Alcohol is highly addictive due to the chemicals dopamine and endorphins, which create enjoyment and happiness and serve as a natural painkiller. However, though it seems like it gives you positivity, there are still risks of drinking alcohol.

Understanding the dangers and potential health benefits of alcohol can be complicated, which is understandable considering the lack of evidence for moderate alcohol intake in healthy adults.

It’s no secret that alcohol is bad for your health, but you might be surprised by how much it can harm your mind and body. Here are ten of the most common alcohol-related side effects.

Reasons Why you Should Avoid Alcohol

Weight Gain

When you consume alcohol in large quantities or excessively, it can harm many aspects of your body and life. One of the many health factors to bear in mind regarding drinking alcohol is weight gain 

Since alcohol contains calories, it can cause weight gain. Not only does alcohol contain calories, but many alcoholic drinks also contain additives and mixers that are high in both calories and sugar. Alcohol calories are called wasted calories, meaning they have no nutritional value.

Furthermore, alcohol increases the appetite, so you can eat more and make bad food choices as a result. When you drink, your inhibitions are likely to be weakened, so you won’t be worrying about eating nutritious foods.

More Likely to Develop Cancer

Along with tobacco use and excess body weight, alcohol is one of the most significant preventable risk factors for cancer. However, many people are unaware of the association between alcohol consumption and cancer.

The risk of developing these cancers increases with the amount of alcohol consumed, particularly over time. Cancers of the larynx, esophagus, and oral cavity have a higher chance. It is because when a person drinks alcohol, these tissues come into direct contact with it.

In addition to that, a higher risk of liver cancer has been related to long-term alcohol use. Regular, heavy alcohol intake can harm the liver, causing inflammation and scarring, contributing to liver cancer’s increased risk.

Hamper Memory and Understanding

People who just started drinking and those addicted to it already will experience inconsistency in their memory. Drinkers would have difficulties because they would be unable to remember recent events and even recognize faces. 

Finally, a high-calorie diet can lead to dementia, which is marked by memory loss. If alcohol’s effects have worn off, a few of the symptoms listed above resolve on their own. It enables the person to cope effectively. In the event of heavy drinking, the patient would be able to maintain sobriety. 

Increase the Risk of Chronic Diseases

As mentioned above, people who drink alcohol have a higher risk of developing cancer. Not only that, people can acquire other liver diseases and chronic diseases when they continue to consume alcohol.

Furthermore, the overall amount of alcohol consumed, consumption rates, and the quality of alcoholic drinks consumed are all likely to have a causal influence on chronic disease and illness. Alcohol is a risk factor for various cancers, tumors, neuropsychiatric disorders, and cardiovascular and digestive diseases.

Higher Possibility to Use Drugs

Often, alcohol and drugs are a deadly combination. There is a big chance that when a person is addicted to alcohol, they are also addicted to drugs. And we know how dangerous these two when combined. 

Furthermore, alcohol and drug abuse may begin as a minor issue and progress to more severe cases. An individual can, for example, combine slight amounts of alcohol with a drug. Their bodies become addicted to the chemicals released by each drug over time, and they crave more.

Drinking and using drugs can quickly escalate out of control, putting your health at risk for long-term consequences. Combining alcohol and other drugs can result in severe physical, mental, and health problems. Drinking and drugs can not only enhance the effects of each substance, but they can also cause harmful effects in our bodies.

Increases depression and anxiety

Although alcohol effects can have a short-term positive impact on our mood, they can be detrimental to our mental wellbeing in the long run. 

Alcohol use has been related to a variety of mental health problems, including depression and anxiety. It indicates that alcohol’s emotional effects will make you feel irritable or argumentative, potentially straining your relationships.

Chemicals and functions in the brain are in a delicate balance. Since alcohol is a depressant, it can upset the equilibrium, influencing our emotions, feelings, and behavior, as well as our long-term mental health. It is due in part to neurotransmitters, which aid in transmitting signals from one nerve to another in the brain.

Furthermore, the effect on our brain function increases as we consume more alcohol. And, regardless of our mood, increased alcohol consumption can exacerbate negative emotions, resulting in a negative impact on mental health.

Disrupt Sleeping Pattern

You probably enjoy a glass of alcohol with friends or family, but did you know that even mild alcohol consumption can disturb your sleep? 

And because alcohol is a sedative, drinkers’ sleep onset is sometimes faster, and some collapse into a deep sleep relatively soon. It can trigger an imbalance between slow-wave and REM sleep as the night goes on, resulting in less of the latter and more of the former. Overall sleep quality suffers, as a result, it shortens sleep time and more sleep disturbances.

In addition to that, people who drink before bed develop insomnia symptoms and feel overly tired the next day because alcohol decreases REM sleep and causes sleep disturbances.

Increases the risk of injuries

Drinking alcohol raises the risk of injury, which can have a detrimental impact on your life and the lives of everyone who you care about. It can lead to hospitalization and, in the worst-case scenario, death.

Alcohol-related incidents can occur when people drink too much on a single occasion. Drinking too much on one occasion will lead to a slew of issues, all of which can be avoided. Examples of such incidents are injuries, crime, burns, and falls. 

Affects Aging 

People who drink alcohol may appear to be older than they are; if you drink too much, you may appear to be 30 years old even if you are only 25. It can alter the function of specific vital organs, causing them to age more rapidly. 

Though heavy drinkers are more likely to develop cirrhosis, even moderate drinking can cause fatty liver disease issues. It can also make it more difficult for the kidneys to work properly. Furthermore, people experience wrinkles, puffiness, dryness of the skin when they start drinking alcohol.

Addiction

Alcoholism, or alcohol abuse, is one of the most well-known addictions. Since it is legal to drink alcohol, it is generally viewed as a leading cause of addiction. Since alcohol impairs brain functions, people have difficulty regulating their actions and making decisions.

Being addicted to alcohol would not help in the future. Addiction recovery is never pleasant, but anything is possible with the right encouragement, help, and attitude. You still have a chance to change; take advantage of it now.

Takeaway

No matter how you look at it, alcohol can damage your health. That is why avoiding it as much as possible is very important. If you give in to that temptation, it’s easy to say that you neglected your health for a pinch of happiness. Seek the help of a doctor if you think you are already addicted to it.