Drinking too much alcohol has some dangers associated with it and it will be advisable to stay away from it or minimize your intake.
Drinking too much – on a single occasion or over time – can take a serious toll on your health. Here’s how alcohol can affect your body:
Brain
Too much alcohol will negatively affect your communication pathways, and can affect the way your brain looks and works.
Heart
Drinking too much alcohol can damage the heart, causing problems including:
- Cardiomyopathy
- Arrhythmias (Irregular heart beat)
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
Liver
Too much alcohol will negatively affect your liver, and can lead to a variety of problems and liver inflammations
Pancreas
Too much alcohol can cause digestion problems in your body. Thus it causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that can eventually lead to pancreatitis, a dangerous inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels in the pancreas.
Cancer
There is a strong scientific consensus that alcohol drinking can cause several types of cancer –
In its Report on Carcinogens, the National Toxicology Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services lists consumption of alcoholic beverages as a known human carcinogen.
The evidence indicates that the more alcohol a person drinks–particularly the more alcohol a person drinks regularly over time–the higher his or her risk of developing an alcohol-associated cancer. Even those who have no more than one drink per day and people who binge drink (those who consume 4 or more drinks for women and 5 or more drinks for men in one sitting) have a modestly increased risk of some cancers. Based on data from 2009, an estimated 3.5% of cancer deaths in the United States (about 19,500 deaths were alcohol related.) National Cancer Institute
Immune System
Drinking too much can weaken your immune system, making your body a much easier target for disease.
Center For Disease Control on How to Avert The Dangers of Excessive Alcohol Intake
The Center for Disease Control have suggested measures to help individuals struggling with abstinence from alcohol .
Adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men and 1 drink or less in a day for women. For those who drink alcohol and want to cut back on your drinking, these four strategies can help:
- Set limits. Decide how many days a week you plan to drink and how many drinks you plan to have. For instance, you might decide to only drink on a Friday night or Saturday night and have one drink. Schedule alcohol-free days every week.
- Count your drinks. Use an app on your mobile device to help. Understanding how much alcohol counts as a “standard drink” may also help.
- Manage your “triggers.” If certain people, places, or activities tempt you to drink more than you planned, you can avoid those triggers. For example, instead of a happy hour event with co-workers, suggest catching up at lunch instead. You may also want to remove certain alcohol products from your home.
- Find support. Ask for support from a friend, family member, healthcare provider, or someone else who will support your choice to drink less.
Note: Not drinking at all may be the best option for some people, including people who are pregnant or might be pregnant, those taking certain drugs or medications, or people who are recovering from an alcohol use disorder or cannot control their alcohol intake.
Remember “The How”
Change can be hard, so it helps to have concrete reminders of why the change is important to you and how you’ve decided to do it.
- Make a change plan and print or save it to review later.
- Set up the alerts on your devices to remind you at times of the day you need it.
- Set your phone background to remind you why you want to drink less.
- Post sticky notes around your home with motivational messages.
- Let your friends and family members know about your change plan and ask for their support.
Remember health is wealth!
