Are you an alcoholic?

Cutting down alcohol completely might pose several temporary side effects for an alcoholic. It also helps one to analyze whether he/she is indulging in casual drinking or has already become a drunkard. One of the most common alcohol withdrawal symptoms is nightmares. It may take few hours or even days for the symptom to show up. However, it could be substantial proof of you being an alcoholic.

Heavy intake of alcohol speeds the shrinkage process of your brain beyond the normal rate of estimated 1.9% per decade. As a result, certain key areas of your brain get affected which paves way for memory loss and others problems related to dementia. Heavy drinking habits also affect the frontal lobe of the brain. This hampers your ability to make judgments, plans, solve problems, etc. It also causes nutritional deficiencies of the brain; that basically leads to all the abovementioned problems.

The fact that many alcoholic beverages (wine, being the most popular) have grapes as one of their major constituents makes them the best alternative for alcohol. Also grapes contain a high amount of potassium which enables you to maintain alkaline balance in the blood. So the next time you feel like drinking alcohol, replace it with a glass of freshly served grape juice. This should help you get over your addiction, albeit gradually.

The more you skip your meals, the more you threaten yourself with alcohol abuse. The reason being that when you are on an empty stomach, the urge to drink increases manifold. Therefore if you are an alcohol addict, have heavy meals 3 to 4 times a day. It will provide your body with all the necessary nutrients along with keeping your addiction in check.