We’re always looking to understand what it is that makes some individuals more prone than others to alcohol abuse.
Until recently, the ability to drink excessively without manifesting effects of such drinking (by drunkenness or a hangover the following day, for example) has been thought to be a gift. According to Arizona State and Yale University researchers, the ability to “hold your liquor” may actually raise your alcohol abuse risk.
Alcohol Affects Us All Differently
Obviously, drinking affects everyone differently. This is because of body size/composition, frequency of alcohol consumption and tolerance levels. This means, simply, that someone who drinks on a regular basis will actually develop a physical resistance to the effects of alcohol. This is a mechanism the body performs to protect itself from becoming disarmed, yet it over-stresses the liver and other organs.
Continuous drinking presents obvious long-term health risks. In fact, excessive alcohol consumption can potentially damage every organ in the body, not to mention the mental “fogginess” and emotional instability that comes part-and-parcel with heavy drinking.
This mechanism of physical tolerance applies to a number of consumable substances and chemicals including coffee, street drugs, prescription drugs and even sugary foods. As you consume a particular chemical, the body adapts itself to function “normally” despite the presence of the substance.
Physical tolerance to drugs and alcohol is very often the foundation for dependency and addiction.
Ability To “Hold Your Liquor”—Benefits Are Short-Term Only
Although some are able to maintain mental and physical composure (while others exhibit signs of drunkenness quite obviously), the ability to “hold your liquor” may raise your alcohol abuse risk and thus is no longer something to brag about.
According to the Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research publication, University researchers were only able to determine short-term benefits of being able to drink a lot without feeling drunk or hungover the next day.
Rather, long-term health issues were discovered along with a strong risk for alcohol dependence and abuse.
113 male and female study participants—all of whom were young adults and admitted heavy drinkers (24+ drinks per week)—were analyzed and surveyed to gain a deeper understanding of this connection.
Dr. William R. Corbin PhD, the study’s leader, reported finding that those who said they could “hold their liquor” were in fact able to avoid regular consequences of heavy drinking (such as a hangover, fatigue, blackouts, issues with obligations/responsibilities, etc.)
However, such a resistance leaves one prone to developing low alcohol response which, over time, can produce alcohol dependency, abuse and addiction.
Alcohol Intolerance: A Survival Mechanism
It is engrained deeply in our genes that we react negatively to and become disarmed by drugs and alcohol. This is the mind and body’s way of telling us to stop or slow down the consumption of such substances.
Holding your alcohol may help you to avoid the immediate consequences of drinking. However, by going against our body’s natural “warning system” for too long, an individual could end up in a lot of trouble down the road.
Drinking heavily without feeling the consequences of such, over time, will produce a tolerance to alcohol. This, in turn, leaves you at risk of a laundry list of health issues and alcoholism.
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