Final answer:
Alcohol consumption causes metabolic disturbances ranging from impaired motor control and decision-making to more severe complications like metabolic syndrome, toxicity due to oxidation products, and fetal alcohol syndrome if consumed during pregnancy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Alcohol consumption can lead to various metabolic disturbances, including acute effects such as feelings of euphoria and sedation. The liver is primarily responsible for metabolizing alcohol, using processes that can handle up to 98% of circulating ethanol. However, interferences in metabolic processes can lead to symptoms ranging from social disinhibition and impaired motor control to more severe outcomes like coma and cardiac arrest. Chronic exposure to alcohol can result in adaptations in the reward circuitry of the brain, leading to tolerance and withdrawal symptoms such as tremors and seizures when consumption is discontinued. Moreover, alcohol's impact on metabolic processes can exacerbate components of the metabolic syndrome,
such as high blood pressure and abdominal obesity, and contribute to diseases like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Alcohol is also a known teratogen, and its consumption during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome, characterized by defects and symptoms detrimental to the infant's development. At high doses, alcohol's oxidation products like acetaldehyde and methanal can cause severe toxic effects, including tissue damage and blindness.