Binge Drinking Changes Your DNA

Here's yet another reason to seek help for binge drinking: It can mess with your very being - your DNA! 

So what does this really mean? Researchers from Rutgers University discovered that consistently overdoing it on alcohol can disrupt the natural effectiveness of two specific genes: PER2, which regulates body clock and POMC, which controls stress.

The researchers discovered that both genes were altered in binge and heavy drinkers and, in the heaviest drinkers, there was a reduction in the rate at which the genes created new proteins. According to Forbes.com, this basically means that binge drinking “stunted both genes.” 

And, what’s worse, these mutations may make it harder to quit. The researchers found that these long-lasting genetic changes sparked a greater desire to drink among binge and heavy drinkers. 

"We found that people who drink heavily may be changing their DNA in a way that makes them crave alcohol even more," Professor Dipak K. Sarkar, senior author of the study and director of the Endocrine Program in the Department of Animal Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, told Forbes.com. "This may help explain why alcoholism is such a powerful addiction, and may one day contribute to new ways to treat alcoholism or help prevent at-risk people from becoming addicted.”

Binge drinking is defined as when a person consumes an excessive amount of alcohol in a short amount of time. For men, this means drinking five or more alcoholic beverages in two hours. For women, four or more drinks within a two-hour time period.

College Students and Binge Drinking: What You Should Know

A large percentage of college students participate in binge drinking – and not without consequences. For one, binge drinking can take a toll on the young and still-developing brain of college students, causing cognitive difficulties. (Your brain continues to change and develop up to age 25.) Binge drinking can also increase your risk of life-threatening alcohol poisoning and suicide.

Here are a few more ways that binge drinking can put your health – and the health of others – at risk.

• Poor academic performance, including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers and receiving lower grades overall.
• Increased risk of injury - from minor cuts to broken bones to concussions.
• More vulnerable to physical or sexual assault.
• Higher chance of committing a crime, including vandalism, property damage and driving under the influence.
• Greater risk of alcohol-related health complications like liver damage, high blood pressure, inflammation of the pancreas and other health complications.
• Increased risk of an alcohol use disorder.

Getting Help for Alcohol Abuse
Is binge drinking becoming a problem for you or someone you love? Our young adult alcohol rehab can provide the tools you need to get and stay sober. Reach out to us today to find out how we can help you. To learn more about what a day in the life of Hope Academy looks like, call: 866-930-4673.

Binge Drinking Puts Your Heart at Risk and More

Binge drinking can cause much more than a bad hangover. It can take a major toll on your ticker. 

A new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that young adults who binge drink have an increased risk of such heart risk factors as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels and higher blood sugar levels. 

Researchers defined binge drinking as five drinks or more in a row for men and four or more drinks for women – and frequent binge drinkers repeated this behavior more than 12 times a year.

These findings are especially important considering the “pervasiveness, intensity and regularity of binge drinking” among today’s youth, lead researcher Mariann Piano, told HealthDay.

The study showed that young men who frequently binge drank had higher systolic blood pressure and higher cholesterol levels, setting themselves up for future heart trouble, Dr. Richard Becker, director of the University of Cincinnati's Heart, Lung and Vascular Institute, told HD.

"Hypertension and high cholesterol are powerful risk factors for cardiovascular events, including heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and death," Becker said. "They represent global health problems of unparalleled proportion that not only continues to increase, but are being detected at younger ages."

What’s more, researchers found a link between binge drinking and excessive consumption of junk food. Young women were found to have higher levels of blood glucose, increasing their diabetes risk, Piano said.

The takeaway: Binge drinking can result in serious safety, academic and health risks. "It's really important that young adults understand that what they do in their youth can affect their health later in life," Piano said.

Getting Help for Alcohol Abuse 

Binge drinking in adolescence can also increase your risk of developing an alcohol use disorder later in life. If you or someone you love has a drinking problem, Hope Academy can help you get the help you need today. To learn more about our young adult alcohol rehab, call toll-free today: 866-930-4673.

Studies Show Dangers of Underage Binge Drinking

Two studies came out this month that focused on binge drinking and college – and both results provided even more reasons for students to skip the binge sessions. Though binge drinking isn’t recommended for anyone, at any age.

What is binge drinking? The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines it as “ingesting four or more alcoholic drinks within two hours by a woman and five or more alcoholic drinks within two hours by a man.”

The first study, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, found that heavy drinking six times a month reduces the probability that a new college graduate will land a job by 10 percent. Researchers from the Smithers Institute found that each individual episode of student binge drinking during a month-long period lowers the odds of attaining full-time employment upon graduation by 1.4 percent.

The second study, published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, found that binge drinking altered the resting brain activity of some college students and may have led to cognitive difficulties. 

Students who reported binge drinking within the last 30 days displayed higher measurements of activity known as beta and theta oscillations in the right temporal lobe and bilateral occipital cortex brain regions, said researchers. And these changes might indicate a decreased ability to respond to external stimuli and potential difficulties in information processing capacity in young binge drinkers. These are the first signs of alcohol-induced brain damage.  

These brain changes among college binge drinkers is likely due to the plasticity of their young and still-developing brains, say researchers. Many experts believe the brain continues to develop well into young adulthood and doesn’t stop changing until an individual reaches 25 years of age. 

Stopping the Side Effects of Alcohol Abuse 

The best way to combat the physical and emotional health consequences of a substance use disorder is early intervention. Don’t wait. If you or someone you love has a drinking problem, Hope Academy can help you get the help you need today. To learn more about our young adult alcohol rehab, call toll-free today: 866-930-4673.