in motor perception and coordination,
- Alcoholic blackout are memory failures in which the individual can not remember what happened while under the influence of alcohol;
- Loss of reflexes, loss of judgment of reality, alcoholic coma.
In pregnancy, alcohol consumption can cause fetal alcohol syndrome, which is a genetic disorder that causes physical deformation and mental retardation in the fetus.
Long-term effects
Regular consumption of more than 60g per day, which equals 6 chops, 4 glasses of wine or 5 caipirinhas can be harmful to health, favoring the development of diseases such as hypertension, arrhythmia and increased cholesterol.
The 5 diseases that can be caused by excessive alcohol consumption are:
1. Hypertension
The consumption of alcoholic beverages in excess can cause hypertension, with increase mainly systolic pressure, but alcohol abuse also decreases the effect of antihypertensive drugs, and both situations increase the risk of cardiovascular events, such as infarction.
2. Cardiac arrhythmia
Too much alcohol can also affect the functioning of the heart. There may be atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and ventricular extrasystoles. This may also happen in people who do not drink alcohol frequently, but abuse at a party, for example. But regular consumption of large doses of alcohol favors the onset of fibrosis and inflammation.
3. Increased cholesterol
Alcohol above 60g stimulates the increase in VLDL and therefore it is not recommended to have a blood test to assess dyslipidemia after drinking alcoholic beverages. In addition, it increases atherosclerosis and reduces the amount of HDL.
4. Increased atherosclerosis
People who consume too much alcohol have the walls of the arteries more swollen and with ease for the onset of atherosclerosis, which is the accumulation of fat plaques inside the arteries.
5. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
Alcoholic cardiomyopathy may occur in people who consume more than 110g / day of alcohol for 5 to 10 years, and is more frequent in young people, between 30 and 35 years of age. But in women the dose may be lower and cause the same damage. This change causes an increase in vascular resistance, decreasing the cardiac index.
But in addition to these diseases the excess alcohol also leads to the increase of uric acid that can be deposited in the joints causing acute pain, popularly known as gout.
