SikhiWiki:Today's featured article/July 10, 2009
It is well known that alcohol is a drug. It has an almost immediate effect on the brain and will alter ones mood. Drinking alcohol makes people feel relaxed, happy and even euphoric, but in reality alcohol is a depressant.
Depressants are psychoactive drugs which temporarily diminish the function or activity of a specific part of the body or mind. Alcohol switches off the part of the brain that controls judgement, leading to loss of inhibitions.
Drinking even small amounts of alcohol can affect physical coordination and stability. Prolonged and heavy alcohol use poses serious health risks. Alcohol is one of the major causes of liver cirrhosis (irreversible scarring of the liver).
This happens because healthy liver cells die and the dead cells are replaced by fibrous tissue.
Some of the other risks of alcohol are:
|
|
The Guru Granth Sahib forbids drinking alcohol. The Guru says:
- "Drinking wine, his intelligence departs, and madness enters his mind;"
- "He cannot distinguish between his own and others,"
- "He is struck down by his Lord and Master" (SGGS p554)
