Alcohol and Its Effects
Alcohol is a substance that has been used throughout the ages for many different reasons. The first known traces of alcohol date back all the way to 4200 BC found in a pot in ancient Mesopotamia (Coalition). Alcoholic beverages have a long and sorted history, with the United States banning them in the 1920's, and then further striking down this prohibition in the 1930's. Clearly, alcohol has always been a part of society and has gained popular acceptance. However, alcohol can have many detrimental effects to the human body when not used properly or used in excess. It can harm almost every major bodily organ, is the greatest cause of liver disease, and can even have negative effects on testes and ovaries, which is sure to take the life out of any party (NIAAA). With these, as well as the following facts in mind, the reader may make a more informed decision about the use of alcohol. To fully understand the effects of alcohol, one must first understand exactly what alcohol is. Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is a poisonous liquid which the body can "deactivate large amounts of without succumbing to its lethal effects" (CESAR). Ethanol can penetrate through any of the body tissue easily, thus every par
Although alcohol intoxication is on the decrease in general, babies being born with alcohol birth defects are on a steady rise. Within a fourteen-year period, birth defects have increased over six fold (NECASA). There seems to be an alarming rate of alcohol being involved in violent crimes, ranging from murder to sexual assault. The following facts, listed on the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information's web page demonstrate this point: In 1987, 64 percent of all reported child abuse and neglect cases in New York City were associated with parental alcohol abuse. A study of 472 women by the Research Institute on Addictions in Buffalo, NY, found that 87 percent of alcoholic women had been physically or sexually abused as children, compared to 59 percent of the nonalcoholic women surveyed. A 1993 study of more than 2,000 American couples found rates of domestic violence were almost 15 times higher in households where husbands were described as often drunk as ! body, especially the human heart. Many say that red wine mainly will reduce a middle aged mans risk of premature death 30%. Alcohol may aid in the prevention of heart disease, diabetes, age-related vision loss, cancers, ulcers, mental deterioration, and many other ailments. In fact, alcohol may even reduce ones high cholesterol. Kroschwitz, J., and Howe-Grant, M., eds., Kirk-Othmar Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 6th ed. (1997) until there is no longer the desire for alcohol or until parents take more caution with alcohol around children. Three out of four children between the ages of eleven and fourteen have access to their parent's liquor cabinet. Even more shocking is recent legislation in England allowing children to hang out in pubs as long as they are accompanied by an adult (Institute). If parents do not teach their children at a young age what drinking responsibly is, then the cycle of underage drinking is doomed to be repeated. Alcohol has been proved to raise the beneficial HDL cholesterol and reduce the negative LDL cholesterol. This in essence makes the blood platelets less sticky to stick themselves to the sides of arteries, thus lowering the overall cholesterol level. Even recently in the news, much word has been spoken about intaking enough antioxidants which may help reduce the risk of getting cancer. Alcoholic beverages seem to contain antioxidant phenolic comp
Some common words found in the essay are:
CESAR Testosterone, Safety Association, Alcohol Studies, Alcohol Syndrome, Coalition Alcoholic, Buffalo NY, CESAR Ethanol, CESAR Alcohol, Abuse Research, United Theoretically, birth defects, fetal alcohol, alcohol syndrome, five drinks, alcoholic beverages, fetal alcohol syndrome, effects alcohol, underage drinking, consuming five drinks, traffic safety, amount alcohol, safety association, national highway traffic, highway traffic safety, traffic safety association,
Approximate Word count = 1611
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
