Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Alcohol

Everyone knows alcohol is bad for your body yet we still drink it. People who begin drinking and continue heavily over time can and will most likely develop a problem.

Many issues associated with heavy drinking are that your brain's communication pathways are interfered with. Communication between neurotransmitters have slowed down. Damage in the Cerebellum occurs, which is why you stumble around after a few drinks, and your cognitive functions are impaired. Damage to the Cerebral Cortex also happens and our ability to think, plan, behave properly, and act socially decrease. 

Heart damage happens with alcohol usage and problems include cardiomyopathy; the stretching and drooping of the heart muscle, arrhythmia; irregular heart beat, stroke, and high blood pressure. The liver can become fatty, develop alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Alcohol causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that lead to pancreatitis. 

Cancers of the mouth, esophagus, throat, liver, and breast are common with alcohol abuse. Continuous drinking also weakens the immune system, making your body an easy target for disease.

Consuming alcohol in appropriate amounts will lessen your chances of obtaining one of these diseases, and can even help you. Small amounts can even be healthy for you.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Who Am I?

My name is Megan  and I am starting this blog to help inform people on drugs and because my AP Psych class is doing a genius hour. Everyone has heard of drugs and alcohol, but  not everyone is familiar with all the side effects.
Photo by: Tesseract2