How often does the phrase “the Russian people always drank, from antiquity!” Sound, but is that so? The recipes for making alcohol-based drinks are really familiar to people with
of ancient times, but few people know that beer, wine and other ethanol-containing drinks at that time were a medicine. Indeed, in fact, beer is an alcohol tincture of malt and hops and a product enriched with vitamins of group B. During the time of natural medicine, beer was used in very limited quantities for the treatment of urinary tract diseases. The same goes for wine. In fact, in ancient times, alcoholic drinks were not prepared for entertainment on holidays, but for the purpose of treatment, like alcohol
tincture of Echinacea, calendula, propolis now, and over time, individuals began to abuse them. Then, with the advent of
Christianity in Russia, the production of beer and wine became the prerogative of the church, and then the monopoly of the state with the goal of manipulating society. The harm of alcohol, or rather its systematic and uncontrolled use, was well known to the ancient peoples. So, in Russia in later times, when the tradition of drinking wine at weddings appeared, the newlyweds were strictly forbidden to drink, since everyone was aware of the results of the conception of a child on the first wedding night immediately after a feast with alcohol. However, the harm of alcohol to the human body is not limited only to the
teratogenic effect. Modern medicine suggests that alcohol abuse has the following consequences:
- First of all, the human nervous system suffers. A state of intoxication is a manifestation of toxic brain damage. In addition, there are irreversible changes in the vessels of the brain, necrosis (death) of its individual sections, microbleeding, microtubes and ulcers. To a greater extent, ethanol affects the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for intellectual and emotional activity, than subcortical structures. In the last stages of alcoholism , subcortical structures are also affected, then the spinal cord.
- The intake of ethanol in the blood provokes the destruction of red blood cells, hyper- or hypoglycemia.
- Alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver is one of the most famous consequences confirming the harm of alcohol.
- Some alcoholic beverages have a specific effect on the body. So, beer contributes to the formation of the so-called bovine heart and, accordingly, to the disruption of its work and, in addition, as a result of the load on the excretory system, renal function is impaired.
- The harm of alcohol to the body is also expressed for the gastrointestinal tract. Ethanol reduces the synthesis of digestive enzymes, damages the mucous membranes of the digestive tract, resulting in ulcers, up to malignant neoplasms.
- Over time, under the influence of the systematic use of alcoholic beverages, the sexual function of both men and women is inhibited.
Despite all these facts, there are many common misconceptions about the benefits of drinking alcohol, in fact, only confirming the harm of alcohol:
- It is widely believed that alcoholic beverages successfully treat colds, which, of course, is a gross mistake: ethanol, on the contrary, reduces human immunity. Recently, with an increase in the number of oncological diseases, “cancer treatment methods” have even appeared using vodka and sunflower oil, which lead to a significant reduction in the patients' life expectancy.
- It is also believed that with the help of alcohol you can warm up. In fact, when drinking alcohol, the sensitivity threshold decreases, so there is a subjective sensation of warmth, however, all tissues and organs of a person continue to suffer from a cold that is not already controlled by the brain. In addition, the body in such stressful conditions has to spend additional energy not on heating vital organs, but on the breakdown and detoxification of alcohol.
- It is good to drink alcohol as an aperitif before dinner to increase appetite and better digestion. In fact, ethanol reduces the synthesis of digestive enzymes, and consuming it before meals, on an empty stomach, it is likely to make gastritis.
The harm of alcohol to human health rarely stops people, however, in addition, there is also a close relationship between social status, family well-being, personality traits and drinking. So, even with a single oral administration of ethanol, irreversible changes in the cells of the cortex of the naked brain are observed, which inevitably affects intellectual abilities. Simply put, a person degrades with every glass of beer or a bottle of beer drunk! Of course, this cannot but affect his appearance, career, relationships with other people, including his family, and, importantly, the health of his unborn children. So are there several hours of euphoria for a tangible and irreversible decline in the quality of life?