Alcohol can have many negative effects on your health, including on liver function, digestion and heart health. Frequent alcohol use can also weaken your immune system, making it easier to pick up contagious illnesses. If you’re pregnant, or planning a pregnancy, you should not drink alcohol. If you are breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is safest for your baby. Drinking any amount of alcohol can harm your fetus (unborn baby) or baby. Recommendations for alcohol intake are usually based on the number of standard drinks per day.
Find science-based information on the effects of alcohol on health.
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. Talk to a healthcare provider if you are concerned about your drinking or that of a loved one.
Your Brain Shrinks
The health risks of alcohol tend to be dose-dependent, and the likelihood of certain harms, such as cancer, begin at relatively low amounts.5 Even drinking within the U.S. Drinking large amounts of alcohol for many years will take its toll on many of the body’s organs and may cause organ damage. Organs known to be damaged by long-term alcohol misuse include the brain and nervous system, heart, liver and pancreas. In fact, your overall diabetes risk tends to drop with moderate alcohol consumption.
Risk factors for alcohol use disorder
For example, most benzodiazepines have a sedative effect in addition to their primary effect. The strength and duration of action of benzodiazepines are important in what conditions they treat. Short-term or emergency conditions usually merit the use of stronger, short-acting benzodiazepines. Chronic, non-emergency conditions are usually treatable with lower-strength, longer-acting benzodiazepines.
Alcohol’s effects on the body
The cells lining your mouth and throat are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol. Conversely, drinking moderately has been linked to a reduced risk of dementia — especially in older adults (16, 17, 18). In worst-case scenarios, severe alcohol-induced brain damage may impair people’s ability to lead an independent life. The first of these antidepressants and alcohol interactions to appear is fatty liver, characterized by increased fat inside liver cells. Ethanol, the active ingredient in alcoholic drinks, is generally referred to as “alcohol.” It can have powerful effects on your mental state. The truth is that the health effects of alcohol vary between individuals and may depend on the amount and type of alcohol consumed.
From damaging vital organs to impairing brain function and jeopardizing relationships, the negative consequences of excessive alcohol use are far-reaching. Chronic alcohol use raises your risk for health problems, including heart disease, liver disease, cancer, and mental health disorders. The liver metabolizes alcohol and diabetes most of the alcohol you consume, breaking it down into acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is a toxin that can damage the body’s organs and tissues before it is further broken down into acetate. While moderate alcohol consumption may reduce your risk of heart disease, heavy drinking may increase it.
We can all experience temporary and long-term effects of alcohol, depending on our consumption. This article discusses the physiological and psychological effects of alcohol and how to change your drinking habits. When it comes to alcohol, if you don’t drink, don’t start for health reasons. For example, it drug addiction substance use disorder diagnosis and treatment may be used to define the risk of illness or injury based on the number of drinks a person has in a week. Many people drink alcohol as a personal preference, during social activities, or as a part of cultural and religious practices. People who choose not to drink make that choice for the same reasons.
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. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that has immediate effects on the body, like intoxication (feeling drunk) and hangovers (unpleasant aftereffects from drinking). While these effects are short-lived, long-term alcohol use can trigger systemic (bodywide) inflammation, which damages the body’s tissues and vital organs over time. This article discusses the long-term effects of alcohol, including the risks to your physical health and mental well-being. In the United States, over 84% of adults report drinking alcohol at least once in their lifetime.
Every state in the U.S. has a legal limit (or a point at which it is legally unsafe to operate a motor vehicle) of 0.08%. It’s important to note that any amount of alcohol in your system can interfere with your ability to think and function without impairment. However, when researchers evaluate these potential factors, the risks outweigh any benefits. 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.
- That’s because alcohol can weaken your immune system, slow healing and make your body more susceptible to infection.
- Below we explore the specific parts of the body alcohol affects.
- People who drink heavily over a long period of time are also more likely to develop pneumonia or tuberculosis than the general population.
- Alcohol can also contribute to arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) and hypertension (high blood pressure), increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure.
Alcohol can also cause a buildup of digestive enzymes in the pancreas, leading to a condition called pancreatitis, or an inflamed pancreas. This can affect how much insulin you make, putting you at higher risk for diabetes. You may know about the dangers of blood clots and high levels of fats and cholesterol in your body. Studies of heavy drinkers also show that they are more likely to have trouble pumping blood to their heart and may have a higher chance of dying from heart disease. Along with the hormone changes that alcohol triggers, that can keep your body from building new bone. Your bones get thinner and more fragile, a condition called osteoporosis.
Your liver detoxifies and removes alcohol from your blood through a process known as oxidation. When your liver finishes that process, alcohol gets turned into water and carbon dioxide. Dr. Sengupta shares some of the not-so-obvious effects that alcohol has on your body. Benzodiazepines can pose a threat without you ever knowing it. Taking precautions is one of the best ways to protect yourself from unknowingly taking these drugs. Together, these four drugs make up 99% of benzodiazepine prescriptions.
In addition, prolonged misuse can lead to alcohol use disorder. Because alcohol is a depressant, it can also contribute to mental health conditions, like anxiety and depression. Research indicates that heavy alcohol use can also increase the risk of suicide. During pregnancy, drinking may cause the unborn baby to have brain damage and other problems.
Your brain helps your body stay well-hydrated by producing a hormone that keeps your kidneys from making too much urine. But when alcohol swings into action, it tells your brain to hold off on making that hormone. That means you have to go more often, which can leave you dehydrated.
If you are on any medications, talk to your health care provider about how alcohol may affect them. Your immune system works to keep you as healthy as possible by fighting off foreign invaders, such as viruses, bacteria, and toxins. To your body, alcohol is a toxin that interrupts your immune system’s ability to do its job, thereby compromising its function.