Alcoholism
In this section of Seattle Organic Restaurants I’m going to talk about alcoholism. More than 75% of Americans consume alcohol on regular basis and one out of ten Americans suffer from consequences of drinking too much alcohol. Alcoholism is the second major preventable cause of death after cigarettes in US. The problems with alcohol is mostly to do with alcohol abuse (drinking too much alcohol) and alcoholism (being addicted to alcohol). The rate of alcoholism is more in men than women but the rate of alcoholism in women is rapidly growing. The same amount of alcohol affects a woman's body more more a man because a woman’s body is higher in fat and lower in water, so the alcohol becomes more concentrated in the blood. The stomach of men also produces more enzymes in order ito break down alcohol before it reaches the blood stream. Alcohol abuse has much more serious consequences for women than men. For example women are at a higher risk of osteoporosis (when bones become fragile and brittle due to adverse bone metabolism), psychological problems or liver disease.
Women are also more likely to develop liver diseases for the same amount of alcohol than men. Actually the death rate in women due to alcohol abuse is 50% to 100% more than men. Women who are alcoholic are also more likely to suffer from psychological problems like stress, anxiety, eating disorders and depression. Keep in mind that the side effects of alcohol consumption can vary in different people. Some people might get toxicated with the first drink where as others might start feeling the effect of alcohol after 4 or 5 drinks.
Alcoholism usually starts from social drinking. Then social drinking becomes mood drinking and finally the alcoholic needs no more excuse to drink. Alcoholism can lead to anxiety, memory loss, depression and antisocial behaviors like personality disorder issues and aggression. The compulsive behavior of the alcoholic makes the person really angry and ashamed and this usually leads to further alcohol abuse. For some people becoming an alcoholic might take few years of moderate to heavy alcohol consumption whereas for others it might take one drink.
The researchers are still debtaing whether or not alcoholism is rooted in psychological issues, genetic factors or environmental factors and many believe that alcoholism is a combination of all these theree factors.
Keep in mind that studies suggest that consuming small quantities of alcohol, especially red wine can reduce the chances of cardiovascular disease and cancer. However many doctors and physicians do not suggest that people who do not drink should start drinking in order to protect their hearts against cardiovascular disease. Instead of consuming alcohol for a better heart health, healthy like style choices such as exercising and consuming more micronutrients through organic live foods have been proven to be far more effective.