What is alcohol?
How is it made?
Beer and wine are called fermented beverages. They are made by adding yeast to a substance that contains sugar. The yeast starts the formation process, which turns sugar into ethyl and carbon dioxide gas. Beer is made from barley malt. The people who brew the beer soak the barley in water to make it sprout. When the barley dries, they take off the sprouts only leaving starch or malt. The malt is ground up and mixed up with water to form mash. This is put into another mash which contains corn or rice that has been crushed and heated. The starch from corn or rice is then changed to sugar. Some dried flowers are added to the mash to add flavor, then the mash is fermented. Then the brewers age the beer for several weeks to add taste in the beer.
Alcohol is created when
grains, fruits or vegetables are fermented. Fermentation is a process that
uses yeast or bacteria to change the sugars in the food into alcohol.
Fermentation is used to produce many necessary items — everything from cheese
to medications. Alcohol has different forms and can be used as a cleaner, an
antiseptic or a sedative.
So if alcohol is a natural
product, why do teens need to be concerned about drinking it? When people drink
alcohol, it’s absorbed into their bloodstream. From there, it affects the
central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), which controls virtually
all body functions. Because experts now know that the human brain is still
developing during our teens, scientists are researching the effects drinking
alcohol can have on the teen brain.
How Does It Affect the
Body?
Alcohol is a depressant,
which means it slows the function of the central nervous system. Alcohol
actually blocks some of the messages trying to get to the brain. This alters a
person’s perceptions, emotions, movement, vision and hearing.
When large amounts of
alcohol are consumed in a short period of time, alcohol poisoning can
result. Alcohol poisoning is exactly what it sounds like — the body has become
poisoned by large amounts of alcohol. Violent vomiting is usually the first symptom
of alcohol poisoning. Extreme sleepiness, unconsciousness, difficulty
breathing, dangerously low blood sugar, seizures and even death may result.
Why Do Teens Drink?
Experimentation with alcohol during the teen years is common. Some reasons that teens use alcohol and other drugs are:
- To feel good, reduce stress, and relax
- To fit in
- To feel older
From a very young age, kids
see advertising messages showing beautiful people enjoying life — and alcohol.
And because many parents and other adults use alcohol socially — having beer or
wine with dinner, for example — alcohol seems harmless to many teens.
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is an illness
marked by drinking alcoholic beverages at a level that interferes with physical
health, mental health and social, family or occupational responsibilities.
Alcoholism is divided into
2 categories: dependence and abuse.
People with alcohol
dependence, the most severe alcohol disorder, usually experience tolerance and
withdrawal. Tolerance is a need for markedly increased amounts of alcohol to
achieve intoxication or the desired effect. Withdrawal occurs when alcohol is
discontinued or intake is decreased. Alcohol dependents spend a great deal of
time drinking alcohol and obtaining it.
Alcohol abusers may have
legal problems such as drinking and driving. They may also have problems with
binge drinking (drinking 6 or more drinks at one sitting).
People who are dependent on
or abuse alcohol continue to drink it despite evidence of physical or
psychological problems. Those with dependence have more severe problems and a
greater compulsion to drink.
Alcohol puts your health at risk. Teens who drink are more likely to be sexually active and to
have unsafe, unprotected sex. Resulting pregnancies and sexually transmitted
diseases can change — or even end — lives. The risk of injuring yourself, maybe
even fatally, is higher when you’re under the influence too. One half of all
drowning deaths among teen guys are related to alcohol use. Use of alcohol
greatly increases the chance that a teen will be involved in a car crash,
homicide or suicide.
Teen drinkers are more likely to get fat or have health problems too. One study by the University of Washington found that people who regularly had five or more drinks in a row starting at age 13 were much more likely to be overweight or have high blood pressure by age 24 than their non-drinking peers. People who continue drinking heavily well into adulthood risk damaging their organs such as the liver, heart and brain.
What are its short-term effects?
When a person drinks alcohol, the alcohol is absorbed by the stomach, enters the bloodstream and goes to all the tissues. The effects of alcohol are dependent on a variety of factors including a person’s size, weight, age and sex, as well as the amount of food and alcohol consumed. The disinhibiting effect of alcohol is one of the main reasons it is used in so many social situations. Other effects of moderate alcohol intake include dizziness and talkativeness; the immediate effects of a larger amount of alcohol include slurred speech, disturbed sleep, nausea and vomiting. Alcohol, even at low doses, significantly impairs the judgment and coordination required to drive a car safely. Low to moderate doses of alcohol can also increase the incidence of a variety of aggressive acts, including domestic violence and child abuse. Hangovers are another possible effect after large amounts of alcohol are consumed; a hangover consists of headache, nausea, thirst, dizziness and fatigue.
What are its long-term
effects?
Prolonged, heavy use of alcohol can lead to addiction (alcoholism). Sudden cessation of long term, extensive alcohol intake is likely to produce withdrawal symptoms, including severe anxiety, tremors, hallucinations and convulsions. Long-term effects of consuming large quantities of alcohol, especially when combined with poor nutrition can lead to permanent damage to vital organs such as the brain and liver. In addition, mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy may give birth to infants with fetal alcohol syndrome. These infants may suffer from mental retardation and other irreversible physical abnormalities. In addition, research indicates that children of alcoholic parents are at greater risk than other children of becoming alcoholics.
If you have ever seen a
person who has had too much to drink, you know that alcohol is a drug that has
widespread effects on the body and the effects vary from person to person.
People who drink might be the “life of the party” or they might become s ad and
droopy. Their speech may slur and they may have trouble walking. It all depends
on the amount of alcohol consumed, a person’s history with alcohol and a
person’s personality.
Even though you have seen
the physical and behavioral changes, you might wonder exactly how alcohol works
on the body to produce those effects. What is alcohol? How does the body
process it? How does the chemistry of alcohol work on the chemistry of the
brain? In this article, we will examine all of the ways in which alcohol
affects the human body.
How Can I Avoid Drinking?
If all your friends drink and you don’t want to, it can be hard to
say “no, thanks.” No one wants to risk feeling rejected or left out. Different strategies for turning down alcohol work for different people. Some people find
it helps to say no without giving an explanation, others think offering their
reasons works better (”I’m not into drinking” “I have a game tomorrow” or “my
uncle died from drinking” for example).
If saying no to alcohol makes you feel uncomfortable in front of
people you know, blame your parents or another adult for your refusal. Saying,
“My parents are coming to pick me up soon” “I already got in major trouble for
drinking once, I can’t do it again” or “my coach would kill me” can make
saying no a bit easier for some.
If you’re going to a party and you know there will be alcohol,
plan your strategy in advance. You and a friend can develop a signal for when
it’s time to leave, for example. You can also make sure that you have plans to
do something besides just hanging out in someone’s basement drinking beer all
night. Plan a trip to the movies, the mall, a concert or a sports event. You
might also organize your friends into a volleyball, bowling, or basketball team —
any activity that gets you moving.
Girls or guys who have strong self-esteem are less likely to
become problem drinkers than people with low self-esteem.
2 comments:
Seems like I have read the exact word-to-word article before :D
ha ha :D I only wrote that long back. This is a revamp of that. Happy now? :P
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