Alcohol Nutrition Facts 

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One of the key alcohol nutrition facts is that as alcoholism continues, the alcoholic, in most instances, suffers from malnutrition.

While this information should probably be no surprise to most people, please read on for the "real reasons" why malnutrition is a serious problem for alcoholics. 

Another alcohol nutritional fact, it must be pointed out, is that in moderation, drinking alcohol can add antioxidants to an individual's diet.

Alcoholism, Malnutrition, and Organ Malfunctioning

As alcoholism progresses, the alcoholic experiences a number health-related problems. One of the key reasons for these problems is the poor nutrition of the alcohol.

Essentially, the alcoholic's poor nutrition is the result of two issues. First, as the disease progresses, most alcoholics exhibit an almost total disregard for everything, including necessities such as food and water. Consequently, many alcoholics suffer from malnutrition.

Unfortunately, it is not mainly the alcoholic's poor eating habits that lead to malnutrition; it is the malfunctioning of his or her organs. 

More specifically, over time, alcoholism gradually breaks down the proper functioning of the body's main systems and organs.

As a result, the alcoholic cannot replenish the minerals, vitamins, and other essential nutrients his body requires due to the fact that his damaged organs prevent the proper absorption, digestion, metabolism, and utilization of the nutrients needed for growth, repair, development, and essential system maintenance. In short, over time, the alcoholic slowly kills himself or herself by his or her drinking behavior.

Vitamin Deficiencies Exhibited by Most Alcoholics

Having said this, the following is a list vitamin deficiencies most, if not all, alcoholics manifest:  

• Severe thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency that leads to Korsakoff's syndrome, a degenerative brain disorder and Wernicke's disease, a memory disorder
  
  
• Vitamin A deficiency (a deficiency that might cause night blindness)
  
  
• Vitamin D deficiency (a deficiency that can result in bone fractures)
  
  
• Vitamin deficiencies (such as selenium, folate, riboflavin, and vitamin B6)

Alcohol Nutrition Facts:  Conclusion

One of the main alcohol nutrition facts that perhaps most people don't realize is that the vitamin and nutrition deficiencies experienced by most alcoholics is not mainly due to poor eating habits, but from the malfunctioning of the body's organs and systems. 

Stated differently, if chronic alcoholics were to eat the most nutritional food available and took the best vitamins and minerals in existence, most of them would still suffer from malnutrition because their systems and organs are not capable of absorbing, digesting, metabolizing, and utilizing the nutrients necessary for repair, development, growth, and basic system maintenance.

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