alcohol awareness month

How does alcohol affect your brain?

Francis Heber Gonzalez's picture

Alcohol consumption has some benefits: helps us relax and generally makes us have a good time. But not everyone has the same relationship with alcohol. There are some people who are more affected by alcohol consumption than others, either because of genetic predispositions, the environment they grew up in or behaviors they observed. Although for some, the two or three drinks on a Friday is no more than an escape without much consequence, for others it can be a sentence to constant suffering.

"A liver of steel"

Francis Heber Gonzalez's picture

Some will feel the like their chest is going to pop out because someone has told them that they have a “liver of steel” during their career as professional drinkers. What you haven’t been told is that the origin of this saying is because the liver hardens and loses its function for those who abuse alcohol.  Because we only have one liver, once you damage it, there’s no plan B, YOU lost the game. It’s not like the kidneys which if you remove one, there’s still another one and you can receive dialysis to ameliorate the symptoms.  But many people take the comment a joke. Now I’ll explain what happens to your liver every time you go drinking and abuse alcohol.  

One more beer and then we go...

Francis Heber Gonzalez's picture

Today, April 7th, is Alcohol Screening Day. "Ugh!  Don’t sign me up for that one!  Alcoholism. What an ugly word!"  Yes, it is.  But the reality of life as an alcoholic or having a friend or family member suffering from this health condition is even uglier.  

Why does alcohol cause so much trouble and why is taboo to talk about alcoholism? After all, alcohol is a legal product and in Puerto Rico consumption often is glorified.

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