ZEST 7 - It's no secret if the consumption of alcohol can cause a variety of health problems. As reported by WebMD, the researchers even have linked alcohol consumption with more than 60 diseases.
"Alcohol is doing a lot of things in the body, and we do not fully realize the effect," said James C. Garbutt, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and a researcher at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.
Here are 9 health problems that haunt alcoholics:
1. Anemia
Excessive alcohol intake can cause decrease the number of red blood cells in the body. The condition became known as anemia. Anemia can cause a number of health problems, including fatigue and shortness of breath.
2. Cancer
Scientists say that excessive alcohol consumption can lead to cancer. That's because when alcohol enters the body, it is converted to acetaldehyde, the kind of strong carcinogens. The type of cancer that can be triggered by alcohol, including cancers of the mouth, pharynx (throat), larynx (voice box), esophagus, liver, breast, and colorectal.
3. Cardiovascular Disease
Excessive alcohol consumption can make the platelets clump together, which can lead to heart attack or stroke. Drinking alcohol can also cause cardiomyopathy, a potentially lethal condition in which the heart muscle weakens and eventually heart failure, and can lead to heart rhythm abnormalities such as atrial ventricular fibrillation.
4. Cirrhosis
Alcohol is toxic to liver cells, and the majority of heavy drinkers develop cirrhosis, liver damage that makes the heart no longer functions.
5. Dementia
With age, the human brain will shrink, averaging about 1.9% per decade. But drinking alcohol may accelerate the depreciation of certain areas in the brain, resulting in memory loss and other symptoms of dementia.
6. Seizures
Excessive alcohol intake can cause epilepsy and can trigger seizures - even in people who do not have epilepsy once.
7. Gout
Gout is caused by the formation of uric acid crystals in the joints. Although cases of gout largely due to heredity, alcohol can trigger this disease and also worsen the condition of gout.
8. High blood pressure
Drinking alcohol can cause blood pressure to rise. Such conditions can cause many health problems, including kidney disease, heart disease, and stroke.
9. Pancreatitis
In addition to causing irritation of the stomach (gastritis), drinking alcohol can damage the pancreas and trigger a disease called pancreatitis. Chronic pancreatitis can disrupt the digestive process, causing severe abdominal pain and diarrhea sustained.
Here's nine health problems that haunt alcoholics. Hopefully this information is useful for you!
