Dangerous Side Effects of Drinking Alcohol, According to the CDC

By Ghuman

Introduction

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drinking alcohol can have serious and potentially life-threatening side effects. Alcohol is a depressant, meaning it slows down the body’s functions, including the brain. When consumed in excess, alcohol can lead to a range of physical and mental health problems, including liver disease, heart disease, cancer, and depression. It can also increase the risk of accidents, violence, and suicide. In this article, we will discuss the dangerous side effects of drinking alcohol, as outlined by the CDC.

Dangerous Side Effects of Drinking Alcohol, According to the CDC

Drinking alcohol can have serious and dangerous side effects, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC recommends that people who choose to drink alcohol do so in moderation, which is defined as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.

Short-Term Side Effects

Short-term side effects of drinking alcohol can include:

  • Impaired judgment
  • Slurred speech
  • Drowsiness
  • Vomiting
  • Headaches
  • Breathing difficulties
  • Unconsciousness
  • Altered perceptions and sensations
  • Memory problems
  • Coma

Long-Term Side Effects

Long-term side effects of drinking alcohol can include:

  • Liver disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke
  • Cancer
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Memory problems
  • Weight gain
  • Vitamin deficiencies

The CDC also warns that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause serious health problems for the baby, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol abuse, it is important to seek help. Treatment options are available and can help people recover from alcohol addiction and lead healthier lives.

Put down that tumbler and step away from the bottle. Sure, we’re possible speaking to you. Greater than half of adults in america drink alcohol, in response to the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC).

Average consumption of alcohol—one or two drinks a day for men and women, respectively—is secure; nonetheless, once you begin to exceed these suggestions, your physique will present the results.

Alcohol is a toxin in any case, so it should not be too shocking to search out that sipping on the beverage may cause some destructive repercussions.

We consulted the nation’s well being safety company, the CDC, to take a better have a look at precisely what unintended effects you must count on when consuming alcohol over a protracted time period.

Learn on, and for extra on wholesome consuming, do not miss 7 Healthiest Meals to Eat Proper Now.

Young woman having flu
iStock

Extra alcohol consumption can weaken the immune system, growing the probabilities of getting sick, in response to the CDC. Consultants suspect that organ injury, equivalent to alcoholic liver illness, noticed in individuals who drink alcohol closely is due partly attributable to alcohol-triggered autoimmunity. What this implies is that the immune system assaults the physique’s personal tissues slightly than on “invaders,” as they don’t seem to be actually there!

RELATED: Join our e-newsletter to get each day recipes and meals information in your inbox!

Depressed woman suffering from headache, lying in bed
iStock

Discuss mind drain. Once you drink an excessive amount of alcohol, one of many worst unintended effects is that you could be expertise cognitive decline and shrinkage of the mind. Moreover, the CDC says further long-term well being dangers linked to alcohol embrace studying and reminiscence issues, together with dementia and poor faculty efficiency.

Elderly caucasian sweating and fainting.
Shutterstock

Once we say elevated threat of loss of life, we’re talking by way of lifespan. Alcohol places you at a better probability of dying sooner than you’ll if it had not been for the behavior. Extreme alcohol use is chargeable for 95,000 deaths in america every year, in response to the CDC.

doctor patient
Shutterstock

Ingesting an excessive amount of alcohol raises the chance of some cancers, together with most cancers of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, and colon, in response to the CDC.

The CDC explains that once you drink alcohol, your physique breaks it down right into a chemical known as “acetaldehyde.” This compound damages your DNA and prevents your physique from repairing the injury. “DNA is the cell’s instruction handbook’ that controls a cell’s regular development and performance. When DNA is broken, a cell can start rising uncontrolled and create a most cancers tumor,” says the CDC.

The doctor examines the patient.
Shutterstock

Extra alcohol consumption has been linked to many alternative sorts of persistent well being points, like alcohol use dysfunction and liver ailments. Based on the CDC, “extreme alcohol use takes a toll on the liver and may result in fatty liver illness (steatosis), hepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis.”

Portrait Of A Mature Man Having Heart Attack
Shutterstock

“Binge consuming and heavy consuming may cause coronary heart illness, together with cardiomyopathy (illness of the center muscle), in addition to irregular heartbeat, hypertension, and stroke,” in response to the CDC. Alcohol is a stimulant, so once you drink it, it might trigger a short lived improve in coronary heart charge and blood stress. Once you put your physique via that day by day, it might result in on-going elevated coronary heart charge, hypertension, weakened coronary heart muscle, and irregular heartbeat. If you wish to deal with your coronary heart, learn extra: These Are the Two Finest Diets For Coronary heart Well being, Based on Medical doctors.