Drinking often and/or drinking heavily can wreck havoc on the human body. The body was not designed to handle large volumes of alcohol on a consistent basis. You do yourself a terrible disservice when you indulge in alcohol regularly.

The liver is the first organ to feel the heat of alcohol consumption. The liver needs an hour on average to process approximately one unit of alcohol. One unit of alcohol equals 8g (or 10 ml) of pure alcohol. To use a concrete example, this equals half a standard glass of red wine, a third of a pint of beer, or the amount of alcohol contained in a 25 ml single helping of spirits.

If you consume two or three drinks in an hour or less this can make it difficult for your liver to break the components of alcohol down fast enough. This in turn can also lead to problems with other organs of the body.

 The Effects You Notice First

If you consume alcohol quickly, or if you consume a great deal of it at once, you will immediately notice the effects. These effects take the shape of feeling nauseous and/or dizzy, or you may experience headaches and problems with balance and coordination. Many people stumble when they attempt to walk if they have had too much to drink.

Hangovers are not Healthy

Nobody enjoys having a hangover after a night of drinking. The number one most common side effect of drinking too much is waking up with a hangover the next morning. How bad your hangover is depends upon how much alcohol you drank, what type of alcohol you drank and how well (or how badly) your body is able to process the alcohol you consumed.

A hangover can cause you to feel overtired and irritable. You may have an excruciating headache, bloodshot eyes and your mouth will likely feel dried out from being dehydrated. If you have to go to work the day after you have drank too much, you may find yourself unproductive and unable to concentrate on the tasks at hand. This is especially the case if your job involves complicated tasks or those that require agility or are physically demanding in nature. You are more likely to be in a bad mood than a good one and those around you are bound to notice.

One should consider the many negative side effects that the body and mind endure when consuming alcohol in volume.  If you process this information, and find yourself unable to factor these consequences into your drinking routine, but rather find yourself drinking specifically to achieve the inebriated effects, you may in fact have a drinking problem.