EFFECT OF ALCOHOL ON THE BLOOD.

EFFECT OF ALCOHOL ON THE BLOOD

Dr. Richardson, in his lectures on alcohol, given both in England and America, speaking of the action of this substance on the blood after passing from the stomach, says:

"Suppose, then, a certain measure of alcohol be taken into the stomach, it will be absorbed there, but, previous to absorption, it will have to undergo a proper degree of dilution with water, for there is this peculiarity respecting alcohol when it is separated by an animal membrane from a watery fluid like the blood, that it will not pass through the membrane until it has become charged, to a given point of dilution, with water. It is itself, in fact,  so greedy for water, it will pick it up from watery textures, and deprive them of it until, by its saturation, its power of reception is exhausted , after which it will diffuse into the current of circulating fluid."

It is this power of absorbing water from every texture with which alcoholic spirits comes in contact, that creates the burning thirst of those who freely indulge in its use. Its effect, when it reaches the circulation, is thus described by Dr. Richardson:

"As it passes through the circulation of the lungs it is exposed to the air, and some little of it, raised into vapor by the natural heat, is thrown off in expiration. If the quantity of it be large, this loss may be considerable, and the odor of the spirit may be detected in the expired breath. If the quantity be small, the loss will be comparatively little, as the spirit will be held in solution by the water in the blood. After it has passed through the lungs, and has been driven by the left heart over the arterial circuit, it passes into what is called the minute circulation, or the structural circulation of the organism. The arteries here extend into very small vessels, which are called arterioles, and from these infinitely small vessels spring the equally minute radicals or roots of the veins, which are ultimately to become the great rivers bearing the blood back to the heart. In its passage through this minute circulation the alcohol finds its way to every organ. To this brain, to these muscles, to these secreting or excreting organs, nay, even into this bony structure itself, it moves with the blood. In some of these parts which are not excreting, it remains for a time diffused, and in those parts where there is a large percentage of water, it remains longer than in other parts. From some organs which have an open tube for conveying fluids away, as the liver and kidneys, it is thrown out or eliminated, and in this way a portion of it is ultimately removed from the body. The rest passing round and round with the circulation, is probably decomposed and carried off in new forms of matter.

"When we know the course which the alcohol takes in its passage through the body, from the period of its absorption to that of its elimination, we are the better able to judge what physical changes it induces in the different organs and structures with which it comes in contact. It first reaches the blood; but, as a rule, the quantity of it that enters is insufficient to produce any material effect on that fluid. If, however, the dose taken be poisonous or semi-poisonous, then even the blood, rich as it is in water and it contains seven hundred and ninety parts in a thousand is affected. The alcohol is diffused through this water, and there it comes in contact with the other constituent parts, with the fibrine, that plastic substance which, when blood is drawn, clots and coagulates, and which is present in the proportion of from two to three parts in a thousand; with the albumen which exists in the proportion of seventy parts; with the salts which yield about ten parts; with the fatty matters; and lastly, with those minute, round bodies which float in myriads in the blood (which were discovered by the Dutch philosopher, Leuwenhock, as one of the first results of microscopical observation, about the middle of the seventeenth century), and which are called the blood globules or corpuscles. These last-named bodies are, in fact, cells; their discs, when natural, have a smooth outline, they are depressed in the centre, and they are red in color; the color of the blood being derived from them. We have discovered that there exist other corpuscles or cells in the blood in much smaller quantity, which are called white cells, and these different cells float in the blood-stream within the vessels. The red take the centre of the stream; the white lie externally near the sides of the vessels, moving less quickly. Our business is mainly with the red corpuscles. They perform the most important functions in the economy; they absorb, in great part, the oxygen which we inhale in breathing, and carry it to the extreme tissues of the body; they absorb, in great part, the carbonic acid gas which is produced in the combustion of the body in the extreme tissues, and bring that gas back to the lungs to be exchanged for oxygen there; in short, they are the vital instruments of the circulation.

"With all these parts of the blood, with the water, fibrine, albumen, salts, fatty matter and corpuscles, the alcohol comes in contact when it enters the blood, and, if it be in sufficient quantity, it produces disturbing action. I have watched this disturbance very carefully on the blood corpuscles; for, in some animals we can see these floating along during life, and we can also observe them from men who are under the effects of alcohol, by removing a speck of blood, and examining it with the microscope. The action of the alcohol, when it is observable, is varied. It may cause the corpuscles to run too closely together, and to adhere in rolls; it may modify their outline, making the clear-defined, smooth, outer edge irregular or crenate, or even starlike; it may change the round corpuscle into the oval form, or, in very extreme cases, it may produce what I may call a truncated form of corpuscles, in which the change is so great that if we did not trace it through all its stages, we should be puzzled to know whether the object looked at were indeed a blood-cell. All these changes are due to the action of the spirit upon the water contained in the corpuscles; upon the capacity of the spirit to extract water from them. During every stage of modification of corpuscles thus described, their function to absorb and fix gases is impaired, and when the aggregation of the cells, in masses, is great, other difficulties arise, for the cells, united together, pass less easily than they should through the minute vessels of the lungs and of the general circulation, and impede the current, by which local injury is produced.

"A further action upon the blood, instituted by alcohol in excess, is upon the fibrine or the plastic colloidal matter. On this the spirit may act in two different ways, according to the degree in which it affects the water that holds the fibrine in solution. It may fix the water with the fibrine, and thus destroy the power of coagulation; or it may extract the water so determinately as to produce coagulation."

Cholesterol’s and learning about Trigylcerides

When it comes to learning how you can become healthier, you will be able to lower you cholesterol and you will want to check your body’s levels of a fat called triglyceride.

You will find that cholesterol and triglyceride are both lipids in your body that will help your body to survive. If you don’t try to maintain healthy levels of fats in your body, you will be at risk for a heart attack and stroke. There are many people who will check with their doctor about their cholesterol levels so that they are able to stay healthy and so the heart can tick stronger than ever. You will want to inquire about your triglyceride levels because you doctor may not inform you of your personal level.

Triglycerides are tested as part of your cholesterol test and it will be the fourth number , that happens to follow the good and bad cholesterol levels and your total cholesterol levels. Unfortunately, medical research has only recently been started on the effects of triglycerides in the blood stream. Usually, there are levels of triglycerides and the levels of bad cholesterol, as well as the good cholesterols. So it is apparent that lower levels of triglycerides are better for your body.

However, it is not yet apparent if triglycerides are contributing to the problems of high LDL cholesterol or if high levels are a symptom of high LDL cholesterol. They are still trying to study this type of problem, but there are doctors who aren’t quite sue on how to recommend treatment for the triglyceride levels.  Most of the time, lowering high LDL cholesterol and raising low HDL cholesterol brings triglyceride levels back into a normal range with no additional work.

You will find that there are some special cases where the higher levels of triglycerides are being treated in patients. You will find that a normal reading of triglyceride is lower than 150. You will find that anything about the 150 is considered to be high and if you are over 500, then the levels are extremely high and it could dangerous to your health. Most patients that are being treated for high triglyceride also suffer from syndrome X. The syndrome X is a genetic default that will cause you to have high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, also hypertension. You may also have abnormal blood clotting and issues with insulin.

This is the reason why patients with the syndrome X are at high risk for heart attack. Your high triglyceride levels can be easily treated if you lose some weight and exercise. You may also need to get on some medication, although, a diet could be just as helpful. If you may think that you suffer from the syndrome X, then you will want to learn more about your levels of cholesterol and triglyceride. You can do that by talking to your doctor. You will go to your doctor for a simple blood tests and it will measure the lipids in your blood so that you can stay heart-healthy. You will want to also talk to your doctor about changing habits in your diet and exercise routines so that you can life healthy and you may also want to check out your medications so that you can make sure that you are being medicated to your advantage.

Cholesterol and the effects on Men and Women

Cholesterol and the effects on Men and Women

There are some people who may deny that there are differences between the sexes when it comes to cholesterol, but you should know that rather or not you are being affected from high cholesterol. You will find that many scientists will help you to determine the differences between men and women so that you can determine how cholesterol affects you. You should know that men and women have different hormones and you will find that cholesterol also works in a different way. With you do the proper research, you can learn about the differences in steroids in your body.

You will notice that men are less likely to care about what they eat, but they are less likely to exercise for the benefit of being healthier, but it’s more to look better for the other sex. They are also a lot less likely to go to the doctor for a problem that could be something serious. For these reasons men run a higher risk of having high cholesterol at an earlier age.

It may be obvious those women are more likely to be healthier with their lifestyles. However, this doesn’t mean that they are not at risk for having high cholesterol or avoiding heart disease. Did you know that women are less likely to respond quickly to a heart attack then men? Even though many women think that breast cancer is the top health risk for their gender, this is actually not true—its actually heart disease. There are so many women who believe that they need to worry about breast cancer, but they really should think about their chances of having a heart attack. This is why drastically higher numbers of women die of their first heart attack when compared to the number of male fatalities for the same reason.

Even though men and women are very different, you will find that there is one thing that both of the sexes have in common and that is being able to change the future. Yes, it’s true you can change your future by starting to become healthy and maintaining a healthy cholesterol level. You will find that if you start yourself on a diet that will limit you fat intake, you may be able to save yourself from a heart attack.

You will find that there are saturated fats, sugars, and alcohol that you are going to have to avoid in order to decrease your cholesterol, however, remember that the body does need some fats and sugars for it to perform. You will want to do everything that you can to stay active and also maintain a healthy life.

You will find that you can control your weight and with that you will be able to increase your good cholesterol, but you will also be able to decrease the cholesterol. You may also want to take some fiber supplements so that you can keep your cholesterol levels just right and you’ll be able to dispose the bad cholesterol before it enters your blood stream. There are some many things that you can do to keep your cholesterol under control, but you will want to consult your doctor about what is best for you.

Check your health, learn about cholesterol

Check your health, learn about cholesterol

You will know that just how healthy you are when you check your cholesterol on a regularly basis. You will also find that your doctor will break down that report so that you have several numbers and a real understanding of just how healthy you are. With all the medical advances, that you will come across you’ll be able to know exactly what part of your cholesterol is out of control and how your overall progress is doing.

You will be getting the numbers with an explanation, but it still can be very confusing. It is very difficult to explain what you are told to someone else. You will want to get a cholesterol testing kit so that you can test yourself in the comfort of your own home. You may find that it is difficult to understand the kit, but if you learn how to do the math, then you will be able to understand your results and the numbers.

You will first be given a number for your bad cholesterol that is often referred to as low density lipids cholesterol. This is commonly referred to as “bad cholesterol” and you can remember this by using the L to stand for Lower—you want to be sure to lower this type of cholesterol. The bad cholesterol will end up making about 65-75% of your total cholesterol, however, you should make sure that your total number is at least lower than 130. Because LDL cholesterol is the type that causes heart attacks, if you have other risk factors such as obesity or a family history of heart disease, you want to keep this number even lower, less than 100 if possible. Your diet is very important in many ways, but it will lower your bad cholesterol levels.

You will then realize that your second number is your good cholesterol or HDL. This is a high density lipid cholesterol. You can always remember that your HDL is healthy by remembering the link to the “h”. You will want this to be of at least 35 or higher for men, but 40 or higher for women. Women have an easier time raising HDL levels than men do, but this can be done through exercise and not smoking.

As for your last number, you will fid that it is your total cholesterol level that will add both your good and bad together. You will find that if you keep your LDL and HDL levels normal, then you will be able to have a good total cholesterol level. However, you should consult your doctor if you have any questions about your cholesterols and the numbers. They will be able to place you on medication so that you can have a healthy life with the cholesterol under control.