Historically, alcohol has played a very influential role across cultures and civilizations. It has not only brought people together but also torn them apart. Be it celebrations, socializing, or escape from reality, this pleasure poison has found its place in history since 3000 BCE in Babylon. But over the last millennium, alcohol has swerved from a warm embrace to moral abuse. 

What is alcohol?

Wine, Rum, Beer, etc are all various names and flavours of alcohol that contain Ethanol or Ethyl alcohol along with other ingredients. It is created as a result of the fermentation of dead fruits or grains when certain species of yeast metabolize sugar in the absence of oxygen. 

Alcohol's History

Studies say that humans may have developed a taste for alcohol around 10 million years ago. One study noted that when food was scarce, human ancestors living on trees came down to live on land to dine on fallen rotten fruits. There arose a genetic mutation to break down alcohol as found in the digestive enzymes of our primate ancestor’s mouth throat and stomach. “They might have benefited from small quantities, but not to excessive consumption”, said lead study author Matthew Carrigan, a paleo geneticist at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida. 

When consumed in excess, alcohol can cause adverse effects as the genes may not have evolved to process in excess like natural food.

Another study suggests that ethanol consumption may have started when humans started preserving extra fruits as insurance against droughts and famines. 

Hence, historically, it was meant for consumption in limited amounts and the human genome has not really evolved to process it for the amounts consumed today. 

Evidence of a fermented alcoholic beverage made from fruit, honey, and rice found in Neolithic China dates back to 7000-6600 BCE. When humans started intentionally brewing alcohol, the amount of ethanol was far greater than the one found in the natural process. From then on, humans could control the fermentation process with technology rather than rely on the natural process of fermentation.

Formation of the habit

What starts off as an occasional use, over 1-2 years becomes a habit on the pretext of socializing or unwinding after a rough day. It then goes on to become one’s second nature and the addiction takes over the rational side of the person.

Drinking affects a person at all levels - physically, mentally , emotionally and spiritually.

Physical effects

Alcohol, once ingested, is broken down into toxic chemicals that poison at a cellular level. Over time, the spread of toxins affects every cell, tissue, and organ in the body. Biochemical & physiological malfunctions lead to nervous issues giving rise to various conditions in the liver, GUT and heart to name a few. 

First, the oral cavity gets damaged increasing the chances of oral cancer by 60%. The GUT becomes unsuitable to assimilate nutrients. Further damage to the intestines leads to cancers. Alcohol on reaching the liver, causes liver cirrhosis where, normal liver cells are replaced by useless fibroid, scarred tissues causing reduced liver functioning.  Blood from the liver becomes toxic and this constricts the arteries, raising the blood pressure, and affecting the heart and kidneys. It also damages the bone marrow cells affecting the quality of blood and leading to anaemia. 

It damages all the 100,000 brain cells and the body starts operating in a stress mode. Stress hormones norepinephrine, adrenaline and cortisol are released which causes sodium and water retention leading to further increase in blood pressure. In contrast, it also acts as a diuretic and dehydrates the body causing the blood to thicken and clot - aggravating circulatory problems.  Dilated, flabby heart muscles are unable to pump properly leading to an irregular heartbeat. Even a little can increase the chance of a stroke.

A pregnant woman can expose the baby to fetal alcohol syndrome. 

Alcohol impairs decision-making and balance. Drunk driving is the leading cause of death between ages 14  - 24.

Mental and Emotional Effects

The stress hormones make one feel alert and high performing, with an unusual wave of clarity of the senses as O2 is sent to protect the brain from damage. The brain also releases the feel-good chemical called dopamine making one feel good and happy. This inspires people to keep doing it.

Children of alcoholic parents are 50-60% more likely to become addicts themselves.

Alcohol consumes one mentally and makes dependency stronger. They continue to choose alcohol all along knowing it's wrong. The ability to drink more indicates a level of tolerance and dependence. Thousands of cases of alcohol-related homicides and suicides are reported annually. More than that are convictions with abuse on children and loved ones. The toll on the mental and emotional side is inestimable and cannot be put into sufficient words.  

Spiritual effects

Man’s true nature is to be happy. However, the approach can be dependent happiness(pleasure) Vs independent happiness (intrinsic). Substance or alcohol-dependent happiness is short-lived and one will want to go back to it again and again . When one doesn’t have a higher ideal, goal or purpose to live/aspire for, all unnecessary distractions such as drinking, show up. People continue to derive pleasure from different sources that perennially keep changing. The more effective way would be to look at things functionally based on one’s life’s goal and approach and make choices. True happiness should come from within!!

A healthy practice of choosing meditation can give us similar happy states that an intoxicated state cannot. The only difference is that, while meditating, you are under complete control and not dependent on a substance to induce these. And it's a lot better experience while meditating than through substance abuse. 

Social effects

One can be responsible about their choices by choosing juices over alcohol. One might get odd looks and questions few times, but usually, no one has the time to follow up and change our choices unless we feel compelled to. 

Pop culture can cloud our decision-making, harming our loved ones in the process. Children tend to observe and learn from their parents. 

Economic reasons

Alcohol can cause economic ruin. The money spent on alcohol can instead be used to develop new skills. Networking over alcohol is just an excuse to drink more. The best networking happens without alcohol. If drinking alcohol is the only reason that you get hired for your next role, do you really want to be in that role/work with weak foundations in the long run?

Busting myths

1. Red wine has antioxidants and is good for heart health

While red wine contains antioxidants, it is still a dead liquid having a shelf life. If it was truly reliable for heart health, hospitals would also prescribe this for heart patients. The presence of alcohol is a good reason to avoid wine despite its antioxidants which instead can be easily found in fresh fruits, veggies and leafy-greens. 

2. Beer does not have as much alcohol as hard liquor 

A 12-ounce bottle of regular beer ( 5% alcohol by vol) has the same amount of alcohol as a 5-ounce glass of wine (about 12% alcohol by vol) or a 1.5-ounce shot of liquor or distilled spirits (about 40% alcohol by vol). 

While drinking beer might not make you drunk at lower doses, it definitely shows subtle impacts which can go unnoticed. It induces a false sense of hunger and one usually pairs this drink with processed foods that are high in salt, sugar and fat. While the liver is burning on alcohol, it hardly has the time to burn fat in the processed food that came along. Beer is also drunk more than other liquors causing the same amount of harm.

3. I don't have a drinking problem, I drink only wine and beer

The problem with drinking alcohol is not about what and when you drink, it's about the fact that you chose to drink and allow that to impact your life. This is an attitude of denial. Once acceptance comes, change follows.

4. I can drink and still be in control

The level of tolerance also indicates the amount of dependence on the habit of drinking assuming it to be safe. But the fact remains that the body continues to deteriorate critical thinking and judgment which will eventually show an impact.

Being able to “hold your liquor” does not give you protection, but it must be taken as a caution to wake up. The ability to drink more indicates a level of tolerance,dependence and adaptation of the body leading to AUD (Alcohol use disorder)

5. I can sober up quickly over coffee or a cold shower

It takes about 2 hrs for an adult body to eliminate the alcohol content of a single drink depending on weight. Nothing can speed up this process – neither coffee nor a cold shower.

Healthy choices

1. Choose clean digestion over ammonia, lactic acid and carbonic acid that are dangerous by-products of fermentation and even in small amounts toxic to the body. 

2. Choose fresh sun-cooked fruits and whole grains over nutritionally depleted, intoxicating drinks 

3. Choose the body’s limited vital energy for staying healthy physically, mentally and spiritually over choosing to use it for the elimination of toxic, fermented food which leads to deterioration at all levels. 

Conclusion 

Choosing alcohol for any reason is not justifiable for the damage it causes to the internal organs. Opting for natural fruits and whole grains maintains health and hygiene.

Alcohol disrupts the body function causing toxaemia, damages internal organs which in turn makes one crave and make poor food choices leading to a further deterioration of health. Although the effect of the stress hormones masks the effects of alcohol in the beginning, one cannot expect the body to keep operating along the same lines for an indefinite period of time. 

I urge readers to rethink their decision of drinking (socially, habitually, etc). again and re-evaluate their choice. And re-evalute that choice every few years. The key to a healthy life starts with a healthy mind and it all starts with the decisions you make.

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About Author: 

Smitha Hemadri was with the IT industry for 2 decades and was a professional baker for 5 years. She is into lifestyle coaching since 2014.Facing life-threatening allergies & having survived twice, she learned to heal naturally & applied the same on her kids (5,8 yo) who are now healthy teens. Her family is vegan and lead a healthy and disease-free lifestyle. She specializes in emotional and spiritual counseling to help address the root causes along with physical healing

She can be reached via

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