Receive free access to exclusive content, a personalized homepage based on your interests, and a weekly newsletter with the topics of your choice. The number of drinks you regularly consume actually matters more than how intoxicated you feel, Dr. Schneekloth says. That may seem strict, but Terry D. Schneekloth, M.D., a Mayo Clinic psychiatrist with expertise in alcoholism and addiction, explains that the evidence backs up this limit. Receive free access to exclusive content, a personalized homepage based on your interests, and a weekly newsletter with topics of your choice. If you are on any medications, talk to your health care provider about how alcohol may affect them. Get helpful tips and guidance for everything from fighting inflammation to finding the best diets for weight loss…from exercises to build a stronger core to advice on treating cataracts.
- Each of those consequences can cause turmoil that can negatively affect your long-term emotional health.
- In addition to being uncomfortable, dry mouth can lead to inflammation of the mouth and reduced salivary flow, which contributes to tooth decay.
- Heavy drinking can also cause the pancreas to produce toxic substances that can lead to organ damage.
- Lowered inhibitions can lead to poor choices with lasting repercussions — like the end of a relationship, an accident or legal woes.
- Because the added risk is minimal, however, cutting back isn’t necessarily a big priority.
Understanding Alcohol and Its Effects
The effects of alcohol on the liver can change with short-term and long-term use. Alcohol can have a toxic effect on the central nervous system (CNS). Additionally, as it is a CNS depressant, it can cause difficulties with thinking abilities and coordination. This may increase the risk of a traumatic brain injury from a fall or accident. In 2019, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities accounted for 10,142 deaths.
Compromised Immune Function
Lowered inhibitions can lead to poor choices with lasting repercussions — like the end of a relationship, an accident or legal woes. Each of those consequences can cause turmoil that can negatively affect your long-term emotional health. Steatotic liver disease develops in about 90% of people who drink more than 1.5 to 2 ounces of alcohol per day. “Some people think of the effects of alcohol as only something to be worried about if you’re living with alcohol use disorder, which was formerly called alcoholism,” Dr. Sengupta says. When you stop drinking, you might notice a range of physical, emotional, or mental health symptoms that ease as soon as you have a drink.
Alcohol use can also lead to more lasting concerns that extend beyond your own mood and health.
Brain damage and accidents
And no matter which category you fall into, there are consequences. “You subject your body to more health risks, to more toxicity and you begin a cycle of withdrawal problems,” she adds. The loss of judgment that comes from binge drinking can cause you to make poor choices, too, including driving under the influence, physical altercations and even further physical injury. One study found that birth defects are four times more likely if the mother has been drinking heavily in the first trimester (29). Many studies have concluded that alcohol use during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, birth defects, and cognitive and developmental problems (26, 27, 28).
During early-stage liver disease, fibrosis is often reversible if alcohol use is permanently stopped. When alcohol enters the bloodstream, it is metabolized (broken down) by the liver into a toxic chemical called acetaldehyde, which is further metabolized to acetate. Acetate is then broken down to water and carbon dioxide, which are eliminated from the body. Alcohol interferes with calcium balance, vitamin D production, and cortisol levels, adding to the potential weakening Addiction as a Coping Mechanism and Healthy Alternatives of bone structure.
In the long term, it can worsen your overall mental and physical health (15). Excessive drinking affects your health and almost every part of your body. It can not only damage vital organs but also affect your mood and behavior. Alcohol consumption can have immediate and short-term health impacts on the body. These impacts can vary depending on factors such as the amount of alcohol consumed, the rate of consumption, and the individual’s body weight and metabolism.