Alcohol

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Alcohol is a common substance in many cultures. Ancient Greece, Egypt and China all had alcohol, but what is it?

Alcohol contains the drug ethanol. When you drink alcohol, your body absorbs the ethanol into the blood stream.

From here, the blood travels to the brain affecting your neurons.

Ethanol is considered a depressant because it slows down your body’s reactions.

As with an drug, the body can build up a tolerance to ethanol. This means someone will have to drink more of the alcohol to have the same effect.

This can lead to people becoming addicted. If they are addicted to alcohol they are said to be ‘alcoholics’.

Quick Questions

1. What is the drug in alcohol

2. Define a depressant

3. How do you become an alcoholic?

How much can you drink before it become dangerous?

Different drinks contain different amounts of alcohol. For example spirits like vodka and tequila contain more alcohol than beer or wine.

The government recommends 2 units per day for women and 3 units of alcohol per day for men.

10 ml of pure alcohol is one unit.

Over time alcohol can lead to a range of health issues.

Stomach ulcers, heart disease, brain damage and liver damage are all symptoms of alcohol abuse.

Heavy drinkers will often be associated with liver damage. This is because the liver is responsible for breaking down harmful chemicals into waste.

Due to the constant effort your liver has to put in to removing the ethanol. The liver will eventually become damaged and scarred. This means their liver works less efficiently and takes longer to break down chemicals.

This results in cirrhosis of the liver and eventually can lead to death.

Alcohol is off limits to all pregnant women. Drinking during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth and low birth weight.

When pregnant women drink, the alcohol diffuses into the babies blood stream, damaging the babies nervous system and organ development.

Quick Questions

1. What is the livers role in the body

2. What are the health risks of excessive alcohol

3. What is the recommend amount of alcohol in men over 23 days in ml.

Questions

1. Copy and Complete the following sentence

Alcoholic drinks contain the drug _______ . This is a _______, because it affects the ________ system, slowing down your body’s reactions. Drinking alcohol can lead to brain and ______ damage.

2. Explain how the liver is affected by alcohol

3. Explain why it is important that pregnant women avoid alcohol.

4. You have just been asked to create a presentation to show the effects of alcohol on power point. Include: