It’s a clichéd saying, but there’s no denying the truth in the statement that health is wealth. It is an asset that we are born with and which our parents nurture through our formative years. But once we become adults, some of us tend to destroy all the good work that has been done by leading a hedonistic lifestyle, one that does not really care for health and works with a vengeance to ruin it. Most of us are guilty of unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary life, but these are relatively lesser evils when compared to alcohol and drug abuse. I use the word abuse because alcohol in moderation has been proven to improve both your social life and heart health, and drugs are essential when you’re trying to get rid of an illness or relieve pain. But when they’re used irresponsibly, they affect your nutrition and your health slowly deteriorates.
The alcohol industry is booming no doubt, but it is also costing the U.S. healthcare industry more than a $100 billion every year to treat alcoholics and health problems related to alcoholism.
Besides the fact that drinking is dangerous because it impairs your cognitive, spatial and mental skills, there’s also the issue of alcohol being a very complicated drug, one that is both water and fat soluble and which affects every organ and tissue in the body. Heavy drinking over a period of years leads to liver cirrhosis, not to mention a slowdown in the working of the liver which plays havoc with your blood glucose levels. It also gives rise to deterioration of the stomach lining which leads to ulcers and other gastrointestinal problems, and it affects your central nervous system and causes damage to your brain leading to cognitive and other disorders.
When it comes to robbing your body of nutrition, alcohol takes the cake – it literally drains your body of essential vitamins and other nutrients. When you’re a heavy drinker, you are at risk for deficiencies of Vitamin B, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and other essential electrolytes. Alcohol prevents the body from absorbing Vitamin C, and so no amount of supplements will help you if you continue to drink. Add to this the fact that big drinkers do not eat much (because alcohol is calorie rich and induces a sense of fullness), and you can see how they miss out on getting enough nutrients to replace those that have been depleted. The long and the short of it is that alcohol not only drains the nutrients already in your body, it also slows down the absorption, retention, and metabolism of any nutrients that come in through the food you eat.
Drugs are life-saving, but there’s just a thin line that separates them from becoming killers as well. When we abuse drugs or take them irresponsibly and without concern for instructions, directions and warnings, they cause harmful side effects. When drugs affect the ability of the body to use a nutrient, they lose their efficiency. For example, diuretics decrease appetite and lead to the loss of potassium and other vital nutrients because your food intake is reduced, birth control pills lead to a deficiency of folic acid and Vitamin B6, steroids increase appetite and boost weight gain (which is again unhealthy), anticonvulsants decrease the levels of folic acid and Vitamin D, painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs reduce your body’s capability to absorb Vitamin C and also deplete its natural stores of this essential nutrient, and so on.
When the human body suffers from vitamin and other nutrient deficiencies, disease follows close behind. For some people, this marks the beginning of a lifelong struggle with chronic illness, and for others, it signifies the beginning of the end. So if you want to lead a long and healthy life, say no to both alcohol and drugs.
By-line:
This article is contributed by Susan White, who regularly writes on the subject of online radiology technician schools. She invites your questions, comments at her email address: susan.white33@gmail.com.
Related articles:
- What Are the Benefits of Vitamin K Supplements? (vitamins-minerals.suite101.com)
- Vitamin E (lifescript.com)
- Vitamin B6 â Pyridoxine (lifescript.com)
- Vitamin B12 Benefits (lifescript.com)
- Vitamin Deficiencies – Effects of Malabsorption Syndromes (healthhype.com)
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You completed several fine points there. I did a search on the matter and found mainly people will agree with your blog.
Thanks for the information. I agree with most of what you are saying. I have been both a heavy drinker and non drinker in my many years. The times when I have been drinking heavily, or even just on a consistent basis, I always felt that much of my energy was sapped out of me and I always felt overall unhealthy. On the contrary, when I quit drinking, I found that I had much more energy and that I felt really good. This caused me to eat healthier and sleep less at night.
Very true article here. A lot of people drink all the time and rationalize it, but it’s really just tearing down their body and creating imbalances. Yeah, you might not feel it right away but after years the effects can be huge
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