Effects of Drinking Alcohol

Alcohol is a part of many peoples’ lives and can be hard to avoid. However, drinking more than the recommended amount of alcohol can have a harmful effect on your heart and general health. Alcohol use can begin to take a toll on anyone’s physical and mental well-being over time.

Table of Contents:

How does alcohol affect my health?

For your health, it’s important to try to stay within the recommended guidelines of no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. That’s because drinking too much alcohol (more than the recommended 14 units) on a regular basis can cause:

• abnormal heart rhythms
• damage to your heart muscle
• diseases such as stroke, liver problems, vascular dementia and some cancers
• high blood pressure
• palpitations (when you suddenly become aware of your heartbeat pounding or beating more quickly than usual)
• weight gain from the calories in alcohol and unhealthy food choices when drinking.

What is a standard drink?

In the United States, a standard drink contains 0.6 ounces (14.0 grams or 1.2 tablespoons) of pure alcohol. Generally, this amount of pure alcohol is found in:

• 12-ounces of beer (5% alcohol content).
• 8-ounces of malt liquor (7% alcohol content).
• 5-ounces of wine (12% alcohol content).
• 1.5-ounces of 80-proof (40% alcohol content) distilled spirits or liquor (e.g., gin, rum, vodka, whiskey).

How much can I safely drink?

There’s no completely safe level of drinking. If you drink alcohol, it’s important to keep within the guidelines to lower your risk of harming your health by:

• not drinking more than 14 units of alcohol each week
• having several alcohol-free days each week.

These guidelines apply whether you drink regularly, or only occasionally.

Most people don’t drink alcohol every day – but if you do, you should aim to have some days off. Just make sure you don’t increase the amount you drink on the other days. If you do drink as much as 14 units per week, spread this our evenly over three days or more.

Drinking large amounts of alcohol in one go – binge drinking – can have a serious impact on your short and long-term health. It can put you at greater risk of falls, accidents, anti-social behaviour, alcohol poisoning and affect your mood and memory.

In the long term, it can increase your risk of becoming dependent on alcohol, alcohol-related cancer and heart disease. Binge drinking is considered drinking:

• more than 6 units of alcohol for women
• more than 8 units of alcohol for men.

That’s equivalent to drinking about four pints of normal strength beer (4% ABV) for men and three pints for women in one go!

How much is one unit of alcohol?

How many units of alcohol do you consume each week? It’s a hard question to answer when you visit your GP. We usually count by the number of drinks we’ve had, but units are how alcohol is properly measured.

The number of units in a drink is based on the size and its alcohol strength (ABV). The ABV (alcohol by volume) figure is the percentage of alcohol in the drink. So, units are an easy way to tell you how strong your drink is.

The ABV strength of some alcohols are:

• 4% – a pint of ‘regular’ lager, beer or cider 
• 5% – a pint of ‘strong’ or ‘premium’ lager, beer or cider
• 12-13% – a standard glass of wine (175ml) 
• 20% – a glass of liqueur (50ml)
• 40% – a single pub measure of spirits (25ml).

Following the above strengths, around five pints of 4% lager or five standard glasses of 13% wine per week falls within the low-risk alcohol guidelines. Drinking above this limit is linked with lower life expectancy.

• Having 10 or more drinks per week has been linked with 1-2 years shorter life expectancy
• Having 18 drinks or more per week has been linked with 4-5 years shorter life expectancy. 

What is excessive drinking?

Excessive drinking includes binge drinking, heavy drinking, and any drinking by pregnant women or people younger than age 21.

• Binge drinking, the most common form of excessive drinking, is defined as consuming
  • For women, 4 or more drinks during a single occasion.
  • For men, 5 or more drinks during a single occasion.
• Heavy drinking is defined as consuming
  • For women, 8 or more drinks per week.
  • For men, 15 or more drinks per week.

Most people who drink excessively are not alcoholics or alcohol dependent.

Is it true alcohol can be good for your heart?

There’s a popular belief that alcohol, especially red wine, is good for the heart. The evidence is not clear cut. There’s some evidence that a moderate amount of alcohol can cause a small reduction in coronary heart disease (heart attack) risk. This isn’t the case for other conditions, such as stroke, vascular dementia, as well as some cancers.

Researchers have also suggested that red wine might protect the heart because of the antioxidants it contains. However, other foods – including grapes, blueberries and strawberries – have these antioxidants without the negative effects of alcohol.

What we do know for certain is that heavy drinking can lead to high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke and contribute to cardiomyopathy – a heart condition that affects the heart muscle.

That’s why we wouldn’t advise you to start drinking if you don’t already. Alcohol isn’t a healthy drink, and when you start it’s easy to overdo. The risk of damaging your health outweighs any small benefits.

There are safer and healthier ways to protect and strengthen your heart, like by:

• doing more physical activity – which reduces blood pressure and cholesterol, helps control your weight, boosts energy and improves sleep
• keeping to a healthy weight and diet – which helps your overall health and puts less strain on your heart. Try our recipe finder for hundreds of delicious and healthy meal ideas
• stopping smoking – which helps prevent plaque build-up in your arteries and improve your overall health.

What is moderate drinking?

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink, or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men or 1 drink or less in a day for women, on days when alcohol is consumed. 

The Guidelines also do not recommend that individuals who do not drink alcohol start drinking for any reason and that if adults of legal drinking age choose to drink alcoholic beverages, drinking less is better for health than drinking more.

What happens when you drink alcohol everyday?

Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including: High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems. Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon, and rectum.

Drinking too much alcohol symptoms

Symptoms of alcohol overdose include mental confusion, difficulty remaining conscious, vomiting, seizures, trouble breathing, slow heart rate, clammy skin, dulled responses (such as no gag reflex, which prevents choking), and extremely low body temperature. Alcohol overdose can lead to permanent brain damage or death.

What are the side effects of alcohol?

Side effects of alcohol: High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems. Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon, and rectum. Weakening of the immune system, increasing the chances of getting sick. Learning and memory problems, including dementia and poor school performance.

Effects of alcohol on behavior

Abstract. Drinking alcohol clearly has important effect on social behaviors, such as increasing aggression, self-disclosure, sexual adventuresomeness, and so on. Research has shown that these effects can stem from beliefs we hold about alcohol effects. Because alcohol can make you lose your inhibitions and act more impulsively, it may lead to actions such as self-harm or suicide. Heavy drinking is also linked to suicidal thoughts and attempts.

Are the recommendations different if I have a heart condition?

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist for advice on whether it’s safe for you to drink alcohol. For most people living with a heart condition, it’s okay to drink in moderation.

However, if you’ve been diagnosed with certain conditions like cardiomyopathy, heart failure caused by alcohol, or have certain heart rhythm abnormalities; you may need to avoid drinking alcohol completely.

Drinking whilst you’re on medication might be a problem, as alcohol can interact with it. Some effects can include drowsiness with painkillers and sleeping tablets, as well as making anticoagulants less effective.

There are some people who should not drink any alcohol, including those who are:

• Younger than age 21.
• Pregnant or may be pregnant.
• Driving, planning to drive, or participating in other activities requiring skill, coordination, and alertness.
• Taking certain prescription or over-the-counter medications that can interact with alcohol.
• Suffering from certain medical conditions.
• Recovering from alcoholism or are unable to control the amount they drink.

By adhering to the Dietary Guidelines, you can reduce the risk of harm to yourself or others.

What does alcohol do to your brain?

Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways and can affect the way the brain looks and works. Alcohol makes it harder for the brain areas controlling balance, memory, speech, and judgment to do their jobs, resulting in a higher likelihood of injuries and other negative outcomes.

Prolonged use of alcohol is toxic to neurons and can result in neuron death. Continued use of alcohol can cause atrophy of the cerebellum – a shrinkage of the brain. This results in ataxia, a degenerative disease of the nervous system, which is irreversible.

How does alcohol affect my weight?

People often only associate calories with food, forgetting that many alcoholic drinks are high in calories. A unit of alcohol contains around 60kcal, which is around the same as a rich tea biscuit, oatcake or 15 cherry tomatoes.

Too many calories coming from alcoholic drinks – which are often high in sugar – is a risk factor for heart attack, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Cutting back on alcohol is a good way to improve your health, manage weight and save money.

How do I drink less?

Drinking is very popular in the UK and is often involved in things you enjoy like seeing friends or watching sport. This can make cutting down on alcohol difficult. That’s why we have some useful tips that can help you take control of how much you drink:

• avoid rounds and buy your own drinks so you don’t feel pressured
• drink water between each drink to slow you down and keep you hydrated
• drink soft drinks and let other people assume it’s alcoholic (try diet and sugar-free versions to avoid extra sugar)
• order bottles instead of pints and smaller glasses
• set a drink limit so you don’t get carried away or lose count
• try alcohol-free drinks – many pubs and supermarkets stock alcohol-free versions of lager, cider, wine and spirits. If you’re trying to manage your weight, alcohol-free drinks contain less calories.

Worried you’re drinking too much? Signs can include memory loss, embarrassment and injury, craving alcohol and if the people around you are concerned by how much you drink. If you’re worried, speak to your GP or get in touch with a drink awareness charity.

Effects of drinking alcohol

Alcohol can cause both short-term effects, such as lowered inhibitions, and long-term effects, including a weakened immune system. You won’t necessarily feel alcohol’s impact on your body right away, but it starts from the moment you take your first sip.

If you drink, you’ve probably had some experience with alcohol’s effects, from the warm buzz that kicks in quickly to the not-so-pleasant wine headache, or the hangover that shows up the next morning. Since those effects don’t last long, you might not worry much about them, especially if you don’t drink often.

Many people assume the occasional beer or glass of wine at mealtimes or special occasions doesn’t pose much cause for concern. But drinking any amount of alcohol can potentially lead to unwanted health consequences. People who binge drink or drink heavily may notice more health effects sooner, but alcohol also poses some risks for people who drink in moderation.

Short-term health risks

Excessive alcohol use has immediate effects that increase the risk of many harmful health conditions. These are most often the result of binge drinking and include the following:

• Injuries, such as motor vehicle crashes, falls, drownings, and burns.
• Violence, including homicide, suicide, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence.
• Alcohol poisoning, a medical emergency that results from high blood alcohol levels.
• Risky sexual behaviors, including unprotected sex or sex with multiple partners. These behaviors can result in unintended pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.
• Miscarriage and stillbirth or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) among pregnant women.

Long-term health risks

Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including:

• High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems.
• Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon, and rectum.
• Weakening of the immune system, increasing the chances of getting sick.
• Learning and memory problems, including dementia and poor school performance.
• Mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.
• Social problems, including family problems, job-related problems, and unemployment.
• Alcohol use disorders, or alcohol dependence.

By not drinking too much, you can reduce the risk of these short- and long-term health risks.

Alcohol safety tips

There’s no entirely safe way to consume alcohol, but if you choose to drink, these tips can help reduce some risks:

• Make sure you eat. Avoid drinking on an empty stomach to avoid becoming intoxicated too fast.
• Drink plenty of water. For every standard drink you consume, aim to have a glass of water.
• Don’t go too fast. Drink slowly to give your body plenty of time to process the alcohol. Your liver can process about 1 ounce of alcohol every hour.
• Don’t mix with other substances. Mixing alcohol with caffeine can hide the depressant effects of alcohol, making you drink more than you might otherwise. Drinking coffee to “sober up” may make you feel more awake, but it may also make you more inclined to make the mistake of trying to drive while under the influence. Combining alcohol with other drugs can also have adverse effects.
• Don’t drink and drive. Never drive while intoxicated. Even if you feel like you’ve sobered up, you may still have alcohol in your system that can affect your reaction time.