Breast cancer, mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, liver, colon and rectum. Therefore, drinking alcohol every day means lasting damage to the stomach and digestive lining, which causes what research calls leaks. The digestive system and intestines are where the body fights infections, so you also risk getting sick more often (but we'll talk about this later). Daily alcohol use can cause fibrosis or scarring of liver tissue.
It can also cause alcoholic hepatitis, which is an inflammation of the liver. With long-term alcohol abuse, these conditions occur together and, over time, can lead to liver failure. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines heavy drinking as more than 8 drinks per week for women and 15 drinks for men. CDC recommends moderate alcohol consumption, which is defined as two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women.
It is important to know exactly how much alcohol you are drinking. The CDC defines a beverage as 12 ounces (oz) of any beer with an alcohol by volume (alcohol by volume) of 5 percent or less, an amount exceeded by many craft beers, 5 oz of wine, or 1.5 oz of distilled beverages such as vodka or rum. These serving sizes are often inflated by shedding, so you may be drinking more than you think. When researchers compared groups of binge drinkers and heavy drinkers with moderate drinkers (one drink a day for women and up to two for men), they discovered that an alcohol-induced gene modification process called methylation changed two genes in the body of people in the first group.
One of those genes, known as PER2, affects the body's biological clock, and the other, POMC, regulates the stress response system. The result of these changes is an increase in craving for alcohol. This finding provides evidence that heavy drinking can actually alter genes and that these specific epigenetic changes in these specific genes are associated with an increased desire to drink alcohol. That may help explain why alcohol use disorder is so powerful and affects so many.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) cites several studies, including a meta-analysis of 572 studies that showed that alcohol increases the risk of certain types of cancer, including those affecting the mouth, throat, liver, and breasts. As you can probably imagine, that risk is skyrocketing in heavy drinkers. According to NCI, they are five times more likely than non-drinkers to get esophageal cancer. But even moderate alcohol consumption almost doubles the chances of mouth and throat cancer.
Drinking as little as one drink a day can also increase the risk of breast cancer, says Dr. Previous research published in the International Journal of Cancer found that alcohol contributes to approximately 5.5 percent of cancer cases and nearly 6 percent of cancer deaths worldwide. The specific organ damage that occurs with excessive consumption of alcohol varies considerably from person to person. Common health effects include damage to the heart, liver and nerves, as well as memory problems and sexual dysfunction.
Moderate alcohol consumption in healthy adults usually means up to one drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men. Research has linked alcohol abuse, especially heavy drinking, to numerous health problems, from liver disease to depression and cancer. But despite what you hear about the health benefits of a glass of wine every now and then, overdoing it with alcohol can have a much greater impact on your body than just a day of misery. This means that you have a higher risk of negative consequences related to your alcohol use, including health and social problems.
Everyone who develops a drinking problem has to start somewhere and, for many, that starting point can be moderate drinking or daily. Keep reading below to learn more about the effects of everyday drinking and treatment options for alcohol use. Many adults who consider themselves moderate drinkers drink alcohol a couple of times a week or less. There is also research suggesting that alcohol increases the production of the stress hormone cortisol during and after drinking, which, consequently, increases blood pressure and causes higher levels of stress.
In addition, chronic alcohol use can contribute to the development of many different mental health conditions or worsen existing psychiatric illnesses, including depressive disorders and anxiety disorders. If you think that you or a loved one needs treatment for alcohol addiction, do not wait to seek help, as the consequences can be dire. Drinking more than the limits recommended by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism places you in the category of “at-risk drinking”. Adults engage in this behavior, and although most don't have alcohol use disorder, it's definitely not healthy.
If you drank alcohol every day (and still do), the effects last longer and are more dangerous than you think. This is because alcohol reduces the effectiveness of the immune system, which increases the likelihood of getting an infection, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Adults in good health may participate in more social activities and enjoy moderate amounts of alcohol, but alcohol has nothing to do with making them healthier. But when you have ingested too much alcohol for the liver to process in a timely manner, the toxic substance begins to affect the body, starting with the liver.
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