Are you and your friends fond of binge drinking? New research suggests you must better control your alcohol urges soon.
WHAT IS BINGE DRINKING?
Binge drinking is the practice where people are consuming more alcohol than the suggested amount in just a short period. The allotted drink for women is just less than four servings, while men only have to drink less than five.
RESEARCH STUDY: HOW DOES IT AFFECTS THE BODY?
A study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research shows how binge drinking can actually alter the structure of the body's DNA, which could eventually increase one's longing to take alcohol even more.
Dipak K. Sarkar, Ph.D., the lead author of the study and the director of the endocrine program at the Department of Animal Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, shared, "The biggest thing for us when looking at this was the persistence of the gene changes after binge drinking."
During the three-day "behavioral alcohol motivation experiment" the team assessed the blood samples of the participants grouped into four: non-smoking moderate drinkers, binge drinkers, non-binge drinkers, and heavy social drinkers, as reported by the Health Line.
The results reveal that two of the body's gene are affected by one's drinking behavior: the POMC, which is the gene that helps the body manage its stress response system, and the PER2, which is one of the factors that affect the body's biological clock.
Through the blood samples of the binge drinking participants, the team found a specific and important change through DNA methylation and "reduced expression of these genes".
Despite the success of the study, Angela Ting, Ph.D., an expert from Cleveland Clinic Genomic Medicine Institute, says that though the findings of the study are very intriguing, it still needs further research especially if the goal is to help people alter their cravings for alcohol.
Ting added, since the experts behind the study weren't able to reveal the exact changes that happened inside the brain, the research still wasn't enough to create a solution to help treat alcohol addiction, which is supposedly the goal of it.
"It may, however, serve as a potential marker to monitor addiction treatment progress if additional studies can reproduce the findings," Ting added.
DANGERS OF BINGE DRINKING
Statistics show that "90% of alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 in the United States is in the form of binge drinks", Drug-Free World reports. These kids and people who are fond of drinking that way are at risk of health problems, accidents, and other sexually transmitted diseases.
