Long-term drinking can damage muscles in the legs and elsewhere in the body, in addition to harming the liver, new research shows.

Most people assume that the brain and liver bear the brunt of alcohol abuse, but researchers Victor Preedy and Peter Emery of King's College in London argue that alcoholic muscle damage is the most common form of muscle damage in the Western World.

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Whole body's muscle systems affected
Publishing their findings in the journal Biochemist by Britain's Biochemical Society, the study authors note that this muscle damage could be part of a process that affects the entire body, including the heart muscle and the gastrointestinal system muscle.

In alcoholics, damage to the heart muscle can cause it to function less efficiently, while smooth muscle gastrointestinal problems can cause digestion problems and impair the body's ability to absorb nutrients.

Condition is preventable
The researchers explain that the condition is common, despite being preventable and largely curable.

Alcohol can damage muscles in various ways, including slowing muscle protein formation, changing calcium regulation and the production of cell-damaging molecules called free radicals. – (Health24)

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