NBC News spoke to eight nutritionists and doctors about the risks and supposed benefits of alcohol. They generally agreed that abstaining is healthiest, but that for most people, a modest level of drinking doesn’t carry significant risk. It’s possible that the fast-acting enzyme breaks down alcohol before it can have a beneficial effect on HDL and clotting factors. Interestingly, these differences in the ADH1C gene do not influence the risk of heart disease among people who don’t drink alcohol.
Executive Editor, Harvard Men’s Health Watch
The problem is, most people have no idea what qualifies as a “standard drink.” To worsen matters, the official definition of a standard drink differs between countries. Red wine may be one of the healthiest alcoholic beverages, probably due to its high concentration of antioxidants. Alcohol dependence is one of the main causes of alcohol abuse and disability in the US and a strong risk factor for various diseases (70). The cells lining your mouth and throat are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol.
- If you are in a life threatening situation – don’t use this site.
- The etiology and pathology of alcohol dependence is the outcome of a complex interplay of biological, psychological and socio-environmental factors.
- Moderate drinkers are far more likely to exercise than people who don’t drink.
Alcohol use: Weighing risks and benefits
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. Your body breaks alcohol down into a chemical called acetaldehyde, which damages your DNA. Damaged DNA can cause a cell to grow out of control, which results in cancerous tumors. “Some people think of the effects of alcohol as only something to be worried about if you’re living with alcohol use disorder, which was formerly called alcoholism,” Dr. Sengupta says.
I want to get healthier
Studies about the relationship of D1 receptors and affinity for alcohol have had inconsistent results. This National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, Talkspace wants to spread the word that we’ve entered a new era in the diagnosis and treatment of substance use. We turned to experts at the forefront of addressing substance use disorders through telehealth to get their insights on how to prevent substance misuse and help people access the right treatments. That happy-hour cocktail or glass of wine with dinner may make you less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
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As a result, drinking alcohol with meals may cut the rise in blood sugar by 16–37% more than water. Blood sugar between meals — known as is alcohol good for you fasting blood glucose — may also decline (51, 52). Many people facing anxiety and depression drink intentionally to reduce stress and improve mood. While drinking may provide a few hours of relief, it may worsen your overall mental health and spark a vicious cycle (23, 24). While alcohol intake and depression seem to increase the risk of one another simultaneously, alcohol abuse may be the stronger causal factor (20, 21, 22).
Heart Failure: Understanding the condition and optimizing treatment
Aragam co-authored a 2022 study that also found a trend of healthy lifestyle habits among light to https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/alcohol-vs-drugs-comparison-of-addictions/ moderate drinkers, but concluded nonetheless that any level of alcohol consumption increased the risk of cardiovascular disease. The risk increased exponentially with heavier drinking, defined as more than eight drinks per week. We have been researching the health effects of alcohol for a combined 60 years. Our work, and that of others, has shown that even modest alcohol consumption likely raises the risk for certain diseases, such as breast and esophageal cancer.
Can drinking raise my blood pressure?
More research is necessary to explore any further associations across bigger samples and longer time periods. Meanwhile, 54.9% of people reported that they had consumed alcohol in the past month. Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health.
He also said that it is misleading to lump the entire world together when assessing alcohol’s risk. “Our decisions about drinking in the United States shouldn’t be influenced by what alcohol does to tuberculosis,” he said. Such nuance is rarely captured in broader conversations about alcohol research—or even in observational studies, as researchers don’t always ask about drinking patterns, focusing instead on total consumption.
- The benefits and risks of moderate drinking change over a lifetime.
- And drinking raises the risk of problems in the digestive system.
- All of them function both individually and interactively as G-protein coupled receptors.
- Intimacy helps you deal with stress, and a little alcohol may move things along.
Health Conditions
U.S. dietary guidelines define a moderate, low-health-risk alcohol intake as one drink or less per day for women and two or less for men. It’s long been known that alcohol reduces the amygdala’s reactivity to threatening stimuli while individuals are drinking. The current study is the first to indicate that light to moderate alcohol consumption has longer-term neurobiological effects in dampening activity in the amygdala, which may have a significant downstream impact on the cardiovascular system.