There is research that suggests that alcohol and cigarette usage can prevent brain altering diseases in elderly years, even though substance abuse is directed linked to dementia. Alcohol consumption can decrease the risk of dementia. Tobacco products have many health benefits. However, reducing alcohol consumption can prevent dementia. Making the conscious decision to abstain from alcohol can positively impact brain health dramatically. Cutting back on cigarettes and tobacco products lessens the likelihood of developing mind deteriorating diseases. Avoiding the use of tobacco products greatly promotes better health across many body systems, including the nervous system.
Alcohol consumption can decrease the risk of dementia. “As reported in the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, moderate drinkers were 23 percent less likely to develop cognitive impairment or Alzheimer 's disease and other forms of dementia” (Medical Daily) However, this is false because alcohol actually leads to decreases brain cells which increases the risk of dementia in older ages. “Small amounts of alcohol might, in effect, make brain cells more fit” (Medical Daily) Alcohol has a negative impact on the brain by making it less fit by eating away at healthy brain matter. “Alcohol in moderate amounts stresses cells and thus toughens them up to cope with major stresses down the road that could cause dementia” (Science Daily) Alcohol does help with stress, but in contrast to the little positive impact it greatly decreases brain health and well being by reducing brain cell size.
Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of complete personal abstinence from alcoholic beverages. Going teetotal can reduce the risk of dementia by creating a cleaner brain en...
... middle of paper ...
...an lead to brain deteriorating diseases during elderly years. The middle ages of one’s life are when many become less active and more dependent on substances, such as alcohol and nicotine. Not only are middle aged people at a higher risk to use tobacco products, more than many other age groups. These lifestyle choices increase the risk of reduction of brain size and blood circulation in the brain. These choices may seem somewhat harmless, but they are quite the opposite. The brain becomes dependent on these substances and is impacted in many ways. These substances are constantly at work altering the brain. Alteration over the years can cause brain deterioration leading to mental illnesses, dementia being just one of many. Alcohol has negative impacts on the brain even when in small doses. Nicotine and tobacco directly impact the brain leading to brain deterioration.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism writes this article to inform the world that alcohol is a brain disease that affects the body and mind. The article states that alcoholism is a type of addiction, which therefore means it is a complex disease. It affects the health and well-being of the person. Alcoholism was defined as a disease by the American Medical Association in 1956. David Rosenbloom, PhD, states, “They can’t stop because their brain has been changed.” Neurotransmitters in the brain such as, dopamine, serotonin, GABA, and glutamate, are disrupted by abused substances such as alcohol. This article will be helpful to me because it has specific examples and situation that explains that alcoholism is a disease.
Alzheimer's disease and related dementias affect all races, ethnicities and cultures equally. (Anonymous, 1998) Of people over 65 an estimated 6-10% will be affected by some form of dementia. (Hendrie, 1998) It is only in gender where we see slightly more women than men who are affected by this destructive illness. (Lautenschlager et al., 1996) The only controllable risk factor that is known at this point is cigarette smoking. In a large study in Germany smoking cigarettes doubled the risk of dementia in the older population. (Ott et al., 1998)
Frequent consumptions of alcohol are followed a number of potential health risks. This is more critical to the young body that is still growing. New research has shown that consuming alcohol can negatively impact the physical developments of brain structure. Youths who were influenced by an early drinking were not able to perform as well as nondrinkers in memory-test. Furthermore, the early drinkers may experience a direct effect on brain functioning. The negative effect includes decreased ability in planning and executive functioning, memory, spatial operations, and attention.
"Alzheimer’s & Dementia Prevention." : How to Reduce Your Risk and Protect Your Brain. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2014.
The early use of alcohol drinking in teens can cause brain damages since this is a time when...
Tyas, S. L. (2008). Alcohol Use and the Risk of Developing Alzheimer's Disease. National Istitute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Retrieved from: http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25-4/299-306.htm
“When I was 13, my dad started drinking more and more. Every day he would come home from work and have beer, lots of it. I didn’t think much of it at first, but then he started getting more angry and violent. He would shout at my mom and me. It was like my father had gone and been replaced with another guy” says an anonymous kid who lives with an alcoholic parent in “How my dad’s drinking problem almost destroyed my family”. The kid depicts that he is so confused, angry and upset especially when his father got fired for going to work drunk. This is one of many children’s voices who suffers having an alcoholic in their family. Most of them are depressed because alcohol has destroyed their family. This is an addiction that does
... of those things are exercise, eating blueberries, antidepressant drugs, and restricting your calories intake. As research grows we will see more and more studies showing ways to keep our brains healthy. People do not think about how dangerous it is to drink. They do not think about damaging their brains or the effects of the alcohol. The question as to how alcohol affects the brain has now been answered. If used in moderation alcohol will not damage or kill any brain cells. However, several years of alcohol abuse is what will cause the neurological damage (Bjork). Researching more about this topic, will educated many because drinking alcohol has become over rated and too many people are putting themselves at harm. Everyday a new person becomes an alcoholic. What better way to help stop it then doing research to help promote and warn people of the long-term damage?
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that help transmit signals from one nerve in the brain to another (Drinkaware). Drinking decreases our mental sharpness and judgment. According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor-vehicle crashes” (NIAAA,). Another problem that affects us mentally is addiction. Alcohol is very addictive and people go through withdrawal. (Brittanica, Mark Keller). Alcohol affects human’s bodies and causes them to die at a young age. Alcohol harms your organs such as the heart, liver, pancreas, and the brain. (NIAAA). Also, there is an increase of developing cancer around the mouth, esophagus, throat, liver, and breast (NIAA). Consuming alcohol came lead to people taking actions they might not have taken when sober. Regular drinking lowers the levels of serotonin in your brain. This leads to depression and
Health problem and drunk driving hit the list. Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways, and can affect the way the brain looks and works. In addition, alcohol causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that can eventually lead to pancreatitis, a dangerous inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels in the pancreas that prevents proper digestion [3]. Not only that, alcohol can also increase the risk of developing certain cancer. But almost every drinker knows these horrible diseases above, then why they never stop drinking? The point is, a short-term alcohol consumption does tiny harm to human’s body, only long-term alcohol consumption can impair the body badly. Nevertheless, the contradiction is apparent to find out: when a drinker finds that there is something wrong with their health, it is too late. And in a drinker’s early life, they can not completely realize which kind of damage that alcohol consumption can lead because they were healthy at that time——at least on the surface. Alcohol just like a chronic disease, making drinkers less vigilant, and brings on severe health consequences in the end.
Alcohol has many terrible effects on a person’s health. Alcohol affects many different parts of the body, but first of all, alcohol affects the brain. A person’s brain is very important, it shows how someone thinks, makes decisions, and controls their body. According to National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
negatively affect them also. Some main immediate problems that come about from drinking alcohol include blackouts and brain damage.
Alcohol has affected human lives in their own society every day since its dawning in the stone age, perhaps even earlier. Though alcohol is not illegal, it was when the eighteenth amendment was first ratified because of alcoholism. Alcoholism is entitled to those who abuse alcohol by over consumption to the brink of mental illness and compulsive behavior which then ultimately results in alcohol dependency. It affects many different groups of people, but it is affecting students in high school and college. They should not be affected considering the legal age to consume alcohol is twenty-one, but they are in fact being deterred from their innocence. Society depends on those of us that do not consume alcohol to bring the social, economical, and health related problems throughout society to decrease. When government officials governing alcohol realize that alcohol needs to be more monitored and cautioned, then and only then can this steep slope finally begin to depreciate.
drank up to two glasses of wine a day were 45 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s
Addictions to Smoking and Alcohol A lot of people suffer from the consequences of smoking and drinking alcohol, which often leads to addiction. The word 'addiction' is a very powerful word in this sense, as it means the physical and psychological craving for a substance that develops into a dependency, and continues even though it is causing the addicted person physical, psychological and social harm. The disease of addiction is chronic and progressive; it can lead to extremely dangerous outcomes. This applies to both smoking, and alcohol addiction.