amino acid brain boosters
 

Teens and Alcohol
By Dr. Billie Sahley

The number one question from many teens is “Why do I crave alcohol"?

The following information is compiled to help answer that question and many more regarding alcohol use.

Alcohol is the number one drug of abuse among teens, who start experimenting as early as age 11 or 12. Research documents that one in three teens has had some sort of negative experience from the effects of alcohol use. Drinking can cause you to use poor judgment, which gets you into trouble.

Many teens are looking for a way to feel good and blow off steam. What you may not realize is alcohol is a downer even though at first you feel uninhibited and high. What alcohol does in your brain is depress the central nervous system, causing you to lose control. The activity is similar to that of the drugs cocaine and marijuana. Most teenagers say they drink alcohol to escape, or because it makes them feel accepted by their peers who drink.

A survey by the American Association of Social Workers demonstrates that there is no such thing as social drinking. Teens drink for one reason: to get drunk and zone out. Teens can, and do, become alcoholics. 

If your mother or father, or even your grandparents, had a problem with alcohol, you are predisposed to inheriting the gene that creates a tendency to addiction. That doesn’t mean you will become an alcoholic, it simply means that the tendency to addictive behavior is in the genes. This “bad” gene creates specific nutrient deficiencies in the brain chemistry. These deficiencies can be corrected so that you no longer experience that craving and are in control.

The key lies in two receptors in the brain that are especially sensitive to alcohol. GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) and Glutamine are two amino acids that send signals to the brain. The chronic use of alcohol causes the GABA & Glutamine receptors to fail, altering brain function. This makes you experience strong feelings of anxiety & depression.

Replacing these and other vital brain nutrients with amino acid supplements is the first step to curing cravings, clearing your mind and getting back in focus.

Because your brain is still developing during your teen years, using alcohol will also delay your normal psychosocial development. Emotional maturity is arrested. This is the point where many teens get left behind in their education not only in school, but also in the world beyond school.

Joseph Beasley, M.D. in his book, How to Defeat Alcoholism states,  “Alcoholism is a behavioral as well as biological disease, and behaviors are difficult to change, even after the body has begun to be restored”.

Dr. Beasley has treated thousands of alcoholics using the nutritional approach. His methods have proven to be successful.

The Nutrient and Amino Acid program we have used with great success at the Pain and Stress Center is outlined in the book Control Alcoholism With Amino Acids and Nutrients.

 

 

anger + depression    
mood control    
teens + alcohol    
teens + EFAs

Need help choosing a nutritional program?

The nutritional consultants at The Pain and Stress Center can advise you.