5 Reasons Why Drinking Alcohol In Excess Is Bad For Your Body
You’re likely familiar with some of the most common effects of alcohol on the body. Most people know it’s bad for your liver. Most people understand that drinking affects your brain and judgment abilities.
What’s more interesting is all of the various effects most people don’t understand. Learn more about what the alcohol you consume is really affecting your body, and read through this brief summary. Here are a few reasons why drinking in excess is harmful to your body.
Drinking affects your ability to make smart decisions
After just one drink, your mind will begin relaxing its perspective on things. It doesn’t take much alcohol to begin affecting your judgment abilities, and heavy drinking can result in some regretful decisions.
One of the most common side effects of poor, drunk judgment is driving under the influence. Getting popped with a DUI isn’t something you want to deal with, as it will take quite a bit of time and money to deconstruct the problem.
Heavy drinking can cause bacteria to grow in your gut
Drinking on a regular basis can cause a type of bacteria to breed in your guts. The bacteria can reproduce to the point that it breaches the intestinal wall and finds its way into your liver. Excess bacteria buildup in your liver can eventually cause your vital organ to begin breaking down.
Too much booze can make your heart weak
Drinking large amounts of alcohol on a regular basis can cause your heart to weaken. Cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias will put you at risk of higher blood pressure and heart failure. It’s important to remember that alcohol affects every organ in your body.
Even your skin changes over time when you’re a chronic drinker. However, the same effects aren’t a bother when you drink in moderation.
Chronic drinking puts you at higher risk of cancer
Alcohol can cause cancer when you expose your body to an excess for too long. Mouth, esophagus, throat, liver, and breast cancer have all been linked to excessive alcohol intake.
Alcohol can weaken your immune system
If you are a person who drinks daily, you may have more trouble than normal with the common cold or flu. Drinking has a negative effect on the body’s immune system, making you more susceptible to infections and “bugs”.
You could develop pancreatitis
Alcohol causes excess inflammation in the body. The long term irritation of inflammation in your body can eventually cause painful swelling of your pancreas.
Pancreatitis is extremely painful and can be life-threatening. More than half of all pancreatitis patients admit to drinking heavily on a daily (or nearly daily) basis.
