Alcohol’s Effects on the Body National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA

Centers for Disease Control’s WONDER Compressed Mortality File to locate alcohol-related deaths from 1999 to 2013. By age, alcohol-related deaths from chronic diseases occur most commonly among both men and women aged 45 to 54. These figures demonstrate that such conditions are hardly limited to old age – heavy alcohol use can ultimately take decades off a person’s life. From 1999 to 2013, drinking has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths in the United States.

Any amount of alcohol can diminish your judgment and functioning, and even low or moderate alcohol use can have harmful effects on different organs. Understanding the risks and any possible health benefits of alcohol often seems confusing; that’s understandable, because the evidence for moderate alcohol use in healthy adults isn’t certain. You can reduce your risk of alcohol injuries by choosing not to consume alcohol. If you do choose to drink, take the necessary precautions to stay safe. If you or someone you love has an issue with alcohol, contact your medical professional to get the proper help. Heavy drinking during pregnancy can cause brain damage and other serious problems in the baby.

What Are the Psychological Effects of Alcohol?

It is dangerous to assume that an unconscious person will be fine by sleeping it off. One potential danger of alcohol overdose is choking on one’s own vomit. Alcohol at very high levels can hinder signals in the brain that control automatic responses, such as the gag reflex. With no gag reflex, a person who drinks to the point of passing out is in danger of choking on their vomit and dying from a lack of oxygen (i.e., asphyxiation). Even if the person survives, an alcohol overdose like this can lead to long-lasting brain damage. Alcohol in the form of ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, is in alcoholic beverages.

• 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 disorder is a pattern of alcohol use that involves problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol or continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems.
• Oftentimes, we aren’t thinking about how much or how often we consume alcohol or its effects on the body.
• Even moderate amounts of alcohol can significantly impair driving performance and your ability to operate other machinery, whether or not you feel the effects of alcohol.
• Alcohol use can damage the hippocampus, the part of your brain responsible for memory and learning.
• Seeking mental health and medical advice offers a holistic approach to reducing or eliminating alcohol use.

They will likely experience deteriorating relationships with family and friends and might have difficulty at work. Those with alcohol use disorder will continue to drink despite increased isolation and separation from loved ones. People with alcohol use disorder might reduce their participation in social events and become withdrawn over time. In general, people who are at risk of or who have alcohol use disorder drink alcohol regularly and experience cravings when they don’t.

Reducing the burden from harmful use of alcohol

No one should ever ride in a car with a driver who has been drinking. However, certain food groups also have benefits when it comes to helping with the discomfort of withdrawal symptoms and detoxification. The endocrine system’s role is to help organs communicate using consequences of alcohol hormones to maintain a stable environment in the body. Alcohol can disrupt this process, interfering with hormone production and the endocrine system’s function. Parts of the endocrine system that are especially susceptible to drinking include the stress axis.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has information on how alcohol impacts your health. It also has resources to help those looking to change their drinking habits. There’s been an uptick in non-alcoholic drink options, as more and more companies are creating alternatives. A 2020 study found that when weekly drinkers were presented with and aware of increased non-alcoholic options, they were likely to choose them.

Who Should Avoid Alcohol?

People who have been drinking a lot of alcohol for a long time tend to get frequent infections like pneumonia and tuberculosis because their immune system has been worn down. When you stop drinking and start focusing on your health, you’ll likely start to feel better once your body is properly nourished. Alcoholic beverages are a source of added sugar and empty calories. Binge drinking can lead to consuming an extra 600 calories or more in a day. There are certain brain chemicals called excitatory neurotransmitters that will stop doing their job when you drink, which can make you feel sleepy and sedated.

Be aware of the alcohol content of what you’re drinking and adjust how much you drink based on this knowledge. Unlike food, which can take hours to digest, the body absorbs alcohol quickly — long before most other nutrients. That’s why hard drinking can lead to diarrhea, which can turn into a long-term problem. It also makes heartburn more likely because it relaxes the muscle that keeps acid out of your esophagus, the tube that connects your mouth and stomach. Moderate alcohol use has possible health benefits, but it’s not risk-free.

Warning Signs of Underage Drinking

Alcohol is a powerful chemical that can have a wide range of adverse effects on almost every part of your body, including your brain, bones and heart. BAC can continue to rise even when a person stops drinking or is unconscious. Alcohol in the stomach and intestine continues to enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body.