Is It Harder To Recover From Alcoholism Once You Get Older?

From a biological standpoint, when the body becomes old, its alcohol processing ability also changes. When you’re young, you have so much plasticity in how you react to different toxic substances. But the more birthdays you have, the more difficult it becomes for your body to respond to alcohol. Professionals in facilities such as the turning tides treatment center can guide your recovery journey, and help you deal with challenges to recovery at old age. This article looks into some of the reasons why it’s difficult to recover from alcoholism when you get older.

Reduced Alcohol Metabolism

The neutralization of alcohol is often a two-step process that occurs in the liver. It is converted to acetaldehyde, a substance that is responsible for the different negative outcomes of alcohol consumption such as flushing, headaches, and dizziness. The other step involves the conversion of alcohol to acetic acid which is then excreted in the urine. This system works perfectly when you are younger. However, when you get older, things change because the enzymes used in metabolizing alcohol do not work as they should.  This often is a result of the aging process, but can also be due to illness. Moderate to heavy drinking of alcohol may result in liver damage, changing the efficiency with which alcohol is processed in the liver. According to a recent study, the liver and the brain are susceptible to alcohol toxicity as you get older, affecting how you respond to liquor.

Lifestyle Factors

In addition to reduced metabolism, life factors also play a crucial role in determining how your body responds to alcohol when you get older. For instance, fat proportion as you age affects the ability of your body to process alcohol. Unlike most drugs, alcohol is distributed in parts of the body containing water. Therefore, if you have more fat than water, more of the alcohol gets into your organs. Furthermore, illnesses can also result in inefficient alcohol metabolism. For example, Hepatitis C affects the ability of the liver to get rid of drugs and alcohol in your body. In addition to that, taking a lot of medication can impact how your body processes alcohol. More often than not, the elderly take a lot of medications, and some of these can interact with alcohol in a bad way, affecting the functionality of your body.

Consumption Habits

If you’ve consumed alcohol throughout your life, then this could affect how your body responds to the liquor.  Excessive consumption of alcohol can play a role in how your body metabolizes alcohol when you get older. If you started drinking in your 20s and are probably in your 60s, then it is expected that alcohol consumption will cause other problems such as depression. Such may even lead to more consumption and other alcohol-related complications.

Final Word

Once you get older, your body struggles with alcohol processing, which means it can be difficult for you to recover from alcoholism. If you are determined to quit alcohol, you can seek help from an alcohol treatment center close to you. There are professionals in these facilities that can help with your alcohol recovery process.