Long Term Effects of Alchool - 818 Words

Keith McGrenaghan 12th Grade Alcohol essay The Long-Term Effects of Alcohol Use Alcohol is primarily absorbed through the stomach and the small intestines. It is considered a food because it has calories, but does not need to be digested and proceeds directly into the body through the digestive system. After ingestion it is carried through the blood stream and crosses the bloodÂâ€"brain barrier, at which time impairment begins. A greater amount of ingestion causes greater impairment to the brain, which, in turn, causes a person to have a greater degree of difficulty in functioning. The majority of alcohol in the body is eliminated by the liver. Ninety percent is eliminated through the body, while ten percent is eliminated through†¦show more content†¦There is mounting evidence that repeated exposure to alcohol during adolescence leads to long-lasting deficits in cognitive abilities, including learning and memory, in humans. The ages 15 and 16 years old in in-patient treatment for alcohol-dependence perform more poorly on test of memory and attention t han healthy control subjects from the surrounding community. Research with human adolescents clearly suggests that alcohol abuse during the teen years has long lasting effects. It appears that adolescents might be particularly vulnerable to the long-lasting effects of alcohol use. The causes of these long-lasting changes are unclear, but they might involve brain damage and alterations in normal brain development. Prolonged, heavy use of alcohol can lead to addiction (alcoholism). Sudden cessation of long term, extensive alcohol intake is likely to produce withdrawal symptoms, including severe anxiety, tremors, hallucinations and convulsions. Long-term effects of consuming large quantities of alcohol, especially when combined with poor nutrition, can lead to permanent damage to vital organs such as the brain and liver. In addition, mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy may give birth to infants with fetal alcohol syndrome. These infants may suffer from mental retardation and oth er irreversible physical abnormalities. In addition, research indicates that children of alcoholic parents are at greater risk than other children of becoming