The A-Files, Alcohol A-Z for Alcohol Awareness Month: Kidney Health

(See online aricle)

Twenty-six episodes of 'The A-Files' will run throughout Alcohol Awareness Month on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Alcohologist.com and AddictedMinds.com, among other web and social media sites. Episode K is on the Kindey: Kidney disease is the ninth leading cause of death in the country. Today there are more than 95,000 people waiting for kidney transplants and more than 590,000 people have diagnosed kidney failure. One single drink affects the normal function of a person's kidneys in a chain of events that begins with alcohol dehydrating the body.

Alcohol alters the filtering ability of the kidneys. The organs filter about 200 quarts (189 liters) of blood daily. The body gets rid of cellular waste through them, ultimately in urine, and the organs also regulate the concentrations of sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride and phosphate. Sodium and potassium are needed within the body to maintain water concentrations within the cells. Magnesium is used for enzyme activity. Chloride is needed for nerves. Phosphate ions help to maintain a stable pH and sugar in the blood. All are thrown into imbalance with a single drink. Ironically, low potassium increases thirst... and what beverage is nearby? More alcohol.

Even though alcohol displaces water, the drug at the same time signals the brain to stop releasing a certain hormone (vasopressin or ADH) which in turn makes a person urinate more, getting rid of the water. Research indicates that older people overcome this suppression of ADH more quickly than younger people do, so younger drinkers can lose more water. More water leaving the body affects all the concentrations of the chemicals and ions in the body.

The type of alcohol consumed can either increase or decrease the concentrations of nutrients in the blood stream. When a person drinks beer, large amounts of water enter the body. That lowers the nutrient concentration. When a person drinks hard alcohol, it has less water and has a more severe drying effect and the nutrient concentrations can increase. This drying effect also can harm the normal function of cells and other organs. It's a complex balance the body maintains, which is thrown out of whack within 20 minutes of consuming the first drink.

One last dagger to kidney health: Alcohol bumps up blood pressure. Your kidneys are made of tiny blood vessels, called glomeruli. High blood pressure rams blood flow through these delicate blood vessels, which will damage them and and cause kidney disease.

The entire 26 episode HD series is available on disc, along with fact sheets, for helping professions. See the preorder special at tr.im/AFiles

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Another interview is on Alcohol Awareness.  Syndicated radio program Savvy Central Radio did this interview, too. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud and the first for Adding Fire to the Fuel also can be found on www.alcohologist.com. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today. Stevens also is the public relations officer with AddictedMinds.com 

Beer drinking doubles gout risk

Gout is an extremely painful form of arthritis. Episodes of gout strike suddenly without warning. Severe cases of gout may lead to major disability and even kidney failure. More men experience the condition than women, although the difference is less dramatic among the elderly. What can cause gout? Alcohol use… especially beer drinking. (Share the YouTube video or read the transcript) 

In a research study performed by the medical journal Lancet, more than 47,000 male medical professionals with no history of gout were followed for up to 12 years. In that period, men who drank the most alcohol daily had twice the risk of developing the disorder as men who did not drink. Beer drinkers increased their risk by 50 percent for every daily beer, while those who drank hard liquor increased their risk by 15 percent for each drink.

The alcohol decreases water in the body. That's part of the problem. What makes the difference is yeast. Beer is made with yeast, yeast is a purine, purines cause an increase in uric acid which is produced by the kidneys. (Think urine… which is the way the body gets rid of uric acid.) Too much uric acid in the blood causes gout and triggers attacks, which are felt in the joints. The uric acid is actually crystalized in the joint, which causes the pain. The big toe is a common gout target.

It's not a life threatening condition except when you consider it signals a problem with the kidneys. Sure you have two of them… but you only have two of them and the uric acid problem impacts both.

Hereditary factors lead to gout, but environmental causes, such as regular alcohol consumption, are behind the increase in cases of gout in the past thirty years. It's a quality of life kind of thing: Is the temporary relaxation from a beer worth the discomfort of recurrent, tender, hot, joint pain long after the buzz is gone? Not to mention the increased risk for more than 60 other diseases brought on by alcohol use.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on risky myths of about "healthy" drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud and the first for Adding Fire to the Fuel also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus the NEW book, Adding Fire to the Fuel, is now available. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today

Alcohol increases risk for kidney damage, disease and failure

Drinkers have twice the risk of kidney disease compared to non-drinkers. Watch the YouTube segment or read the transcript.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today.

National Kidney Month: Alcohol damages kidneys, can cause failure

A single drink affects the normal function of a person's kidneys in a chain of events that begins with alcohol displacing water in the body. March is National Kidney Month, and the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) reports that alcohol use – from a single binge to constant use with the disease of alcoholism – is one of the more complex ways kidneys are damaged from the body's delicate balance of water.

Alcohol alters the filtering ability of the kidneys. The organs filter about 200 quarts (189 liters) of blood daily. The body gets rid of cellular waste through them, ultimately in urine, and the organs also regulate the concentrations of sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride and phosphate.

Sodium and potassium are needed within the body to maintain water concentrations within the cells. Magnesium is used for enzyme activity. Chloride is needed for nerves. Phosphate ions help to maintain a stable pH and sugar in the blood. All are thrown into imbalance with a single drink. Ironically, low potassium increases thirst... and what beverage is nearby? More alcohol.

Even though alcohol displaces water, the drug at the same time signals the brain to stop releasing a certain hormone (vasopressin or ADH) which in turn makes a person urinate more, getting rid of the water.

Urination can be induced 20 minutes after a person consumes alcohol, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) publication on kidney damage and alcohol, More water leaving the body affects all the concentrations of the chemicals ions in the body. Research indicates that older people overcome this suppression of ADH more quickly than younger people do. So younger drinkers can lose more water in their urine than older people do.

The kind of alcohol consumed can either increase or decrease the concentrations of nutrients in the blood stream. When a person drinks beer, large amounts of water enter the body. That lowers the nutrient concentration. When a person drinks hard alcohol, it has less water and has a more severe drying effect and the nutrient concentrations can increase. This drying effect also can harm the normal function of cells and other organs.

Alcohol impacts muscle cells, too, causing them to release phosphate.

According to the NKF, there are more than 26 million Americans who already have kidney disease, and most don’t know it because there are often no symptoms until the disease has progressed. Kidney disease is the 9th leading cause of death in the country. (Alcohol is the third leading cause of death, see related examiner.com article.) Today there are more than 95,000 people waiting for kidney transplants and more than 590,000 people have diagnosed kidney failure in the U.S.
--from examiner.com, see full article
www.alcohologist.com

Scroll down for the replay of the Dr. Jeanette Gallagher show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus the interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK.  
 

SAVE THE DATE:  Scott Stevens will be part of the opening night symposium for the REEL Recovery Film Festival San Francisco.