The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that alcohol abuse is defined as "a pattern of drinking that results in harm to one's health, interpersonal relationships, or ability to work." According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 6.9 percent of Americans who participated in a survey reported being heavy drinkers who regularly abuse alcohol. Excessive alcohol consumption can affect the way the body absorbs nutrients and, thus, can affect the body's overall health.
Digestion of Nutrients
The National Institutes on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) issued an "Alcohol Alert" that details much of what is known about how alcohol abuse affects nutrition. Alcohol inhibits the process of transforming food into molecules that are useful in providing energy to cells: It decreases the amount of enzymes that the pancreas produces that break down food.
Utilization of Nutrients
The NIAAA reports that alcohol damages the cells that line the digestive system. This interferes with the body's ability to absorb nutrients through the stomach and intestine.
Storage of Nutrients
The liver helps to prepare nutrients for immediate use and for storage for future use. Alcohol directly damages the cells of the liver and inhibits the organ's ability to process nutrients, the NIAAA says.
Vitamins and Minerals
Decrease in adequate and nutritious food intake and impaired absorption may lead to a deficiency in available vitamins and minerals that are necessary for various physiological processes. The NIAAA reports that vitamins are needed for wound healing and the general health of cells. Although alcohol does not seem to affect the absorption of minerals directly, mineral deficiencies often are apparent in alcoholics due to inadequate food intake and the vomiting and diarrhea that are common effects of alcohol abuse.
Vicious Cycle
To make matters worse, poor nutrition (whether from alcohol abuse or from inadequate intake of nutrients) further damages the cells lining of the digestive system, the liver, pancreas and the brain, the NIAAA explains. The damage to cells from poor nutrition further prevents the body from absorbing adequate nutrients and may exacerbate damage to the tissues already caused directly by alcohol.
