“A healthy lifestyle not only changes your body; it changes your mind, your attitude, and your mood.” ― Anonymous.

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So, many people drink in our culture. Not only is alcohol legal, but it’s a regular part of our celebrations and rituals. Weddings, parties, special holiday dinners, girls’ nights, Super Bowl Sunday — they all often include alcohol. It’s so unusual for a get-together to be dry that guests are usually warned if that’s going to be the case.

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Since alcohol is so firmly embedded in our culture, it’s often seen as this benign substance where the only negative about it might be a hangover. And most people feel good directly after consuming it, so it’s even harder to see how it could be harmful. Yet alcohol is harmful to almost every system in our bodies. Learning how it impacts our health is essential to cutting back; health can be a strong motivator. Knowledge is power!

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We’ll discuss each body system in depth in the coming weeks, but today, we’ll provide an overview of alcohol’s health consequences on several human organs and systems.

The Cardiovascular System 

Our cardiovascular system consists of our heart and blood vessels. Alcohol use contributes to high blood pressure, high triglycerides, cardiomyopathy (weak heart muscle), premature aging of arteries, rhythm disturbances, and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. In 2016, the World Health Organization reported that alcohol-related cardiovascular diseases caused 593,000 deaths globally.

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Liver

A healthy liver filters toxins out of the bloodstream. It also breaks down fats into useful components, stores glucose as glycogen, and makes proteins that circulate in the bloodstream. Drinking alcohol requires the liver to work in overdrive to remove the alcohol — a toxin — from our systems. Drinking alcohol overwhelms the liver, preventing it from processing other toxins or breaking down fat. This leads to fatty liver, liver inflammation, cirrhosis, jaundice, and liver cancer or failure.

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Pancreas

Our pancreas regulates blood sugar and aids with digestion. Alcohol use can lead to pancreatitis, a painful inflammation of the pancreas. Loss of pancreatic enzymes results in weight loss, nausea and vomiting, and severe abdominal pain. Prolonged pancreatitis can develop into pancreatic failure, malabsorption, and diabetes.

Cellular Metabolism

The body cannot store alcohol as we store fat, protein, and carbohydrates. After the liver metabolizes alcohol, our cellular metabolisms must prioritize eliminating that alcohol, leading to decreased utilization of other nutrients. Alcohol is often delivered in sugary beverages; this sugar is then stored as fat while our metabolisms are busy processing the alcohol instead.

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Brain Atrophy

With heavy or prolonged use, alcohol can cause the structures in our brains to atrophy or shrink. The prefrontal cortex is particularly at risk. This is why chronic alcohol users’ judgment, mobility, decision-making, personality, and memory suffer.

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Immune System

Alcohol can impact our immune systems by destroying healthy gut microorganisms that promote natural immunity. Immune cells in the lungs also have impaired function, which is why those who chronically use alcohol have more significant risks for pneumonia and other lung infections.

Cancer Risk

Alcohol increases the risk of many different kinds of cancer. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services categorizes alcohol as a carcinogen, a substance capable of causing cancer, particularly cancers of the head and neck, esophagus, colon, liver, and breasts.

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Why This Matters

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When we better understand how alcohol impacts our bodies, we gain the power to make healthy decisions for ourselves. This article is just a quick overview of how alcohol affects our bodies; there are very few bodily systems that escape alcohol’s effects. In a society that expects and promotes alcohol use, we all deserve to have informed consent and thoroughly understand what we are consuming.

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We now have a snapshot of what alcohol can do to our bodies. But don’t stress — many of these physical issues are reversible when we cut back on alcohol for a sustained period. Our bodies can and will heal from the inside out. In fact, by now, your body is already well on its way to healing!