Surprising things ...happen 2 your body when you quit drinking 4 a month

FULL TITLE:
Surprising things that happen to your body when you quit drinking for a month

Subtitle:
Renee Gartner on why she's doing Dry July

By Dr Cris Beer, News . com . au
30 June 2016 20:03

From:
Townsville Bulletin

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www.townsvillebulletin.com.au... e108a9f34fec743405
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WHEN you’ve been drinking alcohol consistently for many years you can start to suffer from some health complications.
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These health complications can seem to “come out of the blue” but really they are just the final manifestation of cumulative damage to your body and in particular, to your liver.
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The good news is, though, that when you stop drinking your body has the chance to heal itself.
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. . .
LIVER FAT DECREASES BY AROUND 15-20 PER CENT
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Accumulation of fat in the liver is known as fatty liver disease and leads to liver damage. If the damage is severe then cirrhosis of the liver results, which is irreversible. A reduction in liver fat means that an almost immediate benefit of quitting drinking can help your liver slim down, dramatically reducing your chances of developing cirrhosis.
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BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS DROP BY AN AVERAGE OF 16 PER CENT
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. . .
TOTAL BLOOD CHOLESTEROL DECREASES BY NEARLY 5 PER CENT
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. . .
WEIGHT LOSS
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. . .
IMPROVED SLEEP QUALITY BY 10 PER CENT
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. . .
REDUCED ANXIETY LEVELS
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. . .
IMPROVED CONCENTRATION BY AROUND 18 PERCENT
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. . .

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I was surprised by that list of improvements. It was more than I anticipated as I began the article.
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And, I was surprised by the amount of improvement in so short a time.
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I realize that the motivation of those improvements will likely pale compared to the dopamine high reward center reinforcement of an addiction--but for may--perhaps--it could be sufficient motivation to make a break from the daily anesthetizing of life.
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The ether used to anesthetize in surgery is different from drinking alcohol only in that the later has an added water molecule. The effects of both are roughly the same--in sufficient quantities.
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My other alcohol thread not that long ago is here:
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www.abovetopsecret.com...
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And an older one is here:
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www.abovetopsecret.com...
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Many go ballistic when I say so . . . however, . . . in my years since my year's internship as an alcohol counselor 40+ years ago, I have observed that:
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WHEN a person drinks 3 or more glasses/ cans/ shots per day consistently, it is only a matter of time until they have a more serious alcohol addiction. I usually encourage folks to cut back to one a day. AND IF THEY CANNOT DO THAT, they probably HAVE a more serious level of addiction to alcohol and need to stop drinking totally.
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Alcohol addiction is deadly--to marriages, families, other drivers on the road, to the drinker. There is nothing truly or lastingly fun, cute, wonderful about being a drunk--regardless of how dressed up or fancy the cocktail.
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After a long list of fights, stress, broken relationships and lost jobs . . . when the very compulsively addicted alcoholic comes to themselves at the bottom of the heap--they realize, they have wasted, trashed, shredded everything dear to them and have nothing but pain and grief to show for it. PLEASE WAKE-UP AND STOP WELL BEFORE THEN.
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Whatever the stresses in life . . . and no matter how brilliant and successful at compensating the alcoholic is . . . COPING WITHOUT ALCOHOL actively killing brain cells daily and anesthetizing thought processes--MANAGING LIFE GOES FUNCTIONALLY BETTER WITHOUT ALCOHOL. Reaction times are better; interpersonal communication can get help and actually improve--and loved ones can hear and be heard.
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I realize that talking to 99.99% of most alcoholics--well--to most anyway--is like talking to a brick wall. However, if one person changes and saves their marriage, their family, their job--then the hostility this thread will trigger will be worth it.
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Another measure of how much of a problem alcohol has become in one's life is: Does it cause problems in:
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--your job &/or
--your marriage &/or
--your friendships &/or
--your family &/or
--with your health?
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If so, you're an alcoholic.
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Please deal with it constructively.
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a reply to: BO XIAN

Sigh... well i was gonna have another beer...

Thanks man...

That may be the time frame for a casual drinker, but for a full blown alcoholic you're still going through withdrawal symptoms.

a reply to: Akragon

Some of what you say is correct, some is not. You underline things that arent links. Some people that live past 100 give some credit to alcohol.

originally posted by: reldra
a reply to: Akragon

Some of what you say is correct, some is not. You underline things that arent links.

huh?

Some people that live past 100 give some credit to alcohol.

Good for them!!

I hope to God i don't see 100, but knowing my luck i'll surely surpass it by a few years

a reply to: Akragon

Anytime.

I'm usually happy to help.

a reply to: rexsblues

I agree about the withdrawal symptoms.

That article did not really address that level of alcoholism, imho.

a reply to: reldra

Uhhhhhhhhhh . . . I virtually always underline things that are not links.

How many have you had today?

a reply to: Akragon

Your pickled body surviving IN SOME MANGLED SENSE . . . does not count. LOL.

Lots of people ATTRIBUTE lots of things to alcohol--some irrationally and in denial credit alcohol with a list of "wonderful" things--e.g. being tooo sotted by the time they got home that they didn't have any energy left to beat the wife and kids.

On the other hand, with different fingers, many "angry drunks" seem to need the anesthetizing of the governing, monitoring regions of the brain in order to feel more "FREE" to beat the wife and/or kids.

A GREAT EXERCISE is to sit down at a keyboard with a Mavis Beacon typing test and a 6 pack. Take the typing test. Drink a can. Take the same typing test again. (1st) Drink another can. Take the same typing test again. (2nd) Drink another can. Take the same typing test again. (3rd) Drink another can. Take the same typing test again. (4th) Drink another can. Ditto (5th) Drink another can . . . Ditto (6th). Look at the results. And recall with more soberness of thought . . . how many miles you have driven with that much alcohol in your system.

a FREE TYPING TEST IN 60 SECONDS:

[1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 MINUTE TESTS AVAILABLE]

www.typingtest.com...

www.mavisbeaconfree.com...


www.broderbund.com...


The FIRST region of the brain that starts to go to sleep with alcohol is the JUDGMENT CENTER. That is the part of the brain that tells you when you are too close to the car in front of you; whether you can safely pass the car in front of you, or not; whether you can make that yellow light, or not; etc.

And close after that, your fine motor coordination begins to go.

= = =

Another interesting exercise is to go into a bar . . . and have NO alcohol in your system. Listen to the inane and absurd conversations.


And, actually, a lot of dreadful things ARE attributable to alcohol.

a reply to: BO XIAN

easy man...

even Jesus Drank wine...

a reply to: Akragon

I have probably 3-4 glasses of low alcohol wine--one at a time, months apart--in a . . .

year.

a reply to: BO XIAN

Right on buddy...

Do what you will right

Im not a fan of wine... hits ya too hard...

Just beers..

a reply to: BO XIAN

A GREAT EXERCISE is to sit down at a keyboard with a Mavis Beacon typing test

Sounds like fun!

Challenge accepted lol



Edited

bah they're just typiing tests

what fun is that?

a reply to: BO XIAN

one at a time, months apart

Yes, so do i, one at a time recurring....every day. I have blood tests 3-4 times a year, and my liver gamma is good, my cholesterol/ triglycerides are normal but i have an enlarged ticker.Anyway mate, at my age i'm just happy to enjoy a few beers and i don't smoke....

a reply to: Akragon

Beer always tasted like medicine, to me.

There was some low alcohol beer . . . I don't remember . . . in Europe or Asia somewhere . . . that was a little bit attractive but not enough to make it a habit.

a reply to: Akragon

Chicken.

Rationalizations are not the route to enlightenment! LOL.

a reply to: tommo39

I have known even alcoholics WHO TRULY MANAGED SAFELY to drink one glass of wine before bedtime nightly . . . 'for their heart.' And they never relapsed into their alcoholism

They are rare souls, imho.

I don't quibble with folks who strictly limit their alcohol intake to one a day. Though some MD's insist that even that is killing brain cells every day. And the research supports them.

A significant percentage of alcoholics are evidently genius level IQ's anyway so maybe they have extra to lose some?

a reply to: BO XIAN

That"s why we northern people have a store for it



The cause of, and solution to...

all of life's problems

~Homer Simpson

originally posted by: BO XIAN
a reply to: Akragon

Chicken.

Rationalizations are not the route to enlightenment! LOL.

no i just don't need to do a typing test to tell you how many beers i've had...



tell ya what, lets play a game!

Watch me boot you around while i drink my lovely cold beers

a reply to: Akragon

NO thanks.

I've been a whipping post, punching bag and lightening rod for hate far too much in my life. At my age, enough is enough.

Thanks anyway.

LOL.