If you are a heavy drinker, following a healthy diet and exercise routine will still be beneficial for your health, but not as much as getting your alcohol consumption under control, or abstaining completely. Moderate alcohol consumption may increase life expectancy, while alcohol abuse is a strong risk factor for premature death. Characterized by abnormally high blood sugar, type 2 diabetes is caused by a reduced uptake of glucose, or blood sugar, by your cells — a phenomenon known as insulin resistance. In fact, because heavy drinking is a major cause of depression in some individuals, treating the underlying alcohol abuse may lead to big improvements (25, 26, 27).
Lifestyle Quizzes
Together, that evidence is highly persuasive that alcohol increases the chances of breast cancer. On the other hand, alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction are linked to severe negative effects on both physical and mental health. Keep in mind that your cancer risk may increase — regardless of how much you are drinking. Even light alcohol consumption — up to one drink per day — is linked to a 20% increased risk of mouth and throat cancer (59, 60).
Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
So, it’s important to think about your overall health and talk to a healthcare provider about your personal risk factors. The short-term effects of alcohol (headache, nausea, you know the rest) are easy to pinpoint. But there are ways that alcohol affects your body over time that are important to understand. One of the long-term effects of alcohol on your heart is alcoholic cardiomyopathy. This is when your heart-pumping function gets weaker and your heart gets larger due to changes from heavy alcohol use over a long period of time.
- Some people should avoid even that much and not drink at all if they have certain heart rhythm abnormalities or have heart failure.
- While alcohol intake and depression seem to increase the risk of one another simultaneously, alcohol abuse may be the stronger causal factor (20, 21, 22).
- 18 An earlier study suggested that getting 600 micrograms a day of folate could counteract the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on breast cancer risk.
- So alcohol abuse can lead to serious cardiovascular conditions such as congestive heart failure.
- You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Gives Your Sex Life a Boost
Dr. Hartz and team found that people who had one or two drinks four or more times weekly had a 20 percent higher risk of premature death, compared with those who drank only three times per week or less often. This increased death risk, the study authors add, remains consistent across all age groups. Alcohol can affect blood sugar levels and interact with diabetes medications. So for diabetics, drinking too much can lead to hypoglycemia, or “insulin shock,” or hyperglycemia, an excess of insulin (see below for more on why diabetics should drink with caution). One in particular is hepatocellular cancer, which is a cancer of the liver. Certain esophageal cancers and gastrointestinal cancers have also been related to excessive alcohol use.
Staying Healthy
Research on mice shows that consuming the agave tequila plant can increase calcium absorption and improve bone health. However, for humans, it’s doubtful that drinking tequila can actually help treat calcium deficiency or bone conditions like osteoporosis. Red wine contains antioxidants, which can protect your cells from damage, and polyphenols, which can promote heart health. Here’s what you need to know about the healthiest alcohols and which you should avoid. Emily Lachtrupp is a registered dietitian experienced in nutritional counseling, recipe analysis and meal plans.
Health Challenges
Beer is a popular alcoholic beverage made by brewing and fermenting cereal grains with yeast, hops, and other flavoring agents. Most types of beer contain 4–6% alcohol, but the beverage can range from 0.5–40%. “It used to seem like having one or two drinks per day was no big deal, and there even have been some is alcohol good for you studies suggesting it can improve health,” says first author Dr. Sarah M. Hartz.
But if you’re going to indulge, there are healthier options that you should reach for. The key with alcohol is drinking in moderation, and weighing any health benefits against the negative impacts of drinking. Knowing the health benefits of some alcoholics is great, but it’s equally important to know which drinks to skip.
© 2024 Harvard Health Publishing® of The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Moderate alcohol consumption has been studied in dozens of randomized controlled trials, but those trials have never tracked more than about 200 people for more than two years. Simultaneously, alcohol abuse is the third main cause of preventable death in the US, as it’s a large factor in chronic diseases, accidents, traffic crashes and social problems (68). Drinking alcohol may increase your risk of certain cancers, especially mouth and throat cancer. It is a broad category of diseases, the most common of which are coronary heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes.
- Excessive alcohol consumption can have numerous adverse effects on your brain.
- It’s tempting to assume that because heavy alcohol consumption is very bad, lesser amounts must be at least a little bad.
- She’s worked with clients who struggle with diabetes, weight loss, digestive issues and more.
- Dr. Hartz and team’s research, however, reveals that the health hazards that even people who drink lightly face outweigh any potential benefits.
- Globally, the WHO European Region has the highest alcohol consumption level and the highest proportion of drinkers in the population.
- Intimacy helps you deal with stress, and a little alcohol may move things along.
Deciding about drinking
While alcohol intake and depression seem to increase the risk of one another simultaneously, alcohol abuse may be the stronger causal factor (20, 21, 22). In heavy drinkers, binge drinking https://ecosoberhouse.com/ may cause your liver to become inflamed. In worst-case scenarios, liver cells die and get replaced with scar tissue, leading to a serious condition called cirrhosis (3, 6, 7).
