Some adverse alcohol effects receive the most news:  an alcoholic who commits suicide; a baby born with fetal alcohol syndrome; an individual who has died from alcohol-related cancer, liver disease, or heart disease; an alcohol-related murder or crime; a young person who dies from alcohol poisoning; an individual who has received multiple DUIs; or alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

These are the alcohol related news stories that usually collect the most attention.  There are, however, other, less known, adverse alcohol effects that may not make the evening news but nonetheless are equally as damaging.

Examples include alcohol related nervous system damage, system and organ malfunction, child abuse, kidney failure, and codependency issues.

The bottom line:  long-term, repetitive drinking leads to several negative and damaging alcohol effects that can be significantly reduced or perhaps eliminated via drinking in moderation or via abstinence.

“Mom, are the effects of alcohol on the body always bad” asked Susan. Susan was a seventh-grade student who was just starting to learn about the drinking problems that are exhibited by adults, other teenagers, and by her fellow classmates.

Susan’s mother answered her daughter this way, “Susan, there are good reasons why drinking alcohol is unlawful until an individual is twenty-one years old.  Because of the pleasant feelings they get when they drink, many people, particularly teenagers and young adults, go too far and drink in an excessive and abusive manner.

For the vast majority of adults, having one or two drinks once or twice per week is not harmful or hurtful to their health.  This is called drinking in moderation.  Be aware, however, that some individuals cannot drink in moderation because they cannot stop drinking once they start.  These are the individuals who need to totally refrain from drinking because of their out-of-control drinking behavior.  And these are the people who run the risk of becoming addicted to or dependent on alcohol.

Your father and I understand the temptations and problems that are associated with drinking and so we choose not to drink for health reasons and because we want to be positive role models for you and your brother.”

Colin was an iron worker.  Unlike most of his fellow iron workers, he didn’t drink abusively or excessively.  Gradually, however, he began going to the local bar more regularly and after a two years of this lifestyle, he began to feel the effects of alcohol abuse.

After a while when he started reflecting on where his life was going, he began asking himself a number of questions.  Would he be able to cut down on his drinking and drink in moderation?  Should he quit drinking and stop going to the bar with his buddies?  Does he have a drinking problem?  Should he see his doctor and get an alcohol examination?  Does he need alcohol treatment?  One day he decided that instead of worrying about his drinking, he would call his family physician and make an appointment to talk to him about his drinking behavior.

Stanley was a recovering alcoholic.  He had gone through alcohol treatment two years ago and has been sober ever since he finished his outpatient alcohol counseling program.  Lately, however, he has been feeling like his life is going nowhere and so he began frequenting a few nightclubs in the big city.  He reasoned that since he was no longer an “active” alcoholic or exhibiting alcoholic behavior, he could now drink responsibly and in moderation.

After three weeks of having a few beers every other day, he understood how easily it would be to get involved in the negative cycle of alcoholism once again.  And by looking at drinking in this manner, the one thing that he kept on thinking about were the dreadful alcohol withdrawal symptoms he suffered just before he went to the alcohol treatment clinic two years ago.  In fact, the thought of facing such intense agony and pain made him totally quit drinking–again.  As soon as he quit drinking this time he clearly understood that he was one of the unfortunate individuals who would never again be able to drink, even if he were to drink in moderation.

Let us admit the truth:  most people drink because alcohol makes them feel good.  The difficulty with this, however, is that the law of diminishing returns eventually rears its ugly head and takes over.  What this means is that up to a certain point, the more alcohol a person drinks the better he or she feels.  Once a certain point is reached, however, increased drinking begins to lead to ill health, sickness, negative feelings, and drinking problems.

When this point is reached, unfortunately, the person is engaging in abusive drinking.  To avoid this state of affairs, we have to learn how to get the positive effects from alcohol without drinking to an excess.  Due to the fact that this is not easy to do, maybe the best way to accomplish this is to limit one’s drinking to one or two drinks once or twice per week.  Even though everyone is different, this drinking in moderation “plan” is probably doable for most individuals.

Eating a meal and/or drinking some milk before drinking alcohol may indeed help prevent a hangover to a certain extent.  The only “cure” for a hangover, however, is either drinking in moderation or abstaining from drinking altogether.

Hangovers are a sign of abusive and excessive drinking.  While doing such things as drinking a glass or two of milk or eating a meal before drinking can help reduce the impact that drinking alcohol has on a person’s body, these actions only mask the real issue, namely drinking beyond the capacity of the person’s liver to metabolize and expel the alcohol that has been ingested.

My best friend, my cousin who I haven’t seen in at least 25 years, and I went to the local bar to talk and have a few drinks. Actually, I had a few NA beers and my friend and my cousin had a few mixed drinks and a few glasses of red wine respectively.  All three of us had a lot of laughs and a really great time. And no one drank more than a few drinks.  Hey alcohol abusers—drinking can be fun if it’s done in moderation!

Picture drinking alcohol as a straight horizontal line.  The people who drink so infrequently that they almost abstain from any drinking whatsoever would be placed at the far left-hand end of the line.  The alcoholics who drink excessively all throughout the day would be placed at the far right-hand end of the line.  The people who drink in moderation would be located somewhere to the left of center on this “drinking line.”

As a person progresses from the left to the right on this line, he or she goes from moderate drinking to alcohol abuse and can eventually go to chronic alcoholism.  The point:  all the people who abuse alcohol but who are not yet alcohol dependent need to get their drinking under control by getting professional alcohol treatment before they become dependent on alcohol, that is before they move to the right-hand side of the “drinking line.”

It’s one thing to experience the negative alcohol abuse effects associated with excessive drinking.  It’s quite another thing to suffer through the effects of alcohol dependency.  Why risk your health and everything important in your life by continuing to drink in a way that will more likely than not result in alcohol dependency?  The point is so important it is worth repeating:  if you abuse alcohol, go get the alcohol treatment you require before you become an alcoholic.

While a number of scientific studies demonstrate that drinking responsibly and in moderation may have some health benefits, most physicians do not tell their patients to start drinking for their heart or for other health reasons.  Doctors adhere to this position because the risks of drinking alcohol invariably outweigh the possible benefits.

Part of the logic here is that drinking in moderation can so easily escalate into alcohol abuse that the small benefits of responsible drinking become dwarfed by the host of health, relationship, school, work, financial, and legal problems that are associated with excessive and abusive drinking.