More alcohol intake means that breathing and reflexes will also be impaired. Heavy social drinking may also cause brain atrophy. Over time, the brain and nervous system become less sensitive to alcohol's effects. Stomach Some of the alcohol consumed is absorbed quickly from the stomach into the bloodstream. The amount of food in the stomach helps determine the effect alcohol has on a person.
Alcohol stimulates the stomach to secrete more stomach acid.
Prolonged heavy drinking is related to ulcers and even cancer of the stomach, mouth, tongue and esophagus. Some alcohol is exhaled through the breathing process, which is why alcohol can be smelled on the breath of a person who has been drinking. Extremely high alcohol levels result in unconsciousness, coma and even death through the suppression of the brain's breathing center, the cerebellum. Prolonged heavy drinking can cause fat to accumulate in the liver, which will eventually become non-functional scar tissue or cirrhosis, the sixth leading cause of adult deaths in the United States. Kidneys Alcohol is a diuretic, so it increases the production of urine from the kidneys.