If ever there was a true love-hate relationship, it was most likely between college students and alcohol. I’m fairly certain that I do not need to rattle off all the after-effects of a weekend in State College. Considering that Niche, a popular college ranking website, ranks Penn State 16th out of 700+ in terms of party scene, I’m sure many of you are already quite familiar with our topic. Ironically, it is that very same familiarity that prompted me to write a blog about alcohol. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism claims that 60% of college students between the ages of 18 and 22 have drank in the past month. Now I’m sure all of you fall in the 40% that don’t… right? Alcohol is a very real, natural part of the college experience and aside from the easily observable symptoms associated with a hangover, I’ve met few people who have an adequate grasp on how it affects their body (including myself). Hopefully this blog will fix that!

Alcohol and the Media

Before we jump into the science of alcohol I believe that it is important to acknowledge the amount of bias that accompanies scientific research into popular consumer goods, like alcohol. Many people and organizations have very negative viewpoints on alcohol and sites such as SoberNation.com post non-scientific articles (like this) claiming that alcohol is in fact the most dangerous drug in the world. It is articles such as these that pollute the internet with speculation and make unbiased scientific research harder to find. However, bias is not a one-way street. Dr. Babor of the University of Connecticut looked into how the alcoholic beverage industry is involved with alcohol science and after “…extensive review of organizational websites, newspaper articles, journal papers, letters to the editor, editorials, books, book chapters and unpublished documents” he uncovered some unsettling facts; he discovered that the alcoholic beverage industry is not only involved in the financing of research organizations but it also finances university-based scientists and helps publish industry-beneficial findings. To be honest, none of this came as a surprise to me. Once we acknowledge bias in scientific research we can more aptly find research of merit, and that is exactly what we’re going to do.

Alcohol and Your Body

Like all liquids, when you consume an alcoholic beverage it finds its way to your stomach where 20% of the alcohol is absorbed by blood vessels and carried to the blood stream. The remaining alcohol is then absorbed by the small intestine and also finds its way to the blood stream. Eventually, enzymes break down the alcohol in your liver at around 1oz./hour or one drink per hour. When you consume more than one drink an hour, as often in college, your system becomes saturated and the alcohol collects in your blood and body tissue until it can be metabolized. This accumulation is can be defined as blood alcohol content (BAC) and the mental and physical at each “level” of intoxications are well known. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can actually cause your brain go into coma-like states where people pass out. It is believed that this passing out is a result of your bodies attempt to get you to stop drinking; if you’re “passed out,” you can’t drink any more alcohol. Unfortunately, there is a flaw with the mechanism. Alcohol does not enter the bloodstream immediately after you consume it, there is a delay. During this delay it is possible that the individual could consume even more alcohol before the body can shut itself down.

All of the above information courtesy of Brown University

The Cost of Alcohol

It has long been known that prolonged heavy drinking can take a toll on your body. In fact, this article published by the School of Public Health at Harvard University outlines some of health issues related to heavy drinking. Some of the repercussions include inflammation of the liver and eventually even scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), which can be fatal. On top of that it can lead to high blood pressure and can damage heart muscle (cardiomyopathy). If those weren’t scary enough for you, alcohol has been linked to cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, breast, and colon and rectum in men.

For the ladies, a meta-analysis conducted at Harvard University looked at 6 different studies that assessed over 320,000 women over 11 years. The research team concluded from their findings that, “Alcohol consumption is associated with a linear increase in breast cancer incidence in women over the range of consumption reported by most women.” Upon reading this study I immediately texted my mom and sister passing it along to them. However, after a little deliberation a few flaws with this study come to mind. Of course, we have to anticipate some amount of bias due to the file-drawer problem; it is likely that there are other studies that failed to find any association and were not published as a result. Additionally, taking into account what Dr. Babor found in his review of alcohol science and industry involvement we cannot immediately rule out that those who oppose the alcoholic beverage industry do not participate in the same research financing practices. Because this meta-analysis is on pub-med, the funding/grant information is included at the bottom of the page. After googling the grant number, I found that the study was financed by two grants from the National Institutes for Health, a branch of the U.S. Department for Public Health & Human Services. One would hope that there is no bias in this study due to the fact that it was government funded. However, there are people on the other end of those grants and we are not privy to their motives.

The Verdict.

This is for you to decide. The unfortunate truth is that there are so many studies out there analyzing the short and long-term effects of alcohol. To really capture all that is going on I would need to write a book, not a blog. Unfortunately, the more of these blogs I write the more I realize that science is imperfect and that money can do a lot of the talking. In the end, it is your body and your life. To really decide if alcohol is worth it to you you must weigh the benefits and the numerable healthy risk associated with it… not to mention the legal ramifications of under-age drinking. My guess would be that out there, amidst all the bias, the truth lies somewhere in the middle and that moderation is key.