As these examples illustrate, drinking alcohol may raise the risk of some conditions but not others. Patients should work with their clinicians to understand their personal risks and make informed decisions about drinking. The liver does the heavy lifting in metabolizing the ethyl alcohol that makes us tipsy, and it bears the brunt of alcohol-related disease. Of the more than 98,000 U.S. liver-disease deaths among those 12 and older in 2022, 46% involved alcohol. About half of cirrhosis deaths are alcohol related, and the percentages are much higher (75-80%) among those younger than age 45.

No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health

But in terms of things to watch for, I mean, I think high blood is one of the earlier things that develops, that kind of thing. I’ve actually had a couple of friends die from what I believe was drinking too much. I don’t know the medical part behind it, but it got us to thinking, can we do long-term damage to other parts of our body? Drinking moderately if you’re otherwise healthy may be a risk you’re willing to take.

Risks of moderate alcohol use

The same definition applies to women and those over 65 who have more than seven drinks a week or more than three drinks per occasion. Steatosis (fatty liver disease) happens in 90% of those who have more than about four drinks a day over time, and cirrhosis occurs https://ecosoberhouse.com/ in about 30% of those who drink more than about three drinks a day long-term. Ryan Marino, MDThe liver has pretty incredible powers of regeneration, can recover from a lot of insults, I mean.

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Many enjoy a glass of wine or beer during dinner, believing that this little alcohol couldn’t possibly affect them. A new study is, however, warning that even one small drink per day can influence our health. Ryan Marino, MDIt’s not that it’s too late, but it is one of those things where for the most part, there isn’t going to be any sort of outward sign. So I, I feel like I keep saying the same phrase where we probably all know someone, but I’m sure everybody knows that person who drinks way more than seems healthy and doesn’t have any sort of outward signs. They’re not having trouble with their job, their life, that kind of thing. It can be more of a masked illness, so to speak, or a hidden illness.

• “A daily drink may calm your anxiety, but it also suppresses your metabolism,” Kober says.
• We know smoking causes several adverse health outcomes, and that has formed the basis of a range of public health interventions that have driven down smoking rates.
• For men, heavy drinking means more than four drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks a week.
• Research is growing every day about the health risks of drinking.

Helps Your Brain

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and it raises your risk for stroke. So, you can imagine how lowering your risk for all three of these would extend your life span over the average American’s. However, whether alcohol can really be heart-healthy is still debated, and it’s likely better to indulge in other antioxidant-rich treats like dark chocolate. We’ve all heard about the antioxidant benefits of red wine — and research has found that whiskey can have a similar effect.

• About half of cirrhosis deaths are alcohol related, and the percentages are much higher (75-80%) among those younger than age 45.
• In a recent study, researchers asked a group of moderately intoxicated men to complete a series of word association problems.
• Our genetic makeup is defined at conception – following Mendel’s first and second laws – this is random between siblings, and approximately random even at a population level.
• It gets broken down and then cleared from the body, but it kind of touches everything else along the way just because it is going through your entire bloodstream.

But yeah, your blood pressure can go down almost immediately. Even just reducing the amount you drink can start lowering your blood pressure. Libido can return and can improve for people who have been drinking for a long time, but again, in the short term may actually be even worse. So it is hard to kind of coach people through that when they’re expecting great results and not seeing them.

• The bottom line is that alcohol is potentially addictive, can cause intoxication, and contributes to health problems and preventable deaths.
• While alcohol certainly has some negative health effects, there can also be advantages to moderate consumption.
• Now the pendulum has swung so far in the opposite direction that contemporary narratives suggest every ounce of alcohol is dangerous.
• Don’t feel bad indulging in that glass of wine or pint of beer to help relieve some of it.

What are doctors telling their patients?

Such nuance is rarely captured in broader conversations about alcohol research—or even in observational studies, as researchers don’t always ask about drinking patterns, focusing instead on total consumption. To get a clearer picture of the health effects of alcohol, researchers and journalists must be far more attuned to the nuances of this highly complex issue. Ryan Marino, MDIn terms of kind of takeaway points, it’s never too late or too little to try to reduce the amount that you’re drinking. So I mean, if you can cut back one drink or stop for one month or completely stop, all of those things are going to have some sort of health benefit.

More evidence moderate drinking is good for your heart. Also: a reason.

An exposure might correlate with an outcome, but whilst this might imply the existence of a possible causal pathway, it doesn’t confirm it. Confounding – the bugbear of observational epidemiology, is nearly always present. Alcohol drinkers are different from non-drinkers in numerous ways, and those differences, rather than alcohol itself, may be causing the outcomes. For others, the advice tends to be, if you are a heavy drinker, is alcohol good for you you should cut back.