Abram Hoffer: Short Overview Abram Hoffer (1917–2009) was a Canadian psychiatrist and biochemist who played a decisive role in shaping…

Acetaldehyde is a highly reactive, toxic metabolite produced during alcohol breakdown. As soon as we drink ethanol, the liver begins…

Adenosine is a nucleoside consisting of adenine attached to a ribose sugar molecule, serving as a fundamental component in cellular…

Adenosine Receptors are a family of G-protein-coupled receptors that mediate the physiological effects of adenosine, a purine nucleoside involved in…

Adrenaline is a hormone. It is an important neurotransmitter (nerve messenger) and belongs to the catecholamines. Our body forms it…

Alanine is a non-essential amino acid, the body can produce it itself.

Function of Alcohol Dehydrogenase in the Body Alcohol dehydrogenase first converts consumed alcohol into acetaldehyde – an intermediate stage that…

In modern medical terminology, the term “alcoholic” has largely been replaced by more precise diagnostic labels such as Alcohol Use…

Amino acids are the components of life that make up proteins. Amino acids are found in all living organisms. A…

Amino acids are the components of life that make up proteins. Amino acids are found in all living organisms. A…

Ammonia is a sharp-smelling, colorless gas. In metabolism, ammonia is present as ammonium and plays a crucial role in the…

The amygdala is a key brain structure involved in fear, anxiety, and emotional memory. Located deep within the temporal lobes,…

Other word for vitamin B1.

Anxiety Disorders are among the most common mental health conditions. They are characterized by individuals experiencing excessive, inappropriate, or persistent…

Anxiolytic means anxiety-relieving.

Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid - meaning that often not enough of it is formed during the growth phase…

Without arginine, the body cannot detoxify the ammonia that is constantly produced in the metabolism.Without arginine, the body cannot produce…

Other word for ascorbic acid or vitamin C.

Chemical name for vitamin C

Asparagine is a non-essential amino acid that the body uses to build proteins. In cell metabolism, asparagine can be produced…

Another name for aspartic acid. More information here.

Aspartic acid is a non-essential amino acid from which the body builds proteins.

Benzodiazepines are a group of synthetic medications with sedative, anxiolytic, muscle-relaxant, and anticonvulsant effects. They are among the most commonly…

The cause of beriberi is a deficiency of vitamin B1 (thiamine). The body needs vitamin B1 to convert carbohydrates into…

The term binge drinking can be translated as "intoxicated drinking". In media reporting, the word "binge drinking" is also frequently…

Blood Pressure & Alcohol: Multi-Stage Impact Alcohol consumption affects the cardiovascular system in a complex, multi-layered manner. In the short…

Calcium in Alcohol Withdrawal – Why Levels Often Drop and Why Low Calcium Is Dangerous Calcium is not only important…

Catecholamines are norepinephrine and dopamine (primary catecholamines) and epinephrine and its derivatives (secondary catecholamines). The body forms catecholamines from the…

The heavy metal chromium is an essential trace element for the human body. A healthy adult needs less than one…

Another word for vitamine B12

Cortisol is a hormone produced in the adrenal cortex. It belongs to the glucocorticoids and plays a pivotal role in…

Craving is the strong desire for a substance such as alcohol.

Cysteine is a sulfur-containing amino acid and a component of proteins. The amino acid serine is required for its assembly.…

Daily drinking guidelines describe ‘lower-risk’ limits for adults, not a safe or healthy target. Recommendations vary slightly between countries, yet…

Delirium tremens (DTs) is a life-threatening complication of alcohol withdrawal, characterized by severe confusion, hallucinations, and autonomic hyperactivity. It arises…

Dopamine is a nerve messenger, a neurotransmitter. It is a real all-rounder. It provides a feeling of rewarded satisfaction. At…

"Dry Drunk Syndrome" refers to behaviors of sober alcoholics that still correspond to those of drinkers. These include depression, anxiety…

In liver cirrhosis, the scarred liver impairs the body's ability to maintain electrolyte balance, leading to various imbalances. These electrolytes,…

Electrolytes are minerals that exist in the body in dissolved form as electrically charged particles – either as positively charged…

Enzymes are giant biological molecules that act as catalysts to accelerate chemical reactions.

Epigenetics studies things that happen outside our DNA genetic material and are inherited. Excerpt from the book: "Alcoholism is heritable.…

The body needs folic acid to rebuild the genetic material. The body can only store 15 milligrams. Even if the…

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is the brain’s main inhibitory neurotransmitter. It is synthesised from glutamate, which is found in many protein-rich…

1 Glutamic acid, a nerve messenger, not to be confused with the flavor enhancer. 2. Glutamate, monosodium glutamate, a flavor…

Chemists also call the natural neurotransmitter glutamate glutamic acid - the artificial flavor enhancer, on the other hand, monosodium glutamate.…

Glutamine is an amino acid. It supplies our body cells with fast energy - but leaves the blood sugar level…

Glycine is the smallest and simplest amino acid. It acts in the nervous system as an inhibitory, relaxing messenger. In…

A hangover is caused by the interaction of alcohol metabolism, inflammatory responses, neurotransmitter imbalances, and fluid loss. Here you’ll find…

The hippocampus is a key brain structure involved in memory formation, emotional regulation, and stress processing. The hippocampus is a…

Histamine is a tissue hormone. It is also widely distributed in the plant kingdom and in bacteria. Histamine is found…

Histidine is a semi-essential amino acid formed in the liver. Glutamic acid is formed when histidine is broken down. Histidine…

Holiday Heart Syndrome (HHS) is an acute cardiac arrhythmia—most commonly atrial fibrillation—triggered by heavy alcohol consumption, typically during holidays or…

How Alcohol Sabotages Sleep and Becomes One of the Biggest Relapse Risks Even after years of sobriety, chronically disrupted sleep…

Isoleucine is an essential amino acid that the body cannot produce itself. It must therefore be supplied with food. The…

E. M. Jellinek (Elvin Morton Jellinek, 1890–1963) was an American physiologist and addiction researcher widely regarded as the founder of…

What is the Kindling Effect? The kindling effect describes a progressive increase in the brain’s sensitivity to repeated withdrawal episodes…

Symptom of Korsakow's syndrome is memory loss. Both forgetting of old memory contents (retrograde amnesia) and inability to remember newly…

Leucine is an essential amino acid that the body cannot produce itself. It must therefore be supplied with food. Leucine…

Liver Cirrhosis refers to the end stage of various chronic liver diseases. Healthy liver tissue is gradually replaced by non-functional…

Lysine represents an essential amino acid that the human body is unable to synthesize independently. It serves as a primary…

Magnesium plays a crucial role in alcohol withdrawal — functions, deficiency, bioavailability of different compounds. Magnesium is essential for the…

The trace element manganese is a component of many enzymes, e.g. peroxidases, which break down hydrogen peroxide, which is dangerous…

Melanins are dark brown to black or yellowish to reddish pigments (natural dyes) that cause the coloration of the skin,…

Melatonin is a hormone that the body produces from serotonin. It is a neurotransmitter. The hormone controls the day-night rhythm…

Methionine is an essential, sulfur-containing amino acid that the body cannot produce itself and must therefore be ingested with food.…

Alcohol-related neuropathy is one of the most common physical consequences of long-term heavy alcohol consumption and mainly affects the nerves…

Neurotransmitters (nerve messengers) transmit stimuli from one nerve cell to another nerve cell or cell, and can also amplify or…

Niacin (Vitamin B3), also referred to as nicotinic acid or niacinamide, is viewed in orthomolecular medicine as an adjunctive strategy…

Nitric oxide is a molecule consisting of one oxygen and one nitrogen atom. It plays a crucial role in regulating…

Norepinephrine is a nerve messenger (neurotransmitter). It belongs to the group of catecholamines. The body needs the amino acids phenylalanine…

Norepinephrine (also called noradrenaline) is a neurotransmitter and stress hormone produced in the brain (mainly in the locus coeruleus) and…

Another word for vitamine B5.

Results from deficiency of vitamin B3.

Results from vitamin B12 deficiency. You can find out more here.

Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid from which the body builds proteins. It is similar to alanine and must be…

Potassium is an essential mineral and electrolyte. It is found mainly inside body cells and is crucial for the electrical…

Proline is a non-essential amino acid. Among other things, proline is needed in the human body for the formation of…

Vitamin B6. More here.

Relapse, in the context of alcohol dependence, refers to resuming alcohol consumption after a period of abstinence or reduction. This…

Resveratrol belongs to a group of compounds called polyphenols. They are thought to act like antioxidants, protecting the body from…

Vitamin B2. You can find more information here.

Disease caused by a lack of vitamin C. You can find out more here.

Selenium is a trace element. Selenium is essential for all forms of life - translated, this means that without the…

Serine is an essential amino acid from which the body forms proteins. Serine is a precursor in the production of…

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger. Serotonin is responsible for the feeling of happiness. If serotonin is missing, anxiety…

Sleep apnea is a disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops during sleep. These pauses in breathing can last just a…

Disrupted sleep poses one of the greatest long-term risks for alcohol relapse, even years after quitting. Unfortunately, prolonged alcohol abuse…

Sodium in Alcohol Withdrawal – Why Imbalance Occurs and Why It Matters Sodium is the most important extracellular electrolyte and…

Strachan syndrome is rare. According to current research, it is a deficiency disease, mainly caused by an undersupply of vitamin…

Abbreviation for triiodothyronine. More information here.

T4 is the abbreviation for the thyroid hormone thyroxine. You can find out more here.

Like GABA, taurine is a protein building block, an amino acid. Unlike GABA, taurine is not a chemical messenger, but…

Chemical name for vitamin B1. You can find out more here.

Chemical name for vitamin B1. You can find out more here.

Vitamin B1 deficiency. The body needs vitamin B1 to convert carbohydrates into energy. That is why a thiamine deficiency first…

Trace elements are inorganic nutrients that humans require only in very small amounts (traces). In contrast to the bulk elements,…

Triiodothyronine (T3) is one of the two most important thyroid hormones. It is partly formed directly in the thyroid gland,…

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, which means that the body cannot produce it itself. Under normal conditions, the daily…

Tyrosine is a non-essential amino acid; in principle, the body can build it itself from phenylalanine, which must be supplied…

Valine is an amino acid and an important component of many proteins. The human organism is not able to produce…

Vitamin A refers to several chemical compounds that have biological functions in all mammals. They are partly ingested directly with…

Thiamine (Vitamin B1), also known as the “anti-stress vitamin” or aneurin, is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin that plays an indispensable…

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is important for cell division and blood formation as well as for the function of the nervous…

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) is involved in many metabolic processes. These include the production of thyroid hormones, the production of energy…

Nicotinic acid (also: niacin) is a vitamin from the B-complex. Vitamin B3 is found in all living cells and is…

Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) strengthens the immune system, allows wounds to heal and also has a central role in the…

Vitamin B6 is a collective name for pyridoxine, pyridoxamine and pyridoxal. The body builds the so-called P5P (pyridoxal phosphate,) from…

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a colorless and odorless, crystalline, easily water-soluble solid with an acidic taste. Vitamin C performs…

Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is a fat-soluble vitamin. It can also be formed in the body with UVB radiation. This requires…

Vitamin E (tocopherol) is a component of all cell walls. It acts there as a redox system, which means that…

Wernicke's encephalopathy (brain disease) is a disease of the central nervous system that is usually associated with chronic alcohol abuse…

Wernicke's encephalopathy is a degenerative disease of the brain in adults. It occurs in the presence of vitamin B1 deficiency.…

Dr. Mark Willenbring is an American psychiatrist and addiction researcher who fundamentally challenges the traditional view of alcohol dependence as…

Zinc is a chemical element. It occurs more frequently on earth than copper or lead. Zinc is essential for all…