Alcohol Overload? How to Minimise the Harmful Effects of Excess Drinking

By Christina Lavers

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

“It only takes one drink to get me drunk, but I can’t remember if it’s the thirteenth or fourteenth.” ~ George Burns (1896 – 1996)

Excessive alcohol consumption is often considered a central part of being social and having a good time. One of the reasons it is so popular is because so many people in today’s society are affected by stress and self-consciousness. And as alcohol is considered a legal, ‘socially acceptable’ substance that helps us to relax and lessen our inhibitions, it tends to be the drug of choice for many.

Unfortunately alcohol isn’t as innocuous as the playful, comforting advertising campaigns would like us to believe. It is a drug, after all. The damaging effects of excess alcohol go beyond the humiliation of doing something silly, like dancing on our boss’ desk at the annual Christmas party. Many studies have clearly demonstrated that alcohol can have extensive negative effects on our social, psychological and physical health.

Binge drinking, which is defined as consuming an excessive amount of alcohol over a short period of time, is very widespread. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one in six adults binge drinks about four times a month. Adding to the concerns, a new study by University of Missouri School of Medicine researchers looked at the effects of binge drinking combined with chronic alcohol abuse.

“Heavy binge drinking by those who habitually consume alcohol is the most common cause of liver damage in chronic alcoholic liver disease,” said Shivendra Shukla, Ph.D., the Margaret Proctor Mulligan Professor of medical pharmacology and physiology at the MU School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “We know that this behavior causes large fatty deposits in the liver that ultimately impair the organ’s ability to function properly. However, we wanted to understand the mechanism that causes this damage and the extent of the harm. Our research focused on different forms of alcohol abuse and the results of those behaviors.”

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Previous articles by Christina Lavers:

• New Study Shows Regular Contact with Nature Reduces Crime, Increases Social Cohesion
• Research Shows Just 7 Minutes of Meditation Can Reduce Racial Prejudice
• Taking Care of Our Inner Tribes – Microflora, Awakening and You
• Groundbreaking Study Maps the Decline of Wild Bee Communities in the United States
• Taking Responsibility For Our Energy
• More Evidence That TV is Dumbing Us Down
• Discernment – Navigating The Spiritual Minefield
• Synchrony and Exertion of Dancing Found to Encourage Social Bonding, Raise Pain Threshold

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