Alcoholic beverage Essay Example for Free

Alcoholic beverage Essay When the word alcohol is brought up, what do you think about? What comes to my mind is parties, and what people think they have to drink to have fun. Did you know that over 5,000 people under the age of 21 die each year from alcohol-related car crashes, suicides, homicides, alcohol poisoning, and other injuries such as falls, burns, and drowning? Alcohol can be a very dangerous substance if not treated correctly and drank responsibly. Alcohol is a form of a drug but unlike the other drug, marijuana, heroine, because this is socially accepted and is legal for anyone over the age of 21. It can have many good and bad affects to the body depending on whether you’re responsible or not. One way alcohol can be dangerous for the body is because it effects the brain and its functions. Long-term drinking can leave permanent damage, causing the brain to shrink and leading to several  ­deficiencies in the fibers that carry information between brain cells. Many alcoholics develop a condition called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which is caused by a deficiency of B vitamin. This deficiency occurs because alcohol interferes with the way the body absorbs B vitamins. People with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome experience mental confusion and lack of coordination, and they may also have memory and learning problems. The body responds to the continual introduction of alcohol by coming to rely on it. This dependence causes long-term, debilitating changes in brain chemistry. The brain accommodates for the regular presence of alcohol by altering neurotransmitter production. But when the person stops or dramatically reduces his or her drinking, within 24 to 72 hours the brain goes into what is known as withdrawal as it tries to readjust its chemistry. Symptoms of withdrawal include disorientation, hallucinations, nausea, sweating and seizures. One of the bad things that can happen from alcohol is how it can affect family relationships. Married couples and partners also take on spontaneous roles when living with an alcoholic. Many non-alcoholics go into denial about their spouses addiction, or become afraid to confront the alcoholic in fear of what they could do or losing them. The partner may then develop a high tolerance to the alcoholic’s behaviors. The partner will begin to feel depressed, confused, or maybe even guilty. When either partners or spouses are alcoholics, they often are in denial of their problem and neither believes they are dependent of the drug. Adults and children often don’t see themselves in many of these discussed roles, which is why it’s extremely important for families to be a part of the alcoholics recovery process and to be very supportive when they try to get help. Alcohol can affect your life in some good or bad ways depending on how you drink, how often you drink, and how much you drink. It is better to drink responsibly and that means knowing when you have had enough. This normally means drinking only 1 to 2 glasses a day with a meal, and to also have a healthy diet that goes along with that. Otherwise the health benefits of drinking alcohol are gone, and replaced with some horrible side-effects.