By Elena Voropay

You have read about the benefits of wine and beer and know that everything in moderation will do your body, mind and soul some good. But there is another side - too much of anything is quite harmful, be it chocolate, soy, complex carbohydrates, or alcohol. Even your healthiest fruit and vegetables lose all their benefits once you eat too many! So, what's the downside of alcohol? Here is a low-down.

Besides excess calories, alcohol doesn't provide healthy energy. Calories in each gram of alcohol are higher than what you find in carbohydrates or protein. In fact, alcohol can be as fattening as fat! Specifically, each gram provides 7 calories (compared to 4 in a gram of protein or carbs and 9 in fat). Considering that every drink is absorbed and metabolized very quickly, your entire system changes in minutes.

First, it's your brain chemistry with slowing response from all neurons. Wonder why drunk people talk or act funny? Well, they can't see it, but a sober person can because the difference in responses to any mind stimulation is quite noticeable.

Then, its the digestive system. Alcohol doesn't raise the blood sugar levels needed to produce the feeling of satiety you get after a meal. So, even though the calories are going down and around the waist line, the hunger remains.

What's more, alcohol stimulates appetite and makes you hungrier than you felt even before sitting at the table - or standing at the bar, for that matter. Most likely, you end up eating everything in sight without taking responsibility and thinking - are you really that hungry or you simply eat the food because it's there?

And down the tract, the digestive that is, you get some liver problems. Alcohol can only be metabolized and detoxified by the liver with the help of one special enzyme reserved for that purpose - Alcohol Dehydrogenase. Unless the mind-altering drink is there, no enzyme is released. The more you drink - the more enzymes are needed to be relesed by the liver. That means additional overload on the organ of this largest gland. And what kind of reward does this precious detoxifyer gets? Cirrhosis.

Cirrhosis is a condition of severe damage to the liver that impairs its ability to function normally.The most common cause of liver cirrhosis is chronic alcoholism.

Liver cirrhosis may also result from chronic viral infection of the liver (hepatitis types B, C, and D) and a number of inherited diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, hemochromatosis, and Wilson’s disease. If severe, liver cirrhosis may lead to liver failure and death. In the Western world, liver cirrhosis is the third leading cause of death in people aged 45 to 65 (after cardiovascular disease and cancer).

Liver cirrhosis may also cause a dangerous brain abnormality called portal-systemic encephalopathy (PSE), which may lead to coma. Another form of cirrhosis, primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), damages the bile ducts connecting the liver and gallbladder, and occurs primarily in women over 35 years of age. The cause of PBC is not known.

So, think BEFORE you drink and always use moderation as your guide to healthy happiness.