When alcohol enters the body, about twenty-five percent of it goes from the stomach to the bloodstream. The remaining goes into the small bowel and starts making its way through the rest of your organs. Most of the alcohol we drink is metabolized in the liver, about ninety to ninety-eight percent. Remaining alcohol is processed through urine or sweat.
In the liver, alcohol gets processed two ways. First, alcohol is broken down by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase, or ADH. ADH causes the alcohol to be broken down into acetaldehyde, which is then broken down by another enzyme, called aldehyde dehydrogenase, or ALDH, which creates acetate. Acetate continues to be metabolized by the body and is released through carbon dioxide and water. Excessive drinking affects the liver’s ability to process and metabolize alcohol. Alcoholism, the chronic abuse of alcohol, abuses the liver and can lead to liver damage, including liver diseases. Severe alcoholism frequently causes the liver to shut down entirely, posing a threat to health and livelihood.
The Journal of Hepatology recently released a study which found a correlation between men who participated in binge-drinking late in adolescence and the development of liver disease later in their lives. More than 40,000 men were participants in the study via data on their alcohol tendencies being analyzed. Data came from the military as the men in the study were enlisted between 1969 and 1970 around 18-20 years of age. The study tracked their health and progress as well as their drinking. Men had a follow up at an average of about 38 years later. Two hundred and eight men died. Each of those men had been diagnosed with liver disease. Another 175 men were diagnosed with liver disease as well.
Researchers discovered that a two percent increase in the risk of developing a life threatening liver disease correlated to each gram men consumed in their adolescence per day, NDTV reports. “Young men who drank 31 to 40 grams of alcohol daily had twice the risk of liver disease as compared to those who didn’t drink; while those who drank 51 to 60 grams daily had more than quadruple the risk of liver disease,” the article cites.
What the study didn’t find is the correlation between ongoing drinking and liver disease. However, the relationship between early adolescence and liver disease is cause enough. Alcohol abuse is dangerous for men’s health at any stage of life.
Recovery for men needs to be mind, body, and spirit. At Tree House Recovery we are building men from the ground up with sustainable changes to create a sustainable recovery. Call us today for information on our treatment programs and how we can help you find freedom from addiction: (855) 202-2138