We all know that binge drinking isn’t exactly good for us… but that doesn’t stop college students from going rogue from the time Thirsty Thursday starts until Sunday Funday is over. Unfortunately, all those Kamikaze shots that seem like such good ideas at the time (until the next morning), are even more destructive than you realize. Researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine found protein changes caused by our binge drinking, proving that it’s not only our livers (and bank accounts) that are in danger after a long weekend.
While we all know that our livers can’t handle college-level drinking forever, even our weekend antics could be harming us for good. If all your weekend shots are bringing your BAC up to .08 grams percent or above, you are officially a binge drinker. You’re probably not calculating your BAC nightly, so here’s how to know if you’re over-drinking — for men, it’s when they consume five or more drinks in two hours, and for women, it’s four or more drinks in two hours. Think back to last weekend (hopefully you can remember), and you’ve probably been binging more than you knew. Let’s be honest– the number of drinks you tell the nurse at the health center might be the amount you’ve convinced yourself you’ve been drinking, but four drinks over a couple of hours makes sense if there’s an especially intense pregame. Plus, if you know even a single dude who’s pledging, he definitely needs to watch out… especially since binge drinking also lowers your sperm count.
Binge drinking creates unnatural modifications to histones, which are proteins that organize DNA strands. If they’re messed up, it means the DNA strands can’t function correctly. That means the liver is experiencing even more damage than researchers thought previously. The liver then sends out damaging signals to other organ systems, which leads to your organs no longer functioning like they should. The CDC estimates that one in six adults binge drink about four times each month, and I can’t help but think that college students binge drink even more than that. So, next time you’re at a pregame and you’re already four shots deep, give your liver a break. All of your organs will thank you.
