Drinking alcohol can be fun. Sometimes it is a mere social act. But its consequences may be more in number, and more serious, than we think. No, there is no safe amount of alcohol for health. And quitting drinking has numerous benefits. Therefore, if we drink, at least knowing what we are missing (or not). What happens to you when you stop drinking alcohol?
We improve rest
There is a proven relationship between sleep quality and alcohol consumption – and it’s not a good one. Drinking reduces the hours and depth of rest. It makes us wake up more times, it makes it difficult for us to go into deep sleep and we are restless.
It makes all the sense in the world, well acts as a neurodisruptor. There’s a lot we don’t know about sleep, but it’s clear that the brain’s mechanism must be in good working order to get in and out of sleep properly. Stopping drinking, as has been proven, is a safe bet to improve our rest.
We control the bladder better
Alcohol is an inhibitor of “human antidiuretic hormone,” or ADH. This is responsible for recovering water in the kidneys, so that it is used to excrete the necessary and no more. When ADH does not work, we lose more water and the bladder fills much sooner. This is the reason why drinking makes us want to urinate (and why urine is transparent, since the concentration of urea and other waste substances is lower).
Not drinking alcohol, when we are partying, allows us to control trips to the bathroom. But, in addition, in the long run, it will avoid unpleasant surprises, such as bladder cancer, related to a greater consumption of this substance. Ultimately, drinking less equals a better bladder.
We accumulate less fat
This has several meanings. First of all, alcohol is very energetic. Its molecules are transformed by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase into acetate. This substance, in turn, becomes Acetyl CoA, the same one that acts in the degradation of sugar in cellular respiration. If we have an excess of Acetyl CoA, the burning of sugars is reduced (by chemical balance), which makes them accumulate more easily.
Without alcohol, you improve catabolic metabolism (responsible for burning sugars and fats to generate energy), reduces the accumulation of fat in the liver and helps, in general, your body better manage energy balances. In addition, there are several studies that indicate that alcohol is related to a higher intake.
This translates into more calories, and more fat accumulation. The mechanisms are not entirely clear: perhaps it is a matter of inhibition, cultural, social or physiological… but the evidence shows that alcohol makes us eat more and worse. This, of course, helps to accumulate more and more fat.
We will be less bloated
Another issue is swelling. Alcohol is a vasodilator, which helps certain tissues become more irrigated. Occasionally, small petechiae can form, broken capillaries (which form red spots). All this helps the tissues to swell.
On the other hand, it affects digestion, which becomes heavier, slower and inefficient. our digestive system it fills with gases They don’t get away so easily. The result is a more swollen and uncomfortable body. And that’s just what you see.
We maximize our nutrition
And not only because we are more aware and eat better. The alcohol damages the digestive epithelium and kills part of the microbiota (badly called intestinal flora). This causes nutrients to be less well absorbed. One of the problems of alcoholism is malnutrition due to the lack of some nutrients, which are not assimilated. To stop drinking is to maximize our nutrition.
we smell better
There is a myth about “sweating alcohol”. No it’s not true. The amount of alcohol that can be excreted through the skin is negligible.. However, it is more than enough to mess up our skin biota (the ecosystem of microorganisms), the makeup of our sebaceous glands, and a host of other delicate mechanisms that make up our complicated body odor. Not to mention the breath.
We will be calmer and more relaxed
Alcohol makes us more aggressive and impulsive. It is an effect known as “alcohol tunnel”. This is because it inhibits our control system in part, making us only see “what is in front of us” and not the “peripheral” consequences. We do not evaluate the danger or its consequences well.
It also disrupts part of our conscious system and leaves the limbic system, also known as our “primitive brain”, running wild. If we don’t drink, we maintain much better control and calm.
We reduce the risk of cancer
One of the best established relationships is that of alcohol use and cancer. We know that this substance is responsible (directly or indirectly) for a higher incidence of colon cancer. As we have already said, there is no safe amount of alcohol, so eliminating it from our diet is a way to stay away from cancer.
Our hearts will work better
Alcohol, in addition, is also related to a range of heart-related diseases: from arrhythmias to heart attacks, through various cardiomyopathies or hypertension. Without alcohol, our heart works better, responds better and endures better.
We function better in bed
Another known relationship is that of alcohol and sex. As a vasodilator and neuronal disruptor, alcohol can impede proper intimate function. In fact, it can cause the absence of orgasm or even sexual impotence, in addition to lack of appetite, etc. Although many people believe that relationships of this type are better with alcohol, in reality our physiology is against it: without alcohol, sex is better.
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