The link between alcohol use and chronic gastritis (stomach inflammation) is clear, although progression from chronic gastritis to neoplasia is less well understood and probably involves other factors in addition to alcohol (Bode and Bode 1992, 1997). Over the years, scientists have documented the effects of alcohol on many of the body’s organ systems and its role in the development of a variety of medical problems, including cardiovascular diseases, liver cirrhosis, and fetal abnormalities. Alcohol use and abuse also contribute to injuries, automobile collisions, and violence.
Health News
When it comes to discussing more personal issues with doctors, it’s tempting to hide certain details. Liver damage happens in stages, so early detection and treatment is vital. Alcoholic patients have been known to reverse their conditions 3 – 6 months https://ecosoberhouse.com/ after changing their habits and receiving appropriate specialist care.
Do ultra-processed foods increase Parkinson’s risk?
- Moderate alcohol consumption may reduce symptoms of type 2 diabetes by enhancing the uptake of blood sugar by your cells.
- Similarly, in randomized trials, alcohol consumption lowers average blood sugar levels.
- Although the monkeys all responded to the first vaccine similarly, the moderate drinkers of the test group saw increased vaccine response than both the non-drinkers and heavy drinkers after the second.
- Indeed, one 2009 study published by the Medical Council on Alcohol found that drinking alcohol has links to the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection – a type of bacteria known for causing gastritis and its subsequent side effects.
Consuming alcohol in excess may cause other heart-related conditions, such as cardiomyopathy — damage to the heart muscle — or arrhythmias, which are abnormal heart rhythms. Moderate alcohol consumption has some potential benefits for the body, but these do not outweigh the risks of alcohol consumption. Researchers have identified and classified a wide variety of adverse consequences for people who drink and their families, friends, co-workers, and others they encounter (Edwards et al. 1994; Harford et al. 1991; Hilton 1991a,b).
Benefits of Drinking Alcohol in Moderation
In fact, an increased risk was observed in women consuming more than 28 drinks per week. In general, risks exceed benefits until middle age, when cardiovascular disease begins to account for an increasingly large share of the burden of disease and death. 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. This adds strong indirect evidence that alcohol itself reduces heart disease risk.
Alcohol: Benefits, Risks, and How Much Is Too Much?
- A drink or two a few times a week may make you less likely to get Alzheimer’s disease.
- More information about alcohol and cancer risk is available in the Surgeon General’s advisory.
- Moderate drinkers who have two copies of the gene for the slow-acting enzyme are at much lower risk for cardiovascular disease than moderate drinkers who have two genes for the fast-acting enzyme.
- When it comes to drinking alcohol and expecting a health benefit, moderation is the key.
He noted that people of Chinese and Indian descent benefits of alcohol do not benefit from drinking alcohol due to a genetic reason that isn’t fully understood. Many people participate in “dry January” and take the month off from drinking alcohol to reset after the holiday season. Many experts respect the complexity of the science, but warn against viewing drinking alcohol as a categorically healthy habit.
- Specifically deaths from liver cirrhosis deaths in Scotland compared with England and Wales, which had no minimum unit price.
- In fact, health experts say there isn’t a safe level of drinking alcohol, as alcohol use is the seventh leading risk factor for deaths globally, according to a landmark August 2018 study in The Lancet.
- The study reported that postmenopausal women who had two drinks per day saw their bone density increase up to 8.3 percent!
- Research on mice shows that consuming the agave tequila plant can increase calcium absorption and improve bone health.
Studies suggest that light and moderate consumption of alcohol may cut the risk of premature death — especially in Western societies (66, 67). It is a broad category of diseases, the most common of which are coronary heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. In fact — while drinking beer regularly may cause an increase in waist circumference — the well-known “beer belly” — wine consumption may have the opposite effect (31, 35, 36). In worst-case scenarios, severe alcohol-induced brain damage may impair people’s ability to lead an independent life.
Decrease in blood clotting
The most pronounced overall effect was observed in established market economies. The researchers found the smallest effect of alcohol in Alcoholics Anonymous the Middle Eastern crescent, which is not surprising given the region’s high proportion of abstinent Islamic populations (Murray and Lopez 1997a). When it comes to alcohol, if you don’t drink, don’t start for health reasons. In the United States, people younger than age 21 are not legally able to drink alcohol. If you tend to drink excessively or notice that alcohol causes problems in your life, you should avoid it as much as possible. 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).