Why does alcohol damage the liver? What is the basis

First of all, let’s talk about why you blush. It is because alcohol needs to be converted in the body. When it is converted into acetaldehyde, it will produce a heating effect. This will also cause blood vessel congestion and red face.

There is an enzyme in the human liver that can convert ethanol into acetaldehyde. Some people have more of this enzyme and the conversion is faster, so they tend to blush, while others with less of it have the opposite effect.

It is worth pointing out that people do not blush after drinking alcohol. This is not a good thing, because these people have to convert ethanol through other ways, which can easily damage the liver.

Why do some people blush while others turn pale when drinking alcohol?

Let’s start with the reasons for blushing. Many people think it is caused by alcohol, but in fact it is not caused by acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde has the function of dilating capillaries, and the dilation of capillaries on the face is the cause of blushing. Therefore, people who blush after drinking alcohol can quickly convert ethanol into acetaldehyde, which means they have efficient alcohol dehydrogenase (alcohol dehydrogenase). But we can't forget that there is another enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase (aldehyde dehydrogenase). People who blush after drinking only have the former enzyme but not the latter enzyme, so acetaldehyde accumulates rapidly in the body and cannot be metabolized for a long time, so the face becomes red for a long time. However, everyone has experience that the redness will gradually disappear after 1-2 hours. This is due to the P450 in the liver slowly converting acetaldehyde into acetic acid, which then enters the TCA cycle and is metabolized.

So what’s going on with people who drink more heavily? The more these people drink, the paler their faces become. At a certain point, they suddenly lose control and become completely drunk. That's because such people do not have highly active alcohol dehydrogenase or acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, and mainly rely on P450 in the liver for slow oxidation (because P450 is a group of oxidases with relatively low specificity). So, why do such people give people the impression that they are good at drinking? At that time, because they relied on body fluids to dilute alcohol, the bigger they were, the better they felt. Under normal circumstances, they will fall into coma if the alcohol concentration exceeds 0.1. For most southerners, this is half a catty of liquor, while northerners can drink 8 taels to one catty of liquor due to their large body size. But no matter who you are, if your face becomes paler the more you drink, it is best not to exceed half a catty, otherwise there is the possibility of acute alcohol poisoning.

What happens if a person has both high activity of alcohol dehydrogenase and high activity of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase? He/she is the legendary wine basket. How to judge whether he/she is a drunkard? See if you are sweating a lot. Because if both enzymes are highly active, alcohol quickly turns into acetic acid and enters the TCA cycle to generate heat, causing a large amount of heat and sweating. When you meet such a person, you can only admit that you are unlucky. Even ten or eight normal people cannot defeat him. Fortunately, there are not many such people, probably about one in 100,000.

One thing to remind everyone is that people whose faces turn red after drinking alcohol are not likely to injure their livers, while people who have a pale face after drinking alcohol are particularly likely to injure their livers. People with red faces are generally less likely to drink, so they drink less. They feel sleepy after drinking, but they feel energetic again after sleeping for 15-30 minutes. The white-faced ones often don't know their own boundaries and drink too much in high excitement until they are drunk. The alcohol in their bodies accumulates due to the lack of highly active enzyme processing, causing liver damage. Alcoholic liver damage generally occurs only in these people. People with red faces can drink even if they vomit after several meals in a row, while people with fair faces need more time to rest, because the metabolism of alcohol takes a day or two.

By the way, according to relevant research, people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces (descendants of the ancient Wu and Yue countries) seem to be the origin of the red face gene, which means that most of these people have highly active ethanol detoxifiers. hydrogenase. Most northerners have white faces. So if you were born in the north and have a red face, what does it mean? The answer is obvious, because the red face gene is a dominant gene.

Drink more boiled water (also a kind of water mixed with wine, haha) when drinking alcohol, and never drink tea.

(1) Drinking a lot of alcohol will cause the following disadvantages

1. Death: Alcohol will inhibit the respiratory center of the brain oblongata, causing respiratory arrest. In addition, a drop in blood sugar may also be a fatal factor.

2. Malabsorption syndrome causes various vitamin deficiencies and indirectly leads to various nervous system injuries.

(2) Effects of long-term heavy drinking

1. Liver damage: Fat accumulation in the liver causes fatty liver.

2. Gastric ulcer: It can cause gastric bleeding and be life-threatening.

3. Nervous system damage: such as peripheral neuropathy.

4. Cerebral cortical atrophy: There are reports that some chronic alcoholics have cerebral cortical atrophy, and some patients also show signs of mental decline.

5. Alcoholic Fetal Syndrome: Alcohol is metabolized and excreted slowly in the fetus, causing various harms to the developing fetus, including fetal malformations, fetal death, growth retardation and behavioral defects. wait.

(3) The impact of alcoholism on family life

1. Easily agitated, losing temper, poor judgment control, prone to conflicts with others, sensitive to external stimuli, There is a high crime rate.

2. Spouses and children often become the targets of violent acts and attacks.

3. Being in a trance affects work efficiency.

4. Alienation from relatives and friends causes alcoholics to bear greater psychological frustration and pressure, leading to a vicious cycle of self-destruction and self-abandonment.

(2)

The stock market makes people depressed, and many people turn to alcohol to relieve their worries. Doctors pointed out today that although alcohol can temporarily anesthetize oneself and temporarily escape the current predicament, Long-term drinking can lead to depression and other mental illnesses, and can also easily lead to malnutrition, which is harmful to physical and mental health.

Yang Shangru, a physician at the Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, pointed out that alcohol is a depressant of the central nervous system. In addition to being harmful to health, excessive drinking can also damage attention or memory, and in more serious cases, it can even lead to coma.

He also said that if you suddenly stop drinking after long-term drinking, withdrawal symptoms will occur. The nerve tissue that has been suppressed for a long time will rebound and become over-excited; about 4% Ten out of ten patients with alcohol addiction have experienced symptoms of major depression, and most patients with depression use alcohol to escape reality. The two are causally related. Excessive alcohol can also easily induce dementia and other psychiatric diseases.

He pointed out that patients with alcohol addiction have used alcohol as their main source of energy for a long time and lack the nutrients from other foods, which can easily lead to malnutrition.

Yang Shangru emphasized that psychological problems should be solved by seeking help from a psychologist or other channels. Drinking to relieve one's worries will not only make the worries worse, but also harm the physical and mental health. It is really not worth the gain.

Alcohol can mess up the sex, and accidents occur one after another after drinking. In addition, its effects on the body are countless, such as:

The disadvantages of excessive drinking

Alcohol can mess up the sex, and accidents occur one after another after drinking. In addition, its effects on the body are countless, such as:

1. Inhibit the regeneration of glycogen, causing hypoglycemia. blood sugar.

2. Produce ketone bodies, ketoacidosis, and even cause ketoacid coma in diabetic patients.

3. Increase the blood concentration of triglycerides, increase the incidence of pancreatitis, and cause a high mortality rate.

4. Related to the incidence of breast cancer.

5. Aggravate gastritis and liver disease.

6. Addiction, mental disorder, etc.

Excessive drinking is not allowed in the presence of any medical condition.

■Benefits of drinking:

If you drink in moderation, have some good food, and feel happy, you will often turn harm into benefit and receive unexpected benefits. Because the decomposition of alcohol by the liver requires the participation of a variety of enzymes and vitamins, the higher the alcohol content of the wine, the more enzymes and vitamins the body consumes, so it should be supplemented in time. Fresh vegetables, fresh fish, lean meat, beans, eggs, etc. can be used as side dishes.

Foods such as salted fish, sausages, and bacon contain pigments and nitrites. The reaction with alcohol will not only damage the liver, but also easily cause damage to the oral and esophageal mucosa. Therefore, it is not advisable to use too much as a supplement. vegetable.

Drinking without eating vegetables will harm the liver.

Some people only drink without eating vegetables when drinking, which will harm the liver.

From a health perspective, the higher the alcohol content of the wine, the more you should eat vegetables rich in animal protein. This is also a tip for drinking. Liver-protecting drugs sold on the market contain methionine and choline.

Beef, roasted chicken, fish and other animal foods and soy products contain large amounts of methionine and choline. Therefore, eating these foods is equivalent to taking liver-protective drugs. Alkaline foods, such as cold dishes mixed with vinegar, vegetables and fruits, are also beneficial to protecting the liver.

In addition, wine and meat are both acidic foods. Drinking alcohol while eating alkaline foods such as vegetables can neutralize the acidity and reduce the burden on the liver. Eating more fish, chicken, tofu and tempeh while drinking is also beneficial.

If you are thirsty after drinking, you can eat some fruits.

Alcohol has a diuretic effect and can excrete salt in the urine. In order to supplement the loss of salt in the body, it is best to drink a glass of light salt water the morning after drinking. Because the diuretic effect of wine itself and the salt in the dishes increase blood concentration, thirst is easy to occur after drinking. Drinking glass after glass of water at this time is also not good for the liver.

The best way is to eat some fruits, which can neutralize the acidity, and the sugar in the fruits can promote the burning of alcohol in the body, thereby reducing its toxicity to the liver.

Eating while drinking and supplementing with sufficient carbohydrates can reduce the occurrence of alcoholic fatty liver disease. Drinking alcohol and eating some vegetables can also reduce the burden on the liver. Vinegar salads and fruits are good choices. They can neutralize, and the sugar in the fruits can accelerate the burning of alcohol in the body. At the same time, they supplement important antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and trace element selenium. It can also reduce the toxicity of alcohol on the liver.

■Dangers of drinking alcohol:

Dangers of drinking alcohol

In daily life, beer, wine and liquor are commonly consumed. The origin, brewing process and ethanol content of various wines are different. Alcohol content usually refers to the percentage of ethanol contained in wine (by volume). For example, Beijing beer contains ethanol 5.4, wine contains ethanol about 11-16, usually called 11-16 degrees, and liquor contains ethanol 38-60, which contains ethanol. 38 is also called low-alcohol liquor.

Article 7 of the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" is "Drinking alcohol should be limited", and there is a paragraph explaining the harm of excessive drinking. Drinking a small amount of low-alcohol alcohol is not necessarily harmful, but excessive drinking or even binge drinking is definitely harmful but not beneficial. So what kind of alcohol can you drink? And how to limit the amount of alcohol?

A large amount of data in epidemiological studies suggests that if you drink no more than 24 grams of ethanol per day, it is equivalent to 540 ml of beer, 200 60 ml of fruit wine and 60 ml of 40% white wine are less dangerous.

Long-term drinking can lead to a lack of various nutrients in the body. Wine is one of the pure calorie foods. It can be broken down in the body to produce energy. But it does not contain any nutrients. Excessive drinking firstly reduces the intake of other foods containing a variety of important nutrients (such as protein, vitamins, minerals). Secondly, it can reduce appetite, reduce food intake, and long-term excessive drinking can damage the intestines. The mucosa affects the intestinal absorption of nutrients, and all of the above can lead to a variety of nutrient deficiencies.

The ethanol in wine has a direct toxic effect on the tissues and organs of the body. The organ most sensitive to ethanol is the liver. Continuous excessive drinking can damage liver cells and interfere with the normal metabolism of the liver, which can lead to alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis.

Excessive drinking affects fat metabolism. Ethanol slows down fatty acid oxidation, which may be beneficial to the storage of dietary lipids, increases liver fat synthesis, increases serum triglyceride content, and increases the possibility of triglyceridemia.

In addition, population epidemiological studies show that long-term excessive drinking will increase the risk of hypertension and stroke. Alcoholism can also lead to violent accidents, etc., which is harmful to personal health and social security.

People often talk about the beneficial effects of fruit wine recently. A French report found that some drinking areas had less coronary heart disease than others. However, the reduced risk of heart disease cannot all be attributed to certain components in red wine, because areas of France with high red wine consumption also have high consumption of vegetables and fruits, which have higher antioxidant capacity.

These data indicate that the lifestyle of fruit wine drinkers (such as less smoking, higher consumption of vegetables and fruits, etc.) leads to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

To sum up, drinking alcohol has both advantages and disadvantages for human health. Drinking a small amount of low-alcohol alcohol has some benefits, but drinking large amounts for a long time is harmful. Especially for teenagers and pregnant women. Teenagers are in the growth and development stage and are more sensitive to the harm of alcohol. Therefore teenagers cannot drink alcohol. The harmful effects of ethanol on pregnant women can affect fetal development and even induce congenital malformations in the fetus, so pregnant women are absolutely prohibited from drinking alcohol.

Excessive drinking: the harm is not small

Although it is said that "no party is complete without alcohol", at the same time, alcohol is also an "intestinal poison", and excessive drinking brings many harms. Every year, I don’t know how many people have accidents due to drinking, how many people lose their lives in this hot and humid time, and how many health disappears between bottles and cans.

It is sad that excessive drinking leads to tragedy

A statistics from the Institute of Mental Health of Peking University shows that in our country, the number of people drinking has been on the rise in recent years. At present, the drinking rates of men and women in my country are 84.1% and 29.3% respectively, of which 16.1% of men and 2.5% of women drink alcohol every day. In 1982, the incidence rate of alcohol dependence in my country was only 0.16‰. By 1990, it had increased more than three times. Alcoholics are becoming younger and the proportion of women is increasing.

A set of data from the World Health Organization shows that the mortality and morbidity rates caused by alcohol are equal to those of measles and malaria combined, and are also higher than those caused by smoking. In China, 114,100 people die from alcohol poisoning every year, accounting for 1.3% of the total mortality rate; 2,737,000 people are disabled, accounting for 3.0% of the total disability rate.

Speaking of tragedies caused by drinking, Professor Qu Yao, director of the Shanghai Liver Disease Research Center, told reporters a story: a middle-aged patient who was discharged from hospital after suffering from acute jaundice hepatitis and whose liver function had just returned to normal. During the Spring Festival, wedding banquets were coming one after another. At first, he could still remember the doctor's repeated instructions when he was discharged from the hospital, and he did not drink a drop of alcohol or anyone's advice. But at a special dinner table, when a close friend asked him what he smelled, he finally couldn't resist the temptation of Moutai. He thought that if he just drank a small cup and tried something new, nothing would happen! But the day after drinking this glass of wine, he found that his urine turned yellow, and he was tired and nauseated... It was this glass of wine that caused his hepatitis to relapse, and it soon developed into acute severe hepatitis. He eventually died due to ineffective rescue efforts. Lost his life.

Excessive drinking has not only led to countless tragic events, but has also seriously affected the image of individuals and even the country. Former Russian President Yeltsin is one of them.

It is said that one day in September 1994, the then Russian President Yeltsin flew back to Moscow from Washington. He was scheduled to have a 40-minute meeting with Irish Prime Minister Reynolds on the way. Just the day before leaving Washington, U.S. President Clinton hosted a banquet for him. Although there was no hard liquor on the table, there was wine. Yeltsin only ate a small piece of meat, but he frequently raised his glass to the bottom. After the wine hit his head, Yeltsin became more talkative and made a lot of foul language and "third-level jokes." The translator racked his brains to "purify" the swear words he said. When the plane arrived at Shannon Airport, the meeting place, Yeltsin sobered up. His wife handed him the shirt, but his buttoning hands refused to work. The accompanying officials realized that something was not going well, and after some discussion, decided to let the deputy prime minister hold a brief meeting with Reynolds on behalf of the president. When the deputy prime minister got off the plane, Yeltsin shed tears and said shamefully to the accompanying officials: "What you did has embarrassed me in front of the world."

Excessive drinking can cause serious harm to the body

“Excessive drinking can harm the liver most.” Professor Qu Yao pointed out: “The core chemical substance of wine is alcohol (i.e. ethanol). What is often called drunkenness is actually alcoholism. Because more than 90% of alcohol entering the body is metabolized by the liver, its metabolites and the metabolic disorders of liver cells it causes are the main causes of alcohol-induced liver damage.

According to research, if a normal person drinks an average of 40 to 80 grams of alcohol per day, alcoholic liver disease will occur in 10 years. For example, if a normal person drinks an average of 160 grams of alcohol per day, cirrhosis will occur in 8 to 10 years. What a shocking figure! ”

Professor Li Youming, deputy director of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, told reporters that he led a scientific research team and conducted a survey on alcohol intake among a population of 20,000 in urban and rural areas of Zhejiang Province. According to the survey, the prevalence rate of alcoholic liver disease in the population is 4.34%. For those who consume more than 40 grams of alcohol per day for more than 5 consecutive years, 48% of people will suffer from alcoholic liver disease in varying degrees; alcoholic liver disease basically occurs Among drinkers who have been drinking for more than 5 years and whose total alcohol intake exceeds 100 kilograms, studies have shown that the incidence of oral and throat cancer is twice as high as that of non-excessive drinkers. More than 20 times, the incidence of thyroid cancer increases by 30% to 150%, and the incidence of skin cancer increases by 20% to 70%. Among women with esophageal cancer, 60% of those who drink excessively have a 20% to 60% increase in breast cancer. Non-drinkers account for only 2%. Hepatitis B patients are inherently at greater risk of liver cancer. If they drink alcohol or drink excessively, the incidence of liver cancer will be greatly increased.

In addition, excessive drinking will increase the risk of liver cancer. Drinking alcohol can also have adverse effects on other parts of the body:

Excessive alcohol intake in the brain can seriously damage memory, attention, judgment, function and emotional response. Drinking too much can cause slurred speech. , blurred vision, loss of balance

Reproductive organs Alcohol can cause a decrease in sperm quality in men; for pregnant women, even a small amount of alcohol can put the unborn baby at risk of physical defects. Increased heart rate.

People who drink a lot of alcohol will develop cardiomyopathy, which can cause heart muscle tissue to weaken and be damaged, and fibrous tissue to proliferate, seriously affecting the function of the heart.

Drinking a large amount of alcohol at one time will cause uncomfortable symptoms of acute gastritis. Continuous ingestion of large amounts of alcohol can lead to more serious chronic gastritis.

Common physical and emotional effects of dangerous men and women

Low risk increases relaxation level every day

Responsible drinking ≤ 1.5 bottles of beer ≤ half Bottles of beer reduce the risk of heart disease

Medium risk: fatigue, insomnia, elevated blood pressure every day,

Harmful drinking 2 to 2.5 bottles of beer 1 to 1.5 bottles of beer Uncoordinated movements , depression or nervousness,

unclear thinking about problems, impotence,

driving or operating a machine is prone to danger

highly dangerous, every day, every day, in addition to the above-mentioned damages. , can damage

Dangerous drinking ≥ 3 bottles of beer ≥ 2 bottles of beer to the brain, causing physical dependence,

memory loss and liver disease

Drinking less will get you What are the benefits?

Physical aspects

No physical discomfort after drinking. Sleep well and have more energy. Reduce weight. Memory is better.

Good figure and more beautiful. Risk of harming yourself and others. Reduce the risk of high blood pressure, liver damage,

Reduce the risk of brain damage and cancer

Psychological aspects

Improve your mood and reduce the risk of quarrels with family members and reduce the risk of driving

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Other aspects

Save money

Specific action plan to reduce drinking

1. Set goals: What level should you control your drinking? ?

Amount of drinking and frequency of drinking

For men ≤ 2 bottles of beer 5 times a week

For women ≤ 1 bottle of beer 5 times a week

Pregnant women ≤ half a bottle of beer 2 to 3 times a week

Patients who do not drink alcohol 0 times a week

People with alcohol dependence do not drink 0 times a week

2. Take action: How can you reduce your drinking to the target levels above? Eat before drinking.

Quench your thirst with alcohol-free drinks before drinking alcohol. Have a non-alcoholic beverage before every glass of wine. Instead

Drink beer with a lower alcohol content. Drink a little less with each sip. Plan some other activities or work while you drink.

Exercise instead of drinking when you are bored or stressed. Develop hobbies such as fishing, photography, socializing, and exercising. Avoid going to the pub after get off work. As much as possible, avoid or limit the company of friends who drink a lot of alcohol

If someone persuades you to drink, you can say: "The doctor told me to drink less."

Drink alcohol in moderation. Beer only contains 4 degrees of alcohol and is less irritating, so it is highly praised by doctors. Since ancient times, a moderate amount of alcohol has been considered "the best medicine". As long as you drink it in the right way and not in excess, alcohol is indeed beneficial to the body. It can play a role in strengthening the body and has a preventive effect on cardiovascular diseases. But every day It is not good to drink more than one glass of liquor or one bottle of beer. It will reduce the health care effect to zero. Moreover, if it is exceeded every day, it will increase the incidence of heart disease regardless of the burden on the liver. Therefore, scientists suggest that one cup of liquor a day and one bottle of beer a day, no more and no less, are the most beneficial to health. Regardless of whether you drink red wine or beer, it has a reducing effect on the occurrence of cardiovascular disease, but red wine drinkers have the best protective effect. Drinking 22-32g of red wine with alcohol per day can reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular disease and cancer by about 33%. Regardless of whether you drink red wine or beer, or you are a lover of both, drinking moderate amounts of alcohol every day will be helpful to your heart health. Experts from King's College and St Thomas Hospital in the UK pointed out in a study that one of the best ways for young men and women to maintain strong bones is to drink a glass of beer every day. Drinking beer every day can provide a large amount of natural sources of silicon, which is very helpful for bone health. In addition, HOP (hops), which gives beer its bitter taste, contains a female hormone, which has beauty and stress-reducing effects.

But what happens if you overdose? Eating or drinking anything in excess can be harmful, and alcohol is no exception. Drinking too much alcohol can make you susceptible to many other diseases. Drinkers have a higher chance of developing kidney and liver disease. Excessive drinking can cause alcohol poisoning, damage the central nervous system, and even lead to bulbar paralysis; inhibit gastric juice secretion, weaken pepsin activity, irritate the gastric mucosa, cause chronic gastritis, and bring great harm to the human body. Alcohol also reduces the level of testosterone, the main male hormone, affecting male fertility and the health of offspring. For male adolescents, it can delay the maturation of sexual function. Excessive drinking by pregnant women may cause deformities, mental retardation, or even stillbirth in the baby. For patients with liver disease, the stimulation of alcohol will increase the burden on the liver and aggravate the condition. For hypertensive patients who are taking antihypertensive drugs, alcohol will not only reduce the efficacy of the drug, but also dissolve the outer shell of the slow-acting drug, causing the drug to become too powerful and life-threatening. Generally speaking, every time people drink alcohol, when the alcohol concentration in the liquid reaches 0.05--0.2, the brain's inhibitory function is weakened, memory is reduced, and discrimination, concentration, and understanding are significantly reduced. At this time, drinkers often lose their usual civility and courtesy and become rude, chattering, boasting, wandering around, or even fighting and making trouble. When the alcohol concentration in a person's blood reaches 0.4, the drinker will fall into drowsiness, coma, pale complexion, slow breathing, drop in body temperature, and even lose his life. Long-term drinking of large amounts can also cause chronic alcoholism, mental retardation, and chronic Gastritis, liver, heart, kidney and other degenerations, cirrhosis, polyneuritis and other diseases. People who drink alcohol frequently do not pay attention to the nutrition of food. In addition, alcohol can deplete thiamine (vitamin B1) and niacin (anti-pellagra vitamin) in the body, thus causing mental and organ disorders. Do not be careful. . People who drink too much often suffer from malnutrition. Experimental results show that even a small amount of alcohol can affect the short-term memory ability of normal people. Long-term alcoholics will suffer from severe amnesia due to insufficient vitamin B1.

So to sum up, you should now try to control the amount of 2-3 bottles to less than 1 bottle to avoid adverse situations and put health first.

Moderate drinking has a health-care effect on the body.... But regular and large amounts of drinking will definitely have many adverse effects on the body... First of all, alcohol will irritate your gastrointestinal tract, especially the stomach. Most of all The direct effect will cause gastric bleeding. At the same time, a large amount of alcohol aggravates the detoxification function of the liver, and the diseases caused by the increased burden on the liver cannot be ignored....

Drinking a large amount of alcohol must avoid harmful effects on the body. It is impossible to cause absolute harm. We can only say to eat some hangover products after drinking to speed up the decomposition of alcohol...such as tea, mung bean soup, etc.