Week 3 Post 2

    Despite alcohol's obvious short-term side effects, the devastating long-term side effects are not obvious and are often ignored. The consumption of alcohol can result in cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box, live, colon, stomach, and breast. It also results in liver failure, increased risk of heart attack and stroke, and damage to the pancreas and brain. The more alcohol a person drinks over time, the more likely they are to develop cancer. Especially, when paired with smoking or with increased risk of breast cancer. There are five processes which occur in the human body which make alcohol a catalyst of cancer. The first being that it damages the body's tissues. A study was done on animals to examine the affects of alcohol on the body. Acetaldehyde is an organic chemical complex which is the result of ethanol in the body. In the study, this acetaldehyde damaged the DNA and caused cancer. It also effects other harmful chemicals. When paired with tobacco, the substances can more easily enter the upper digestive tract and result in cancers of the mouth, throat, stomach, etc. Folate is a B-Vitamin which is of vital importance to human health. It is responsible for making red and white blood cells in bone marrow, creating energy, and making DNA and RNA. When mixed with alcohol, the production of folate is hindered. Probably the most well known effect in the body is alcohols effect on estrogen levels. Alcohol raises estrogen in the body which triggers the growth and development of breast tissue and, thus, breast cancer. The other negative side effects could be a result of alcohols effect on body weight, as it contains calories and sugar. 

    In the context of lifestyle medicine, there are simple steps any person can take to decrease their risk of cancer and other alcohol-related chronic illness. The simplest way to decrease risk would be limiting or cutting out all alcohol from a person's diet. However, in the context of the modern world, this is likely not reasonable or encouraging. For sure, a person should limit their alcohol to 1 drink a day for women and 2 for men. It is important to note that most excessive users of alcohol or not alcohol dependent and there are ways to know if a person might be abusing the substance. Most people only consider alcohols immediate effects on the human psyche but it is important to be educated about the long term risks and possible permanent damage. Excessive drinking is responsible for 88,000 deaths per year in the US. These lives were cut by about 30 years and entirely preventable. Excessive drinking is defined as binge drinking, heavy drinking, drinking while pregnant, or drinking while under the age of 21. If a person feels they may be drinking an excessive amount, they should take steps to limit their drinking to 8 drinks per week for women or 15 for man. They should not binge drink (women 4+, men 5+). If there is a possibility that a person may have a problem, they should talk to a trusted professional or loved one, discuss options and possibly seek help. The truth of the matter is, it is life or death. Alcohol poses obvious and devastating effects to human health. To stop the problem, discussions need to occur about the long term health risks, especially to young people.