The first time I tasted a beer, it was really unpleasant, but due to peer pressure, I had to pretend to enjoy it. After a few bottles, it was more about the feelings the beer gave than the way it tasted in the mouth. Alone in the house, I would have never opted for anything beer-related to pass the time.
With palm wine, however, the taste was in the pudding, especially if it was freshly tapped. You need to have a taste of palm wine whose sugar content is yet to start fermenting to truly understand. One can simply finish 5 liters of enjoyable palm wine and still ask for more.
Beers and palm wine both have something in common - alcohol. Every 1st of January back in those days, I wouldn't miss a party where freshly tapped palm wine mixed with beer flowed freely. It was a tradition until I became a teetotaler.
Yes. I left alcohol drinking totally. From the ones with unpleasant tastes, which I had to drink due to peer pressure, to the ones that tasted so good you’d want to have it all. Why did I choose to adopt a life without alcohol after I had fully immersed in it? It all started with the caveat that usually follows every alcohol advert.
"Drink responsibly."
I just finished drinking the beer and was reading the content on the bottle when I came across the warning. Then, I began wondering, is this a warning against getting drunk? It seemed like it as far as I was concerned. That should have solved all the problems I had, but another question popped into my mind: apart from the "drunk" feeling alcohol gives, what are its other benefits to the body?
I mean, I don’t think anyone should be drinking or eating anything just for the fleeting feelings they give to the body - feelings that go away with time. This led me to do a little web research about the benefits of alcohol to the body. To my amazement, I couldn’t pinpoint a single benefit the organic liquid gives the body.
It is true that some research has reported the potential of low to moderate alcohol consumption to lower the risk of coronary heart disease. None of these studies, however, are conclusive, as correlations don’t always connote causation.
Even if low to moderate drinking of alcohol effectively proves to be beneficial against coronary heart diseases, the chances that many people will limit their consumption to low or moderate levels are slim. The more you take, the more you want to take. Addiction wins virtually all the time.
The other issue is the glaring contradiction in alcohol advertisements. They tell you to "drink responsibly" while actively promoting a substance that is scientifically proven to impair judgment, control, and decision-making - the very faculties needed to act responsibly. It’s like selling a product designed to break you while telling you to use it carefully.
Alcohol, as an intoxicant, has a host of effects on the body, and none of them are particularly desirable in the long run. Let’s break down some of the well-documented negative impacts that alcohol has on various systems of the body, exposing the hypocrisy of the "drink responsibly" mantra.
The Brain and Central Nervous System
One of the first targets of alcohol is the brain. Even small amounts can disrupt neural pathways, leading to impaired coordination, slowed reaction times, and slurred speech. Over time, chronic drinking can shrink brain matter and result in cognitive impairments, including memory loss, difficulties with problem-solving, and emotional instability. Diseases like Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, a condition caused by alcohol-related thiamine deficiency, are direct results of prolonged abuse.
How does one “drink responsibly” while consuming a substance that actively hampers the very organ responsible for judgment and responsibility?
The Liver
The liver bears the brunt of alcohol's toxicity. Chronic alcohol consumption overwhelms its capacity to process toxins, leading to conditions like fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, and ultimately cirrhosis, where the liver becomes permanently scarred and dysfunctional. Liver damage can also result in jaundice, swelling, and severe fatigue. Many victims of liver failure are people who believed they were drinking within “reasonable” limits, only to find their livers couldn't keep up with the cumulative damage.
The Heart
While alcohol marketers love to highlight the so-called "heart benefits" of moderate drinking, the reality for most people is far less rosy. Heavy drinking increases blood pressure, weakens the heart muscle, and creates irregular heart rhythms. The risk of stroke is significantly higher among heavy drinkers. A single binge-drinking episode can cause temporary spikes in blood pressure and arrhythmias, setting the stage for long-term damage.
The Digestive System
Alcohol wreaks havoc on the digestive system from the first sip. It irritates the stomach lining, leading to gastritis, ulcers, and acid reflux. Over time, it can interfere with the absorption of essential nutrients like vitamin B12, folic acid, and zinc, contributing to anemia and other deficiencies. The pancreas, another critical digestive organ, is at risk of inflammation, which can be life-threatening.
The Immune System
Regular drinking weakens the immune system, making it harder for the body to fight off infections. Heavy drinkers are more susceptible to pneumonia, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. Even moderate drinking can reduce the body’s ability to recover from illnesses.
The Addiction Factor
Perhaps the most glaring irony in the "drink responsibly" tagline is the addictive nature of alcohol. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a condition that doesn’t discriminate. It affects millions of people worldwide, many of whom started as "moderate drinkers." Addiction isn’t a sign of irresponsibility; it’s a biological response to the way alcohol manipulates the brain's reward system. How can a substance so prone to causing dependency ever be used responsibly?
Social Consequences
Alcohol consumption doesn’t just harm the individual; it often wreaks havoc on families and communities. Drunk driving, domestic violence, lost productivity, and increased healthcare costs are just a few of the societal impacts. These consequences are not the result of individuals failing to "drink responsibly" but of a system that normalizes and profits from alcohol consumption.
Conclusion
After all this, the idea of drinking "responsibly" feels less like a genuine warning and more like a marketing gimmick designed to shift the blame onto consumers. Alcohol is a substance that, by its very nature, compromises the body and mind. It has no essential nutrients, no inherent benefits, and a laundry list of risks.
So, the next time you see an alcohol advert urging you to "drink responsibly," remember this: responsibility and alcohol are inherently incompatible. The safest, healthiest choice you can make is to avoid it altogether. That’s why I chose to leave it behind, not out of fear or moral superiority, but because I realized the cost to my health, my mind, and my potential was far greater than any fleeting pleasure it offered.
What are your thoughts on this? Let’s discuss.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
I have a hateful relationship with alcohol, my father was an alcoholic all his life, he only stopped at the end of his life. And from the experience of people close to me today I can say: there is nothing positive about alcohol, it's one of the worst drugs there is and it's very strange that people actually think it's more "OK" to get drunk legally than to smoke marijuana for example (which I don't smoke anymore either, as you can read in my text from last week), alcohol diminishes a person's cognition TOO MUCH, it makes them dumb, stupid. And about the heart issue, that's a fallacy mixed with a lack of knowledge, the point is that grapes contain resveratrol, which is in fact an excellent cardio-protector, but you don't need to drink wine (or whole grape juice which is full of natural grape fructose and which is terrible for your pancreas), just buy resveratrol in capsules.
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You totally nailed it. I blame capitalism for the way alcohol is pushed to the populace and how they try to rationalize its usage. They even subtly put the consequences of its usage on drinkers by asking them to "drink responsibly". I don't know of a single person that benefitted from alcohol usage, health-wise.
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