Heavy drinking can also lead to a host of health concerns, like brain damage, heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver and even certain kinds of cancer. Heavy alcohol use can disturb the endocrine system, disrupting the hormones that help maintain the body’s stability and health. There is also evidence that alcohol can disrupt or delay puberty. Moderate drinking is considered two drinks or less in a day for men and no more than one drink a day for women.

Karam-Hage adds that alcohol impacts all of our organs, but particularly the brain, liver, esophagus and stomach. Whether it’s a glass of red wine with dinner or a celebratory cocktail on the weekend, drinking in moderation has long been considered not only socially acceptable but also perhaps even healthy. Ultimately, clinicians like Stafford and Humphreys said they hope people who decide to drink alcohol do it consciously, armed with knowledge about its risks. Surgeon General’s Advisory reported that among 100 women who have less than one drink per week, about 17 will develop an alcohol-related cancer. Among 100 women who have one drink a day, 19 will, and among 100 women who have two drinks a day, about 22 will.

After Two to Three Drinks (0.06 to 0.10 BAC)

More information about alcohol’s effects on the brain is available on how alcohol affects your body NIAAA’s topic page on Alcohol and The Brain. Drinking too much – on a single occasion or over time – can take a serious toll on your health. The whole body is affected by alcohol use–not just the liver, but also the brain, gut, pancreas, lungs, cardiovascular system, immune system, and more. Over time, your brain’s structure and function change, leading to tolerance, meaning you may require higher amounts of alcohol to achieve the desired effects. These brain changes contribute to the compulsive nature of addiction, making it difficult to abstain from alcohol.

Health effects of alcohol

Chronic, heavy drinking raises the risk for ischemic heart disease (heart problems caused by narrowed arteries) and myocardial infarction (heart attack). Alcohol use, especially excessive alcohol consumption, can harm your physical and mental health. From damaging vital organs to impairing brain function and jeopardizing relationships, the negative consequences of excessive alcohol use are far-reaching.

Binge drinking

While most people of the legal drinking age do drink alcohol — or have consumed alcohol at some point — drinking too much is dangerous. Many of the symptoms are the result of dehydration, but some chemicals in alcoholic drinks can cause a reaction in the blood vessels and the brain that make symptoms worse. On average, the liver can metabolize 1 ounce of alcohol every hour. A blood alcohol level of 0.08, the legal limit for drinking, takes around five and a half hours to leave your system.

Too much alcohol and alcohol’s metabolites can be overwhelming for your gastrointestinal tract (GI) and liver. On average, it may take about an hour to metabolize a standard drink. Many people will take a drink to stop the discomfort of withdrawal. Alcohol affects every body system, so it can cause health problems throughout the body. When the amount of alcohol in the blood exceeds a certain level, this can lead to alcohol toxicity, or poisoning. This is because women and men metabolize alcohol differently.

That’s because drinking during pregnancy doesn’t just affect your health. It can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, or premature delivery. Excessive drinking may affect your menstrual cycle and potentially increase your risk for infertility. Alcohol can cause both short-term effects, such as lowered inhibitions, and long-term effects, including a weakened immune system. “Try nonalcoholic beer or wine, replace a cocktail with a mixed drink that contains only a splash of alcohol or none at all or make several days out of the week alcohol free,” she says.

Medical Professionals

Regular drinking can also affect overall mental health and well-being, in part because alcohol may worsen symptoms of certain mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. The initial contact points — mouth, throat, esophagus and stomach — are most vulnerable, which is why these areas show some of the strongest links to alcohol-related cancers. Stafford and his colleagues said the choice to tip back a beer or forgo alcohol — like many lifestyle decisions — should involve weighing the risks and benefits of your behaviors. But they think the public should be made more aware of those risks, which include an increased risk of cancer from drinking moderate amounts of alcohol. Current research points to health risks even at low amounts of alcohol consumption, regardless of beverage type.

• Alcohol misuse can also lead to high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), or increased heart rate.
• You probably already know that excessive drinking can affect you in more ways than one.
• Here’s just some of what National Geographic’s reporters have learned in recent years about how alcohol affects your body—and what you can do about it.
• Alcohol-related sleep issues aren’t just limited to nighttime, however.
• Years of heavy drinking can cause painful sores called ulcers.

Holiday stressors can lead to anxiety, depression and, for some, directly result in relapse. Here’s how to navigate this as a someone struggling with addiction or as one of their supportive loved ones. According to the experts, there is no safe level of drinking during pregnancy. Women who are trying to get pregnant or who already are pregnant should not drink.

Other Risks of Excessive Alcohol Consumption

• This is especially true if you don’t seek professional help to beat your alcohol addiction.
• It could be that it messes with the part of your brain that processes sound.
• Stafford and his colleagues said the choice to tip back a beer or forgo alcohol — like many lifestyle decisions — should involve weighing the risks and benefits of your behaviors.
• The CDC writes that fetal alcohol syndrome disorders may result in “lifelong physical, behavioral and intellectual disabilities,” which can occur when a fetus is exposed to the alcohol in a mother’s blood.
• In most U.S. states, alcohol intoxication is legally defined as having a BAC of 0.08% or higher.

Heavy drinking also may result in alcohol withdrawal symptoms. For example, any amount of drinking increases the risk of breast cancer and colorectal cancer. Alcohol is linked to a number of cardiovascular issues, including high blood pressure, strokes, irregular heartbeats, and more. The more you drink, the bigger your risk of developing heart disease and other heart complications. Alcohol addiction is a disease characterized by a strong craving for alcohol, and continued use despite a negative impact on health, interpersonal relationships, and ability to work. If the person stops drinking, they will experience withdrawal symptoms.

From a glass of wine with dinner to a night out with friends or a celebratory toast, alcohol consumption is deeply ingrained in many social practices and cultural traditions worldwide. In the United States, over 84% of adults report drinking alcohol at least once in their lifetime. During pregnancy, drinking may cause the unborn baby to have brain damage and other problems.