Why Shouldn't You Drink Alcohol?

It Leads to Brain Disorders

Drinking alcohol for years can eventually lead to brain disorder. Research shows that even a couple of drinks every day can cause problems like slurred speech, blurred vision, impaired memory, slower reaction times, and a loss of balance. These short-term effects may go away once you stop drinking, but binge drinking may lead to mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, personality disorders, risk-taking behavior, and schizophrenia. Insomnia is another common issue associated with excessive drinking.

It Increases Risk of Cancer

You will be at an increased risk of developing cancer if you drink alcohol for years. Long-term drinking often leads to cancer of the mouth, liver, larynx, throat, breast, and esophagus. You are even at a higher risk for developing cancer if you are a smoker as well.

It Causes Birth Defects

Pregnant women should stay away from drinking throughout their pregnancy. Research shows that pregnant women who continue to drink during pregnancy will put their babies at an increased risk of developing birth defects of the heart, brain, and other organs.

It Increases Chances of Injury

One of the short-term effects of drinking is that you will have a slower reaction time. Together with impaired judgment and coordination, slower reaction time can increase your risk of sustaining an injury. When you are under the influence of alcohol, you are more likely to be involved in violent acts, such as murder, child abuse, suicide, motor-vehicle accidents, burns, drowning and firearm injuries.

It Offers Empty Calories

You are only going to put on weight by drinking alcohol since it provides you with empty calories without nutritional benefits. A 5 oz. glass of wine, 12oz beer, or 1.5oz shot of liquor provides you with 150 calories. These calories are really going to hurt you when you consider that you will be inactive for a long time after drinking alcohol.

It Can Cause Death

Binge drinking can prove fatal, which is the reason why you shouldn't drink alcohol at all. You are binge drinking if you drink so much alcohol in two hours that the concentration of alcohol in your blood goes past 0.08 percent. This can depress your nervous system and lead to seizures, coma, blackouts and even death.

It Damages Your Cardiovascular System

By drinking alcohol, you increase your chance of developing hypertension, which in turn affects your cardiovascular system and puts you at an increased risk of developing dementia or having a heart attack. By weakening your heart muscles, alcohol can affect the liver, lungs, brain and other bodily systems.

It Damages Internal Organs

Why you shouldn’t drink alcohol? Because drinking alcohol heavily over several years can damage your internal organs. In many cases, the damage is irreversible. It may affect the following organs:

• Lung: Drinking may lead to lung infections and increase your chance of developing pneumonia.

• Liver: Drinking may prove extremely damaging for the liver. It results in fat deposits in the liver, which may lead to an inflamed liver. With continued drinking, you may develop alcoholic hepatitis, which can cause liver failure and death.

• Stomach: Excessive drinking can cause stomach ulcers, cancer and internal bleeding. It may lead to gastritis, which results in the inflammation of the stomach.

• Pancreas: Inflammation of the pancreas is another problem associated with heavy drinking. It can be extremely painful and cause weight loss, fever, and vomiting. It may prove fatal in some cases.

• Intestines: By damaging your intestines, alcohol increases your risk of developing cancer of the colon. Your body will lose its ability to absorb vitamins and nutrients from the foot, which will cause serious problems.

• Kidneys: Hypertension is often a side effect of continued heavy drinking. If you have high blood pressure, it may also affect your kidneys and result in chronic kidney disease.

It Causes Fertility Problems

Heavy drinking can make men impotent. It lowers libido and results in infertility. It affects women in the similar fashion and causes problems related to the reproductive system.

It Weakens Your Bones

With continued drinking, you are going to lose bone density that can leave you with brittle bones. Alcohol also lowers your body's ability to absorb calcium, which in turn leaves you with thin and weak bones. It also increases your risk of developing osteoporosis.

It Leads to Criminal Activities

Impaired judgment is a common issue associated with excessive drinking and it often leads to criminal activities. Moreover, it is important for the law enforcement officers to control these criminal activities and keep order, especially during the early hours on weekends, which can be financially disturbing for the government.

It Leaves You with a Thumping Headache

Yet another reason not to drink alcohol is that it leaves you with a severe headache when you wake up in the morning. Waking up with a thumping headache after a night of heavy drinking can spoil your whole day.