With continued alcohol use, steatotic liver disease can lead to liver fibrosis. Eventually, you can develop permanent and irreversible scarring in your liver, which is called cirrhosis. Of major concern is the number of young people who consume alcohol.
Overview of Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol affects every body system, so it can cause health problems throughout the body. Since alcohol is a depressant, it can slow the breathing, leading to a lack of oxygen to the brain. When the amount of alcohol in the blood exceeds a certain level, this can lead to alcohol toxicity, or poisoning. Drinking with a meal slows the rate of absorption, resulting in fewer side effects and less intoxication. Within minutes of consuming alcohol, it is absorbed into the bloodstream by blood vessels in the stomach lining and small intestine.
Alcohol also limits blood flow to your muscles and gets in the way of the proteins that build them up. 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.
But drinking any amount of alcohol can potentially lead to unwanted health consequences. Heavy drinking can also lead to a host of health concerns, like brain damage, heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver and even certain kinds of cancer. Research shows that women who drink more alcohol than is recommended on a regular basis tend to develop liver disease, cardiomyopathy and nerve damage after fewer years than men who do the same.
In general, a healthy diet and physical activity have much greater health benefits than alcohol and have been more extensively studied. But more recent research suggests there’s really no “safe” amount of alcohol since even moderate drinking can negatively impact brain health. Even drinking a little too much (binge drinking) on occasion can set off a chain reaction that affects your well-being. Lowered inhibitions can lead to poor choices with lasting repercussions — like the end of a relationship, an accident or legal woes.
Deaths from excessive alcohol use
Drinking alcohol on a regular basis can also lead to dependence, which means your body and brain have grown used to alcohol’s effects. With these conditions, you’ll only notice symptoms during alcohol intoxication or withdrawal. These symptoms typically improve quickly when alcohol use stops. Alcohol use can factor into mental health symptoms that closely resemble those of other mental health conditions. That’s because drinking during pregnancy doesn’t just affect your health. Excessive drinking may affect your menstrual cycle and potentially increase your risk for infertility.
A weakened immune system has a harder time protecting you from germs and viruses. Experts recommend avoiding excessive amounts of alcohol if you have diabetes or hypoglycemia. These effects might not last very long, but that doesn’t make them insignificant.
- One of the most significant immediate effects of alcohol is that it affects the structure and integrity of the GI tract.
- These different layers of interaction make validation of the mechanisms by which alcohol affects immune function challenging.
- If you already drink at low levels and continue to drink, risks for these issues appear to be low.
- Some of these effects, like a relaxed mood or lowered inhibitions, might show up quickly after just one drink.
Factors affecting alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm
Alcohol use disorder includes a level of drinking that’s sometimes called alcoholism. Alcohol widens your blood vessels, making more blood flow to your skin. The heat from that extra blood passes right out of your body, causing your temperature to drop.
Around 5 percent of the alcohol consumed leaves through the lungs, kidneys and the skin. Excess alcohol use can also impair nutrient absorption in the small intestine and increase the risk of malnutrition. When it comes to the brain, alcohol acts as a depressant to the CNS. However, it can have inconsistent effects, exciting users under some conditions and sedating users under other conditions.
It’s important to note that any amount of alcohol in your system can interfere with your ability to think and 5 Key Differences Between Crack and Cocaine function without impairment. While you may experience euphoria or relaxation at first, in the long run, alcohol affects neurotransmitters, which can lead to changes in your thoughts, moods, and behavior. 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). If you are on any medications, talk to your health care provider about how alcohol may affect them. Heavy drinking also has been linked to intentional injuries, such as suicide, as well as accidental injury and death.
Over time, alcohol use takes a toll on your body and increases your risk of over 200 health conditions. Chronic alcohol use and binge drinking damage the heart muscle, making it harder for the heart to pump blood effectively. Alcohol can also contribute to arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) and hypertension (high blood pressure), increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. From a glass of wine with dinner to a night out with friends or a celebratory toast, alcohol consumption is deeply ingrained in many social practices and cultural traditions worldwide. In the United States, over 84% of adults report drinking alcohol at least once in their lifetime.