▲

Alcohol affects our bodies in numerous ways. Sometimes, the damage is irreversible and can even lead to death in severe cases. We dig deep into the impact of alcohol in our bodies and bring you many interesting facts about drinking.

Check out the gallery to learn more.

▲

Alcoholic contains ethanol. It is considered a depressant psychoactive drug.

▲Alcohol severely affects brain functionality. It causes sudden mood changes, affects motor control and speech, slows reaction times, and can cause loss of balance.

▲It can alter the function of neurotransmitters, making our reactions slower and less responsive. It also impacts the ability to coordinate movements and potentially cause tremors and hallucinations.

▲

You can lose self-control, your memory, the ability to concentrate and your motor functions can become severely altered.

Alcohol also causes severe damage to brain cells and can permanently damage peripheral nerves.

▲Alcohol reduces vitamin B1, which can lead to the development of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which causes confusion and loss of mental activity.

▲Alcohol consumption causes sleep disorders in most people.

▲In large doses, alcohol can induce a coma. In very advanced cases, it can lead to permanent brain damage.

▲Alcohol consumption also increases heart rate.

▲Alcohol can also increase blood pressure. The toxicity of alcohol can damage your heart.

▲Alcohol causes peripheral vasodilatation, which causes redness of the skin and increases its temperature.

▲Alcohol can cause ulcers and internal bleeding, since it increases the production of gastric acid, causing irritation and inflammation in the stomach walls.

▲Excessive alcohol consumption can cause cancer to develop in the stomach, larynx, esophagus, and pancreas.

▲Alcohol can cause esophagitis (an inflammation of the esophagus), and esophageal varices.

▲Excessive consumption of alcohol can trigger acute pancreatitis, which is a severe inflammation of the pancreas.

▲Alcohol consumption can cause Type II diabetes.

▲The process of metabolizing alcohol is very slow, and for this reason, it can damage liver tissues.

▲It can contribute to fatty liver, potentially leading to hepatitis and cirrhosis. It can eventually result in liver cancer.

▲Excess alcohol can cause jaundice, which manifests as yellow coloration of the skin and eyes and the accumulation of liquids in the body's extremities.

▲Alcohol causes dehydration since renal function is changed due to reduced levels of its anti-diuretic hormone.

▲

As alcohol contains many calories and little nutritional value, it prevents the absorption of minerals and vitamins, eliminates the appetite and eventually leads to malnutrition.

▲Alcohol hinders the production of white and red blood cells.

▲As alcohol reduces the production of red blood cells, oxygen can not be transported, which can lead to the development of megaloblastic anemia.

▲The lack of white blood cells weakens the immune system, increasing the risk of bacterial and viral infections.

▲Alcohol consumption can also reduce the libido.

▲Alcohol can cause infertility and erectile dysfunction.

▲

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy may cause fetal alcohol syndrome, leading to growth retardation, changes in craniofacial traits, cardiac, hepatic, renal and ocular malformation.

▲

Even more serious is the impact alcohol can have in the fetus' central nervous system, which can lead to mental retardation.