Alcohol affects your body in many ways. Some effects are immediate and last only a while; others accumulate over time and may significantly affect your physical and mental health and quality of life. How much harm alcohol causes your body depends on how much you drink, your pattern of drinking, and even the quality of the alcohol you drink. Your body size and composition, age, drinking experience, genetics, nutritional status, metabolism, and social factors all play a part as well.
The severity of the short-term effects of alcohol typically depends on how much a person drinks, but other factors such as hydration and food consumption also play a role. Most people can recognise the signs and treat the symptoms themselves. Some people can experience a hangover from one drink. The severity of a hangover often has to do with how your body metabolises alcohol, as when you drink, alcohol triggers a number of reactions in your body.
These reactions can contribute to hangover. They include:. Most hangovers typically start once your blood alcohol level starts to return closer to zero. Hangovers generally only last up to 24 hours, and go away on their own. Pacing yourself aiming to drink one drink or less every hour , and drinking water between alcoholic drinks may reduce the severity of a hangover. If you are regularly experiencing hangovers, or hangovers are affecting your relationships, work or life in general, talk to your doctor about potentially cutting back your drinking.
Sometimes heavy drinking results in the much more serious effect of alcohol poisoning. This is a life-threatening emergency. Call for emergency care if you see these signs in someone who has been drinking:. If someone is unconscious or cannot be woken up, they could be at risk of dying. If you suspect someone has alcohol poisoning — even if you don't see the signs and symptoms — seek immediate medical attention.
Historically it has been believed that consuming on average more than two standard drinks a day is what can cause many long-term health problems and other harms. Nowadays, current research states that any level of alcohol consumption can pose an increased risk of chronic disease development. The WHO reports that in , 5. Worldwide, more men die as a result of alcohol consumption than women. Generally, binge drinking means drinking heavily over a short period of time with the intention and result of getting immediately and severely intoxicated drunk.
In the short term, binge drinking may result in a hangover, alcohol poisoning, or any of the other short-term effects of alcohol consumption, such as accidents and violence, discussed above. In the long term, binge drinking may result in any of the long-term effects of alcohol consumption, such as heart disease, cancer, liver cirrhosis and diabetes.
The best way to avoid the effects of alcohol on your body is to not drink alcohol. This is especially important if you are trying to get pregnant, or you are pregnant or breastfeeding, as there is no safe level of alcohol use that has been identified. If you choose to drink alcohol, low level drinking is better for your body than heavy drinking or binge drinking. Heart problems may include poisoning of the heart muscle cells, an irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, stroke or heart attack.
Digestive System —This is where serious damage can quickly occur. Alcohol makes it difficult for our intestines to control bacteria and absorb nutrients that can lead to malnutrition. Alcohol is also known to cause:. Central Nervous System — Alcohol changes behavior.
It inhibits speaking, which causes slurred speech and coordination. Long-term use can shrink the frontal lobes of the brain. Heavy drinking can lead to dependency that may have severe withdrawal effects. Excretory System — This system is responsible for removing waste products, such as alcohol, from the body.
Excessive alcohol consumption can cause the pancreas to lose normal insulin production and create toxic substances that can lead to its destruction. An abundance of alcohol can harm the liver, whose job it is to break down harmful substances in the body. This can lead to hepatitis, jaundice and cirrhosis, which is the buildup of scar tissue that eventually destroys the organ.
Alcohol may cause kidney, bladder and prostate inflammation. The liver is an organ which helps break down and remove harmful substances from your body, including alcohol. Long-term alcohol use interferes with this process. It also increases your risk for chronic liver inflammation and liver disease. The scarring caused by this inflammation is known as cirrhosis.
The formation of scar tissue destroys the liver. As the liver becomes increasingly damaged, it has a harder time removing toxic substances from your body. Learn more about alcohol-related liver disease ». Liver disease is life-threatening and leads to toxins and waste buildup in your body. Women are at higher risk for developing alcoholic liver disease. Women also show liver damage more quickly than men.
A damaged pancreas may also prevent the body from producing enough insulin to utilize sugar. This can lead to hyperglycemia , or too much sugar in the blood. Alcohol can reduce communication between your brain and your body. This makes coordination more difficult. You may have a hard time balancing. You should never drive after drinking. As alcohol causes more damage to your central nervous system, you may experience numbness and tingling sensations in your feet and hands.
Drinking also makes it difficult for your brain to create long-term memories. It also reduces your ability to think clearly and make rational choices. Over time, frontal lobe damage can occur. This area of the brain is responsible for emotional control, short-term memory, and judgement, in addition to other vital roles.
Chronic and severe alcohol abuse can also cause permanent brain damage. This can lead to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome , a brain disorder that affects memory. Some people who drink heavily may develop a physical and emotional dependency on alcohol.
Alcohol withdrawal can be difficult and life-threatening. You often need professional help to break an alcohol addiction. As a result, many people seek medical detoxification to get sober. Depending on the risk for withdrawal symptoms, detoxification can be managed on either an outpatient or inpatient basis. Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal include:. Seizures , hallucinations , and delirium may occur in severe cases of withdrawal. The connection between alcohol consumption and your digestive system might not seem immediately clear.
The side effects often only appear after there has been damage. And the more you drink, the greater the damage will become. Drinking can damage the tissues in your digestive tract and prevent your intestines from digesting food and absorbing nutrients and vitamins. As a result, malnutrition may occur.
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