The Surprising Ways Alcohol Affects Your Body

 

    Most people know that too much alcohol can cause you to lose your inhibitions and make poor decisions, but did you know it can also cause you to gain weight, slow down your reaction time, or give you dry mouth? The effects of alcohol can be wide-ranging and unexpected—even life-threatening—so it’s important to be aware of what they are before you have that next drink. Here are some of the most surprising ways alcohol affects your body.

Dehydration

    It is well-known that drinking too much alcohol can cause dehydration. Symptoms of dehydration include headache, confusion, dizziness and low blood pressure. However, many people don’t realize that alcohol can increase dehydration even when you’re not intoxicated; it has a diuretic effect which draws water out of your body. That makes water consumption an important factor in avoiding dehydration from alcohol consumption: for every alcoholic drink consumed you should have 2 glasses of water to prevent getting dehydrated.

Bloating

    When we drink alcohol, our bodies convert it into acetaldehyde, a toxic chemical that is then converted into acetate. The process can cause bloating and other forms of water retention because it releases osmolytes that trigger inflammation. Many people mistakenly think they’re bloated because they’ve had too much to eat, but it’s actually your liver attempting to remove excess alcohol from your body by flushing out water molecules in a process called diuresis. The result? You wake up in the morning with more water weight than when you went to bed—it’s completely normal and totally avoidable if you stick to just one drink.

Constipation

    Alcohol can reduce the amount of water and nutrients your body takes in, which may result in constipation. As a result, you might need to increase your daily fiber intake to avoid painful cramps. Consult with your doctor about supplements that will work for you. If you're someone who suffers from constipation even when you eat healthy and drink plenty of water, consider talking to a doctor about solutions such as prune juice or Miralax. It’s also important to remember that if you find yourself suffering from symptoms after one or two alcoholic drinks, try cutting back on alcohol consumption in general until those symptoms pass. If they persist over time, it's possible that you have an underlying medical condition—or just an intolerance—that requires treatment by a physician.

Fatigue and Sleep Problems

    Going out for drinks with friends is a great way to unwind after a stressful day, but alcohol may make you drowsy in ways you don’t expect. According to researchers, consuming even one drink before bed can significantly reduce your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. When we consume alcohol, our body processes it slowly, so it stays in our bloodstream well into the next day (or morning). This delay results in less rapid eye movement sleep—the type of deep sleep that helps us feel refreshed when we wake up. Researchers also found that when participants consumed three drinks before going to bed, they had almost an hour less total sleep than those who didn’t drink at all.

Skin Irritation and Changes in Acne, Aging, Hairiness, etc.

    The alcohol in your body dries out skin and hair. While some people might think they look younger after a night of heavy drinking, alcohol causes pores to become enlarged, and skin blotchiness becomes more visible. Changes in your hair include loss of color, dryness or greasiness and a greater likelihood of developing dandruff and split ends. You may also notice that small blood vessels in your eyes become more noticeable when you drink. This is why you look red-faced when you've been drinking. Alcohol can even change how much you sweat, leaving you clammy rather than sweaty after a workout or workday.

Damage to Cardiovascular System (heart, blood vessels etc.)

    An estimated 2.5 million deaths per year can be attributed to harmful use of alcohol worldwide, equivalent to 5% of all global deaths [2]. Excessive alcohol consumption has been shown to increase risk for many cardiovascular conditions including high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke and cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart). This is primarily due to it causing high blood pressure and reducing levels of HDL cholesterol, a good form of cholesterol which has protective effects in our blood vessels.

Possible connection with dementia later in life

    Because it’s a toxin, alcohol is poisonous to cells. It’s unclear whether or not moderate alcohol consumption causes problems in older people or if those who drink moderately are more likely to live longer because they are generally healthier than non-drinkers. In fact, a recent study in Denmark found that heavy drinkers actually lived longer than non-drinkers. While some studies have suggested that moderate alcohol consumption can help keep dementia away, a large 2015 study found that people who drank more than three drinks per day were nearly four times as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia over 10 years compared with those who did not drink any alcohol.

Hair Loss

    Drinking alcohol can cause hair loss, according to research conducted at North Carolina State University. The study included 31 men and 44 women, most of whom were Caucasian. After drinking alcohol—either whiskey or vodka—the hair on their scalps shrunk significantly. Researchers aren't sure why alcohol causes hair loss, but they think it may be due to an increase in stress hormones such as cortisol, which encourage cells known as keratinocytes to divide and die faster than normal. Hair is made up of protein that comes from keratinocytes. Although hair grows back after dying due to stress hormones, a chronic effect like that caused by too much alcohol consumption could lead to permanent baldness over time. To lose weight safely but quickly, switch to a sugar-free diet (alcohol).

Weight Gain and Obesity

    One of alcohol’s worst effects on your body is its role in weight gain and obesity. This particular danger can be subtle at first, but over time it can lead to a host of other health problems, including increased risk for heart disease, liver disease, and certain cancers. One study found that drinking alcohol causes you to burn an extra 150 calories per day—but also found that those who don’t drink alcohol burned 200 more calories than light drinkers (and about 250 more than heavy drinkers). In addition to getting enough exercise, reducing your intake of alcohol (or cutting it out entirely) can help you lose weight and fight off associated health problems.

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