There Are Some Serious Medical Side Effects To Heavy Drinking, Apparently

BlutarskyTFM10 years ago

Science has been telling us that drinking heavily is bad for us for years. Nobody’s really listened. Those scientists are nothing but a bunch of nerds, anyway. However, some new studies show just how unhealthy a night of heavy drinking can be.

We all know that after a night of drinking, there’s a decent chance you’ll feel like straight shit, you’ll still have a pretty high BAC, and you won’t be in your finest form. There are some other nasty effects alcohol has on the body, too. Studies show that the cells in your gut break down during drinking (these cells sound weak as fuck). After only 30 minutes of drinking, endotoxins–the toxins released as those cells in your gut break down–enter the bloodstream. I’m no doctor, but that doesn’t sound good.

Apparently, these endotoxins slow down your body’s immune system, and they may lead to the body taking vital nutrients from your muscles. That’s probably not healthy. These endotoxins can also lead to a form of liver inflammation called “alcohol hepatitis,” which doesn’t sound too fun, either.

Now, as I said, I’m no doctor, but I’ve got a theory. Could the breakdown of cells in your gut and the release of endotoxins be a contributing factor in the prevalence of beer shits? I think so.

So, what can you do to prevent some of these nasty side effects? Well, you could not drink, but let’s not kid ourselves here. Drinking a glass of water with every drink can help, as can making sure you don’t drink on an empty stomach. It’s all the same common sense stuff we’ve heard since middle school. Whatever works.

[via Trove]