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Alcohol and Dehydration

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Alcohol and Dehydration As I started my research on the subject of alcohol and dehydration I started to think on how the body reacts to this abuse in my own body. Many people from teens to adults had consumed alcohol at one point in their life. I have experience this myself and I drink on occasion, but I refrain from drinking excessively. Now that I have done the research on this particular topic I am more aware of how our body functions and the negative effects alcohol has on our bodies. As I did the research I learned that our kidneys have a lot to do with the way our body controls the hydration of our bodies. I also learned how alcohol creates what many people call the dreadful hangover after a night of excessive drinking. In the next couple of paragraphs I will go more in depth with my research. After a hard night of drinking I had woken up with so much thirst and anxiety. I also looked horrible and felt horrible. The cause of the so called hangover has much to do with your body and the way it functions to the effects of alcohol. I found an article that goes into depth on how hangovers affect our body. A hangover is characterized by the constellation of unpleasant physical and mental symptoms that occur after a bout of heavy alcohol drinking. (1) Hangovers can vary from person to person. It can also vary on the type of alcohol you were consuming, and also to what you ate before, during, and after you stopped drinking alcohol. Studies showed that science still has not come up with a specific cure to the common hangover. Studies have also shown that even heavy drinkers do not experience a hangover. The hangover is a real mystery, but the science and our anatomy have proven dehydration is the main cause. Have you ever noticed when you drink any kind of alcoholic beverage that you suddenly need to pee? This is a direct effect of alcohol. In our brain is a small gland called the pituitary gland and it is divided into two sections: the front; and the back. The back section is called the posterior pituitary. (2) Our kidneys use the posterior pituitary gland to control the amount of antidiuretic hormone or ADH our kidneys regulated throughout our bodies. Alcohol makes our bodies urinate more often and thus reduces the ADH secretion. (3) This water loss to our bodies makes us urinate more often and intensifies thirst. Thirst is the direct effect of our water loss and why we become dehydrated when we consume alcohol. This is why it is so important to stay hydrated when consuming alcohol!
In conclusion science has many theories and wonders about the common hangover and how it affects our bodies. I concluded that the job of ADH is to stop you from urinating, so you hang on to your precious water. You reduce your normal rate of making urine. Alcohol does the opposite. It reduces how much ADH you make, so it increases how much urine you produce. (2) I stopped drinking alcohol several years ago because I had severe hangovers. Time after time, I was abusing my body and I realized the errors of my ways. I am glad I had the chance to research the effects on the body and how alcohol hinders our ability to stay hydrated.

Works cited: 1. Robert Swift, M.D., Ph.D.; and Dena Davidson, Ph.D., Alcohol Hangover Mechanisms and Mediators, WEB, 2/13/14. http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh22-1/54-60.pdf. 2. Dr. Karl, Why does drinking cause dehydration?. http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles. Web, 2/13/14. 3. Marielle Hoefnagels. Biology Concepts and investigations. Pgs. 666-667. Copyright 2012

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