Long term effects of alcohol on the body

If we only ever drank it once or twice in a lifetime, alcohol would probably do us no significant harm.

Most of us who do drink, however, do it a lot more often than that!

When it comes to our health, it's the effect of drinking regularly over months, years and decades that causes most harm.

What's your poison?
Is there a safe limit?
Liver health and alcohol
What else can go wrong if I drink too much for too long?
Cancer
Mental health problems
Heart disease
Stroke
Changes in physical appearance
Diabetes
Sexual health problems
Man breasts
Pancreatitis
Memory problems

What's your poison?

It doesn't matter whether you take it in cocktails, beer, wine, cider or lager, it's the alcohol that counts. Alcohol affects all kinds of cells in the body, causing changes in some and stopping others from working properly. As with most 'poisons', the more you take, the worse the effects are.

Find out more about the alcoholic content of drinks in our section on what's in a drink.

Is there a safe limit?

The medical folks are agreed – there is no completely 'safe' limit for alcohol. Drinking even small amounts carries risks to health. However, it's broadly accepted that the risks are low if you drink sensibly.

Liver health and alcohol – it's all about . . . timing

Our livers make a special substance that breaks down alcohol and burns it as fuel. But alcohol exhausts the liver's ability to do this and too much too often can damage it permanently. Given a chance, the liver can repair a lot of damage. This is why it's important to drink sensibly and have non-drinking days as well as not drinking too much at any one time.

What else can go wrong if I drink too much for too long?

The list is as long as your arm already and researchers around the world discover new things about alcohol's effects all the time. We've narrowed it down to the things we're certain about. Pick up a paper tomorrow, however, and we're sure you'll find more bad news to add to the list!

Cancer

After smoking, drinking alcohol is the second biggest risk factor for cancers of the mouth and throat. Drinking and smoking together carries the highest risk of all. People who develop cirrhosis of the liver (often caused by too much drink) can develop liver cancer. Women who drink more than three drinks a day increase their risk of breast cancer.

Mental health problems

There is a link between drinking too much alcohol and mental health problems. Heavy long-term drinking also risks problems with memory loss. Find out more in our section on alcohol and mental health.

Heart disease

In men over forty and women past the menopause, small amounts of alcohol (a couple of drinks a day) may reduce the risk of heart disease. For everyone else, too much alcohol is likely to cause weight gain, prevent proper exercise and be a cause of heart disease.

Stroke

Drinking more than the sensible limit dramatically increases the risk of having a stroke. A 20-year study of 6000 Scottish men found that those who drank more than 5 units a day were twice as likely to die from a stroke compared with non-drinkers.

Strokes are caused either by blood clots clogging arteries in the brain (ischaemic stroke) or by blood vessels bursting and leaking into the brain (haemorrhagic stroke). A very heavy session (more than 8 units for men, 6 for women) causes dehydration and makes the blood thicker and more likely to form clots – in the brain and elsewhere. Prolonged heavy use of alcohol also raises blood pressure and can be another cause of stroke.

Changes in physical appearance

Alcoholic drinks contain lots and lots of calories so weight gain among people who don't drink sensibly is common. Alcohol affects the circulation by expanding blood vessels. This causes thread veins, often on the face, and purple, bulbous 'drinkers nose'. Heavy drinkers usually don't eat properly and too much alcohol stops the body absorbing the nutrients it needs. This leads to poor skin and brittle hair and nails.

Diabetes

Regular heavy drinkers are often overweight and, as with all overweight people, can go on to develop diabetes. Though manageable, people with diabetes don't live as long and have to eat restricted diets and take medicines daily or inject themselves with insulin.

Sexual health problems

Too much alcohol shrinks genitals and lowers fertility. Alcohol should be avoided during pregnancy or while trying to conceive. Being drunk can loosen inhibitions and affect judgement. This can make it less likely you'll use a condom or other protection properly (or at all) and so increase the risk of getting a sexually transmitted disease. Find out more in our section on alcohol and sexual health.

Man breasts

Prolonged heavy drinking makes men's breasts get bigger! Find out why in our section on men and alcohol.

Pancreatitis

Long-term heavy drinkers can develop this painful condition. The pancreas makes insulin and other substances needed to properly digest food. If left untreated, pancreatitis causes malnutrition and can lead to diabetes. In the UK, around 500 people per year die of alcohol-related pancreatitis.

Memory problems

Not only can people fail to remember what went on during a heavy session, persistent heavy drinkers can develop memory loss problems. A dementia-like illness called Wernicke-Korsakoff's Syndrome is caused by Vitamin B1 deficiency, in turn caused by malnutrition brought on by too much alcohol over too long a period.

Next page: Alcohol and Mental Health