Author: John Carter

Drinking too much alcohol can harm your health Learn the facts

For example, some studies suggest that moderate alcohol drinking can affect fertility for some women. Research also shows that heavy drinking by men may lower testosterone levels and affect the making of sperm. When experts talk about the dire health consequences linked to excessive alcohol use, people often assume that it’s directed at individuals who have an alcohol use disorder. But the health risks from drinking can come from moderate consumption as well. Every person has their own reasons for drinking or wanting to reduce their alcohol consumption.

These effects might not last very long, but that doesn’t make them insignificant. Past guidance around alcohol use generally suggests a daily drink poses little risk of negative health effects — and might even offer a few health benefits. Many people assume the occasional beer or glass of wine at mealtimes or special occasions doesn’t pose much cause for concern. But drinking any amount of alcohol can potentially lead to unwanted health consequences. There’s been an uptick in non-alcoholic drink options, as more and more companies are creating alternatives.

What is considered 1 drink?

For many of us, alcohol is embedded in our social and cultural activities. We go to happy hour after work, we give toasts at weddings, and we drink to celebrate and mark occasions. Oftentimes, we aren’t thinking about how much or how often we consume alcohol or its effects on the body. You might not link a cold to a night of drinking, but there might be a connection. Alcohol puts the brakes on your body’s defenses, or immune system. Your body can’t make the numbers of white blood cells it needs to fight germs.

1. Pancreatitis can activate the release of pancreatic digestive enzymes and cause abdominal pain.
2. Too much alcohol affects your speech, muscle coordination and vital centers of your brain.
3. By not drinking too much, you can reduce the risk of these short- and long-term health risks.
4. Drinking alcohol on a regular basis can also lead to dependence, which means your body and brain have grown used to alcohol’s effects.

You might notice numbness and tingling in your feet and hands. Recent research makes it clear that any amount of drinking can be detrimental. Here’s why you may want to cut down on your consumption beyond Dry January. However, when researchers evaluate these potential factors, the risks outweigh any benefits. Alcohol influences neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.

Alcohol can impact various parts of the body, including the brain, heart, liver, and pancreas, as well as essential body systems like the immune and digestive systems. Alcohol use can increase the risk of cardiovascular problems, cognitive decline, liver disease, mental health conditions, and more. If you drink heavily for a long time, alcohol can affect how your brain looks and works. And that’ll have big effects on your ability to think, learn, and remember things.

Tips for Reducing Alcohol Consumption

When the pancreas becomes irritated and inflamed, you can develop pancreatitis. Your liver produces enzymes that break down alcohol, but your liver can only handle so much alcohol at one time (approximately 1 ounce per hour). For more information about alcohol’s effects on the body, please visit the Interactive Body feature on NIAAA’s College Drinking Prevention website. Experts recommend avoiding excessive amounts of alcohol if you have diabetes or hypoglycemia.

Alcohol irritates the lining of your stomach and makes your digestive juices flow. If enough acid and alcohol build up, you get nauseated and you may throw up. Years of heavy drinking can cause painful sores called ulcers. It can also lead to irritation of the lining of the stomach, called gastritis. Heavy drinking, including binge drinking, is a high-risk activity.

Pancreatitis can activate the release of pancreatic digestive enzymes and cause abdominal pain. “Excessive alcohol use” technically means anything above the U.S. That’s more than two drinks a day for men and more than one drink a day for women. Your central nervous system consists of the brain, spinal cord, and neurons that communicate messages throughout your body. It powers key functions and processes like movement, memory, speech, thought processes, and more. Your immune system works to keep you as healthy as possible by fighting off foreign invaders, such as viruses, bacteria, and toxins.

This makes speech and coordination — think reaction time and balance — more difficult. That’s one major reason why you should never drive after drinking. Whether you’re a light, moderate, or heavy drinker, alcohol can reduce bone mass. Alcohol use can damage the hippocampus, the part of your brain responsible for memory and learning. Some studies have found that even light or moderate drinking can lead to some deterioration of the hippocampus.

Show the heart some love!

From the first sip, alcohol impacts the body—even if you don’t realize it. Any amount of alcohol can diminish your judgment and functioning, and even low or moderate alcohol use can have harmful effects on different organs. Too much alcohol affects your speech, muscle coordination and vital centers of your brain. A heavy drinking binge may even cause a life-threatening coma or death. This is of particular concern when you’re taking certain medications that also depress the brain’s function.

Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped. Alcohol throws off the normal speed that food moves through them. That’s why hard drinking can lead to diarrhea, which can turn into a long-term problem. It also makes heartburn more likely because it relaxes the muscle that keeps acid out of your esophagus, the tube that connects your mouth and stomach.

Drinking heavily for a long time has been linked to hearing loss. That cotton-mouthed, bleary-eyed morning-after is no accident. Alcohol makes you dehydrated and makes blood vessels in your body and brain expand. Your stomach wants to get rid of the toxins and acid that alcohol churns up, which gives you nausea and vomiting. And because your liver was so busy processing your drinks, it didn’t release enough sugar into your blood, bringing on weakness and the shakes.

An Offbeat Heart

When you drink heavily for years, that extra workload and the toxic effects of alcohol can wear your kidneys down. The evidence for moderate alcohol use in healthy adults is still being studied. But good evidence shows that drinking high amounts of alcohol are clearly linked to health problems. This condition can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the number of symptoms you have.

This disorder also involves having to drink more to get the same effect or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking. Alcohol use disorder includes a level of drinking that’s sometimes called alcoholism. Excessive drinking includes binge drinking, heavy drinking, and any drinking by pregnant women or people younger than age 21.