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

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. Chronic alcohol use raises your risk for health problems, including heart disease, liver disease, cancer, and mental health disorders. In a person who establishes a pattern of heavy drinking, alcohol-related changes in the brain also set the stage for the development of alcoholism.

With continued alcohol use, steatotic liver disease can lead to liver fibrosis. Eventually, you can develop permanent and art therapy ideas for addiction irreversible scarring in your liver, which is called cirrhosis. You probably already know that excessive drinking can affect you in more ways than one. Excessive alcohol use is a term used to describe four ways that people drink alcohol that can negatively impact health.

Excessive alcohol use

And prolonged alcohol use can lead to mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Pancreatitis can be a short-term (acute) condition intermediate familial subtype that clears up in a few days. But prolonged alcohol abuse can lead to chronic (long-term) pancreatitis, which can be severe.

That included 65.3 million admitted to binge drinking and 16.3 million who reported heavy drinking within the past month. Inside the brain, all alcoholic beverages slow down the standard rate of activity between the nerve cells (neurons) that provide incoming and outgoing communications pathways. If this rate falls below a sustainable point, the brain will stop sending an adequate number of signals to the lungs, heart, and other vital organs. The pancreas normally releases insulin, which helps the body respond to high blood sugar.

However, in people who receive treatment and establish abstinence, some of the problems triggered by chronic heavy drinking may ease in severity over time. Every year, millions of people in the U.S. experience diagnosable symptoms of alcoholism. People addicted to drinking typically undergo a range of severe effects of alcohol on the body in their day-to-day physical well-being. Some of these changes appear in a brief period, while others develop over months or years. Firstly, unhealthy drinking habits can lower dopamine levels and decrease endorphins over time. The way extended alcohol use depletes these “happy hormones” can exacerbate or cause mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.

How to Get Treatment for Alcohol Use

The effects of alcohol can range from mild, such as skin flushing, to more severe symptoms such as passing out or vomiting. Alcohol use disorder can include periods of being drunk (alcohol intoxication) and symptoms of withdrawal. Alcohol use can cause sexual dysfunction, such as difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection and decreased sexual sensations. The impact alcohol has on the reproductive system extends beyond these temporary effects. Chronic alcohol use causes hormone imbalances in both men and women and leads to problems with fertility. Calls to our general hotline may be answered by private treatment providers.

1. Only trained and licensed medical professionals can provide such services.
2. When your liver finishes that process, alcohol gets turned into water and carbon dioxide.
3. Our kidneys help regulate our body’s natural fluid balance through what’s called the renal system.
4. As a result of their self-destructive behavior, alcoholics may suffer dire long-term alcohol effects that produce irreversible consequences.
5. A damaged pancreas can also prevent your body from producing enough insulin to use sugar.

As a result, they eventually need to drink more to notice the same effects they once did. But more recent research suggests there’s really no “safe” amount of alcohol since even moderate drinking can negatively impact brain health. Even drinking a little too much (binge drinking) on occasion can set off a chain reaction that affects your well-being. Lowered inhibitions can lead to poor choices with lasting repercussions — like the end of a relationship, an accident or legal woes. Each of those consequences can cause turmoil that can negatively affect your long-term emotional health. The less alcohol you drink, the lower your risk for these health effects, including several types of cancer.

Sexual and reproductive health

After drinking 10 to 12 units of alcohol, your co-ordination will be highly impaired, placing you at serious risk of having an accident. The high level of alcohol has a depressant effect on both your mind and body, which makes you drowsy. Our writers and reviewers are experienced professionals in medicine, addiction treatment, and healthcare. AddictionResource fact-checks all the information before publishing and uses only credible and trusted sources when citing stages of alcoholic recovery any medical data.

Effects Of Alcohol: What Does Alcohol Do to Your Body?

In some people, the initial reaction may feel like an increase in energy. But as you continue to drink, you become drowsy and have less control over your actions. For more information about alcohol and cancer, please visit the National Cancer Institute’s webpage « Alcohol and Cancer Risk » (last accessed June 6, 2024). Excess alcohol use can also impair nutrient absorption in the small intestine and increase the risk of malnutrition.

The liver metabolizes most of the alcohol you consume, breaking it down into acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is a toxin that can damage the body’s organs and tissues before it is further broken down into acetate. Years of moderate to heavy drinking can cause liver scarring (fibrosis), increasing the risk of liver diseases like cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis, fatty liver disease, and liver cancer. Whether it’s early on in health class, through family experiences, or in sporadic doctor visits, many of us learn that excessive drinking is ‘bad for you’ at a young age. Learning more about the specific impact alcohol has on the body’s organ systems can provide a helpful, and even life-changing perspective.