Early Warning Sign of Alcoholism – Drinking More Than You Had Intended to Drink
A recent study done at the University of Missouri-Columbia shows that chronic alcohol use, when combined with repeated binge drinking, causes more damage to the liver than previously thought.
Shivendra Shukla, Annayya Aroor, Ricardo Restrepo, Kusum Kharbanda, Jamal Ibdah. In Vivo Acute on Chronic Ethanol Effects in Liver: A Mouse Model Exhibiting Exacerbated Injury, Altered Metabolic and Epigenetic Responses. Biomolecules, 2015; 5 (4): 3280 DOI: 10.3390/biom5043280
This is an alarming study.
And since the first Early Warning Sign of Alcoholism is: “You regularly drink more than you intend to,” you may want to look at these study results if you think you fall into this category.
Binge drinking is the most common form of excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that approximately one in six adults binge drinks about four times each month.
“Heavy binge drinking by those who habitually consume alcohol is the most common cause of liver damage in chronic alcoholic liver disease,” said Shivendra Shukla, Ph.D., Professor of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology at the MU School of Medicine and lead author of the study.
“We know that this behavior causes large fatty deposits in the liver that ultimately impair the organ’s ability to function properly.”
Dr. Shukla went on to note that in mice exposed to both chronic use and repeat binge episodes, liver damage increased tremendously. Even more shocking was the extent of fatty deposits in the livers of those exposed to chronic plus binge alcohol, as it was approximately 13 times higher than the control group.
Read again what that says: 13 times more fatty deposits (damage) to the liver when someone drinks chronically and binge drinks repeatedly.
How Can I Use This Information?
If you self-diagnose as a habitual consumer of alcohol AND you binge drink regularly, the damage you are causing to your liver is likely far worse than you realized.
If you’re at the point where you’re ready to get help, you may want to try these suggestions: things to do instead of drinking
As always, we’re here for you and with you all the way.
To your good health.
