While contemplating glugging down a few glasses of wine to get through your family Thanksgiving, it might be a good idea to remember some of these facts about what's not so great about wine —and other alcoholic beverages — the boozy bits.
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While alcohol is legal, and some have evidence shows that wine may have positive health effects, alcohol also has immediate effects on the body and brain, and long-term, irreversible health effects.
When you take alcohol into your body — no matter if it is in the form of wine, hard liquor, or beer — it all goes to the same place: Your stomach, then your small intestine.
In the intestines, the alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream. From there it circulates through your entire body, where it crosses the barrier to get to your brain cells, and impacts countless other organs.
On the bright side, some drinks have ingredients that give them positive health benefits, when taken in moderation, of course. A daily glass of red wine has also been touted as having multiple health benefits.
Alcohol interferes with your brains coordination centers, making you clumsy.
Loss of coordination stems from alcohol's effects on the neurotransmitter GABA in the brain, which turns off some brain cells. Alcohol enhances these inhibitory effects, resulting in sluggish movements and reaction times that can make you lose coordination, Psychology Today explains.
A recent study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, published Sept. 15, 2011, suggests that damage to the brain's cerebellum from heavy drinking can cause balance problems for years, even after heavy alcoholics sober up.
A drink or two makes you creative and relaxed, but more can loosen your inhibitions too much.
People under the influence of alcohol have decreased brain activity in other areas of the brain too, specifically the prefrontal cortex, Psychology Today reports. This area is responsible for rational thought and decision making, so lowered activity makes you put less thought into your actions and decisions.
This relaxing effect can be helpful at times, when alcohol is taken in moderation. A study in BPS Research Digest, and a second one published in Consciousness and Cognition, suggest that a drink or two could help you perform better at work and make you more creative.
Your brain doesn't make long term memories right when sloshed, making you forget parts of your night.
Alcohol use causes the brain to become a sieve of information — though you are still awake and moving around, large amounts of alcohol stop your brain from being able to make and keep new long-term memories.
The third brain area where alcohol interacts to dumb-down the brain is the temporal cortex, including the hippocampus, a brain region responsible for making new memories, is located.
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