The truth is that the health effects of alcohol vary between individuals and may depend on the amount and type of alcohol consumed. I have seen the terrible toll of alcohol use disorder and know the risks. In 2012, results of a study of swine with high cholesterol levels suggested that moderate consumption of both vodka and wine may reduce cardiovascular risk, with wine offering greater protection. If you choose to drink, having only a moderate (limited) amount can lower your risk for health problems caused by drinking. Some people shouldn’t drink at all, like people younger than 21 years, people who are pregnant or might be pregnant, and people with certain health conditions.
Alcohol levels
Numerous factors can predispose people to problematic drinking, such as family history, social environment, mental health and genetics. Some people become addicted to the effects of alcohol, a condition known as alcohol dependence or alcoholism. Many people facing anxiety and depression drink intentionally to reduce stress and improve mood.
Moderate drinking – and how to keep it that way
However, these studies were very limited, and no confirmed conclusion has been reached on the link between menstruation and alcohol absorption. Use these tips to talk with someone about cutting back or quitting drinking. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance plans must cover alcohol misuse screening and counseling.
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Consuming too much alcohol for too long can be damaging to health. While alcohol does not pose a risk to health on its own, abusing can lead to liver disease and other fatal conditions. Decide how many days a week you’ll drink and how much you’ll drink on those days. It’s also a good idea to have some days when you don’t drink at all. Certain health problems — like depression or anxiety, sleep problems, and chronic pain — can put you at a higher risk for alcohol use disorder. In the U.S., 1 drink is usually considered to be 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1½ ounces of spirits (hard liquor such as gin or whiskey).
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- Overall, obesity is a multi-factorial condition and it is difficult to truly assess the independent influence of alcohol intake on obesity risk.
- The results of several studies propose that alcohol may influence energy intake by inhibiting the effects of leptin, or glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) 56, 57.
- Oxidation of alcohol via the MEOS produces less ATP than oxidation via alcohol dehydrogenase, using the energy from alcohol intake primarily to enhance heat production 37, 54.
- Getting extra folate may cancel out this alcohol-related increase.
- The benefits of moderate drinking aren’t limited to the heart.
- Be sure to ask your healthcare professional about what’s right for your health and safety.
- When trying to moderate alcohol intake over the course of an evening or a week, it helps to know how much alcohol is in each drink you consume.
“Moderate consumption” is limited to one to two alcoholic drinks per day for healthy men and one alcoholic drink per day for healthy women. One drink is equivalent to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, how to drink moderately or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits. One reason that might explain the link between moderate drinking and lower mortality risk seen in some studies, the authors said, is that light and moderate drinkers tend to be healthier than abstainers.
Risks of heavy alcohol use
It has also been suggested that some of the energy ingested as alcohol is ‘wasted’, due to the activation of the inefficient hepatic microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system (MEOS). The MEOS is induced through chronic alcohol intake, and the level of induction increases with increased intake 54, 67. Oxidation of alcohol via the MEOS produces less ATP than oxidation via alcohol dehydrogenase, using the energy from alcohol intake primarily to enhance heat production 37, 54. The extent to which wasted energy from regular alcohol consumption contributes to weight gain prevention is unclear. These risks seem to cancel out evidence of alcohol’s cardiovascular benefits, which was weakened anyway when researchers did more nuanced studies. The heart-protective theory was based on the finding that moderate drinkers had better cardiovascular health than both nondrinkers (by a little bit) and heavy drinkers (by a lot).
Future research must consider the other important factors that may influence the link between alcohol and obesity, some of which are discussed below. Another important confounding factor to be considered is physical activity level. Furthermore, beer and spirit drinkers appear to have poorer dietary habits in general than wine drinkers 3•.
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Limit milk/dairy (1-2 servings/day) and juice (1 small glass/day). By Buddy TBuddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website.
It’s produced by yeasts that digest sugar in certain carb-rich foods, such as grapes — used to make wine — or grains — used to make beer. The main psychoactive ingredient in alcoholic beverages is ethanol. One standard drink in the U.S. contains around 14 grams of pure alcohol. This information on drinking in moderation was adapted from materials from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. If you don’t have insurance, you may still be able to get free or low-cost help for alcohol misuse.
- While consuming alcohol in moderation appears to have some benefits, it is important to remember that too much can be devastating for overall health and even life-threatening in the long run.
- Thus, accounting for both sides of the energy balance equation (intake, expenditure and lifestyle habits) is crucial to evaluate adequately the association between alcohol intake and obesity.
- However, the preponderance of the evidence taken as a whole suggests that alcohol may be a risk factor for obesity in some individuals, especially when consumed in large quantities.
- For example, light to moderate drinking is linked to reduced weight gain, whereas heavy drinking is linked to increased weight gain (32, 33, 34).
- This adds strong indirect evidence that alcohol itself reduces heart disease risk.
Thus, accounting for both sides of the energy balance equation (intake, expenditure and lifestyle habits) is crucial to evaluate adequately the association between alcohol intake and obesity. In summarizing the recent literature it appears that light-to-moderate alcohol intake is less likely to be a risk factor for obesity than heavy drinking. Heavy drinking and binge drinking have been more consistently linked with adiposity. However, a clear cause-and-effect association between alcohol intake and weight gain is not apparent based on the mixed and conflicting available evidence on the topic. Given that both excessive alcohol intake and obesity are of public health concern, a better understanding of the association between alcohol consumption and excess body weight is warranted. According to Harvard’s Professor of Medicine Dr. Eric Rimm, ScD, studies purporting to prove any alcohol consumption increases risks for dementia and other diseases are problematic.