Alcohol, Essay Example

Alcohol is considered a drink that is made from barley, rye, corn, grain, or a beverage that contains ethyl. Alcohol is created by the process of fermentation in which the yeast fungus nurtures on the starches and/or sugars in certain plants such as barley or grapes and excretes alcohol together with carbon dioxide (CO2). In Chemistry, alcohol definition is much more difficult. An alcohol is any type of organic combination through which a group of hydroxyl is bound to a carbon atom of the group called alkyl.

Alcohol is made by including yeast to anything that comprises sugar. The yeast develops from the process of formation, which changes the sugar into carbon dioxide gas and ethyl. Beer is then prepared from barley malt. The people who make the beer soak the barley in water to make it develop and sprout. When the barley dehydrated, the sprouts have been taken off merely leaving mart or starch, or malt. The malt or starch is mixed up with water after grounding up to develop mash. This is again let into another type of mash that consists on rice or corn, which has been heated and crushed. The starch received from rice or corn is then converted into sugar. Some flowers that have been dried are inserted into this mash in order to add flavor, afterward this mash has been fermented. Finally, the wine makers age and store the beer for a number of weeks in order to develop a taste in the beer.

People take a drink of different level and on the basis of this consumption have been set to explain what level of alcohol a person is taking. First one is called the moderate drinking, which means the drinking of lower level or drinking level that does not usually cause the problems, either for the society or for a drinker. The second one is called toxic alcohol intake. It is such a  of alcohol that develops changes into the behavior of that person who take it; this also means that the high-level of drinking or drinking that usually results into problems, either for the society or for the drinker. The third type is Binge drinking, which means taking drinks heavily over the number  Now, however, the Binge drinking means the heavy usage of alcohol in very short period of time, same like binge eating refers to a particular period of uncontrolled type of overeating.

On the basis of consumption, alcohol is further divided in two types, i.e. alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Alcohol abuse means the overuse or misuse of alcohol to the loss of family life, relationships, work and finances. The alcoholism is taken as a further step from alcohol abuse. It is explained by desiring more drinks that contain alcohol, a loss of control at the time of drinking, physical reliance on alcohol and the appearance of symptoms when a person stops the drinking, and a high level of tolerance towards alcohol.

It is unknown to all that when alcohol was used at first time, it was most probably the outcome of a fortuitous incident that held at least 10,000 years ago. The discovery of, however, beer jugs in late Stone Age have revealed the reality that deliberately fermented alcohol or wines at least since the Neolithic period, and it has been recommended that alcohol may have preceded bread as a staple. Finally, the wine undoubtedly developed as a final product in Egyptian symbols around 4,000 B.C. It has been noted that the regular drinking in that period was uncommon in that period, which means everyone was not taking drink, but the intoxication at festivals and banquets was not strange rare.

In the United States of America, according to the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, no one under the age of 21 is allowed to take a drink. And even those who are legally allowed to take a drink can only take the standard level drinks legally. The government of the United States defines the standard drinking level as the use of maximum two drinks in a day for men and one drink for women. Until at present, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) allowed men to take up to four drinks in one day, and women are allowed only for one drink. This is also called the normal level drinking. Taking drink above from this standard level is called the abnormal level. In America, the usage of five or more drinks continuously by men and four or more drinks continuously by women at least only one time in the last fifteen days has been considered an abnormal level.

When anyone takes alcoholic drinks, it has been noted that approximately 20% is absorbed in the stomach, and approximately 80% is has been moved to the small intestine. The alcohol concentration, the drink type, and whether the stomach is empty or full base on how quickly the alcohol has been absorbed. As the tissues absorbed the alcohol, it influences your body and mind.  Blood concentration of alcohol can increase up to 20 minutes immediately after taking a drink. After the absorption of alcohol, it leaves the whole body in three ways: the lungs, kidneys, and liver.

If any women take a drink during the pregnancy, the alcohol may damage both the baby and the mother. When mother take drinks, the fetus is open to risk because of alcohol. This type of exposure can harm the baby in the womb. Research reveals that any type of drinking at the time of pregnancy, even taking drink in the initial few weeks of having pregnancy can damage the baby. The effects may include mental, physical learning, or/and behavioral disabilities with life-long problems.

However, the teenage drinking effects can be comparatively very serious. The most serious teenage drinking effect is that it directs to the adult dependence. Driving and drinking is another type of danger of using alcohol in teenage. It has been found that about 40% of all accidents that are alcohol-related are because of the teens. It has been also noted that teen alcohol consumption also causes bad performance in the education, if they are using any type of beer on the regular basis.

The consumption of alcohol often decreases in the old age, but old age people may be in danger of developing problem. Alcohol abuse, drinking, or dependency usually appeared by major events in life, for instance, loneliness, loss of a loved one, retirement, illness or pain. In addition to this, many medical situations are common to old age people, counting ulcers and high blood pressure, can be worsened by taking drinks in this age.

The use of alcohol may also provide some benefits related to health, particularly for the heart. On the other side, drinking alcohol can also increase the risks of health problems and can harm the heart. When it is a matter of drinking alcohol, the important thing in doing this only is the moderation. Moderate consumption of alcohol may offer some benefits related to anyone’s health. It may:

• Decreases the risk of increasing heart disease
• Reduce the risk of dying because of heart attack
• Possibly decreases the risk of strokes, especially ischemic strokes
• Reduce the risk of gallstones
• Perhaps decrease the diabetes risk

However, the facts concerning to the possible benefits of health by using alcohol are not definite. It is also possible that alcohol consumption may not be helpful for everyone who drinks.

Alcohol consumption largely can be bad for anyone. Its usage can spoil the liver and if a person has too many drinks he/she may get vomit and hang over its shred the throat lining. Alcohol itself is very bad depending what someone drinks, if the person is less than 25 years and damage the development and growth of the internal organ and even the brain. But if the alcohol has been taken in small amounts, then drinking more water and provide the time to the body to recover. Alcohol is believed as a depression on the system of the body, so its makes the work of everything slower because of the depression. It can damage the lungs, liver, hearth, skin, etc. This is the truth that alcohol is bad for the health because when anyone becomes addicted of alcohol by getting drunk, he/she may not behave normally.

In conclusion, alcoholism is a serious issue in our society today. The steps need to be taken in order to control It. Parents can take precautionary  steps and can influence whether and when their children start drinking in addition to how their adolescents drink. The family policies concerning to the children drinking at home and the method through which parents themselves take a drink are very significant in controlling the alcoholism. Parents can discuss often and early, through appropriate methods, with teens and children about their concern. They can be even taught at schools about the consumption of alcohol. Children who understand the opinions of their parents concerning to the youth drinking are probably to fall in accordance with their expectations. Moreover, on state the level laws are already in enforcement. However, some of the states at different levels and place can establish policies regularly and have a proper check on such polices to ensure that the rules have been adhered.  In short, at all levels it cab be treated very well by the parishioners trained in medicine concerned to the addiction. Health-care workers and physicians are best to manage and control alcohol withdrawal, and the disorders related with alcoholism.

Works Cited

Galanter, Marc. Alcohol Problems in Adolescents and Young Adults. New York: Wiley, 2005.

Hedblom, Jack H. Last Call: Alcoholism and Recovery. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008.

Smart, Lesley. Alcohol and Human Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.