Turn your head to the left, then to the right when…
1) The waiter offers you the dessert menu
- Is the sweetness really worth the extra calories?
2) The bar tender asks if you’d like another drink when you’re having a girl’s night out
- According to The Independent, health effects of alcohol go far beyond embarrassing yourself in public or a nasty headache the morning after. It affects almost every important part in a woman’s body… in a BAD way!
A woman’s risk of breast cancer rises by six per cent for each extra alcoholic drink she has, on average, every day. In the long term, regular, heavy drinking can lead to peptic ulcers, inflammation of the pancreas and cancer, while alcohol impairs the small intestine’s ability to process nutrients and vitamins. Alcohol can also damage sperm and egg production and the ability of a fertilized egg to implant in the womb. The liver has to deal with the highest concentrations of damaging chemicals. Excess drinking can also cause hepatitis, which can be fatal. Both hepatitis and cirrhosis can cause the skin to become jaundiced, as well as causing anaemia, lower back pain and severe swelling of the abdomen. Alcohol can also cause brain cells to swell. Permanent disruption of dopamine levels can cause depression and increases the risk of stroke by 42 per cent, according to research. Alcohol is the main reason behind a recent steep rise in cases of mouth cancers, the charity Cancer Research has warned. Drinking can also weaken muscles and cause pain and spasms in the arms and legs. The damage to the body’s central nervous system by alcohol can cause permanent tingling or numbness in the fingers and toes. Alcohol causes temporary disruption to the body’s antidiuretic mechanism, which is why there are always long queues outside the toilets of pubs and clubs. This disruption also means that people who are drinking a lot are likely to sweat more, as their bodies try to absorb the alcohol and adjust to the dehydrating affect it causes. You may look shiny and full of colour the night before, but the morning after your body will struggle to re-hydrate and draws fluid from the top layers of skin, leaving the surface of your face dry and flaky. In the long term, alcohol weakens the heart muscle and its ability to pump blood through the body. It causes high blood pressure, thereby increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes
Do you really need more reason to be satisfied with one glass of wine which can protect against colds, Alzheimer’s and heart disease?
3) Shake your head when the shop keeper asks if you want a packet of cigarette like you always do. Do you know how much money you can save by quitting smoking? I’m not even going to get started with the health benefits.
