Alcoholics die 24-28 years earlier than the general population

People drink alcohol to relax, for entertainment when in parties or gatherings. It is fine to drink it as long as you’re under control, so you have to be able to make sure you don’t overdrink it. Alcoholism becomes a problem when you start abusing the beverage by drinking it every single day, no matter the occasion, that is when you start getting addicted to it and would be known by the general population as an “Alcoholic”.

Effects of Alcohol on the Liver

Every person has dehydrogenase – an enzyme that breaks alcohol down – located in their livers. These enzymes help with the digestion of alcohol in the liver. The process starts when alcohol (ethanol) reaches the liver; the cells of the liver have enzymes which help with the digestion and processing of the alcohol.

When the alcohol reaches the blood, that is the moment you feel the effects of alcohol on your mind and body. Alcohol is a toxin to deliver, especially if overused, as the liver is processing alcohol it can do damage to the enzymes – dehydrogenase – which eventually leads to cell death, and hence decreases a person’s life expectancy than the average human being. Now again, just like any other scar we get, our body helps heal it naturally. Same is the process with our liver; if the damage is reversible, then as the cells die due to alcohol, we get scar tissue as the end result.

Quantify your drink

The amount of alcohol per drink can be quantified. It’s important to know what you’re drinking because a lot of times people mix their drinks. So, for example, if someone combine beer with some other alcoholic drink/drinks, they would think they just have one drink, but in fact, because of the combination, it can be 2 or 3 drinks.

The liver is an organ of our body that is able to regenerate itself so if there’s reversible damage and the heavy alcohol use stops early in a person lifetime; then the damage is not as big compared. The liver starts healing, and the process can last a couple of days or two weeks or many months. However, someone who has had a long-term alcohol drinking issue, the more severe is the case, and the damage may not be reversible at all, therefore leading in loss of life because of damage to the liver.

Medical Assistance

Therefore, people who drink heavy should be concerned about their lifestyle and health and should immediately seek medical counselling for whether they need assistance to stop drinking alcohol use or to see if they are healthy or have any damage to their liver because of long-term alcohol abuse.

Statistics have reportedly stated that people who are addicted to alcohol, in other words, known to be alcoholics have a life expectancy lower than the average human being. If you feel like you or a loved one is suffering from this, then you should visit your doctor or get help from people you trust and are close to, but professional help would be the best kind of support to lead you on the right path to a happy and healthy lifestyle.

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4402015/
https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa72/aa72.htm
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/understanding-dangers-of-alcohol-overdose