Experts said it’s possible to undo the negative effects of moderate alcohol consumption, but this would depend on the damage and the person’s unique characteristics and habits. Given the disparate findings, it’s understandable to be confused about the potential toll that moderate drinking can take on your body. That’s why we asked experts to unpack what effect, if any, your happy hour habit might have on your disease risk.
Cheers to…No Alcohol Day
- Heavy drinking is a major cause of preventable death in most countries.
- You can also make notes in your smartphone to keep track of your drinks.
- The conflicting findings stem from the particular design of alcohol studies, experts said.
- Planning ahead can help you manage situations when you might be tempted to drink too much.
- The health risks of alcohol develop because ethanol, the type of alcohol found in beverages, metabolizes into a compound called acetaldehyde, which damages DNA and other cellular components.
Decades ago, large surveys of adults began showing an association between how much alcohol someone drank and their risk of death. People who said they drank heavily had an increased risk, but those who drank nothing at all also had an increased risk compared with those who drank one or two servings of alcohol per day. Past studies may have masked the health benefits of not drinking at all. You can lower your health risks from alcohol by drinking less or not drinking at all. In this video, Dr. Bobby Lazzara explains the potential benefits of alcohol for your heart and emphasizes the importance of moderation. Consuming moderate amounts of certain types of alcohol, such as wine, has shown some benefits.
Men vs. women: Does moderate drinking differ?
The investigators reported in the journal BMC Medicine that people who drank from 2 to 7 glasses of wine per week were much less likely to be diagnosed with clinical depression. Studies have shown that females begin having alcohol-related problems at lower levels of alcohol consumption than males. In 2015, 26.9 percent of people in the United States reported binge drinking in the past month. Discover how many people with alcohol use disorder in the United States receive treatment across age groups and demographics. Find out how many people have alcohol use disorder in the United States across age groups and demographics. Talk with your doctor right away if you have signs of alcohol use disorder — even if you don’t think they’re causing any problems in your life.
There are many studies that discuss the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines moderate drinking as up to two alcoholic drinks for men and one for women in any single day. Nissen said he’s “willing to accept” that moderate drinking has the “potential for a small benefit for heart health” but that drinking’s potential health risks outweigh any possible good. When taken together, the new reports implicate moderate drinking with a higher risk of breast, esophageal, and oral cancer, but an advisory from the Surgeon General outlines even more dire outcomes. The health risks of alcohol develop because ethanol, the type of alcohol found in beverages, metabolizes into a compound called acetaldehyde, which damages DNA and other cellular components.
Heavy drinking is a major cause of preventable death in most countries. In the U.S., alcohol is implicated in about half of fatal traffic accidents. 1 Heavy drinking can damage the liver and heart, harm an unborn child, increase the chances of developing breast and some other cancers, contribute to depression and violence, and interfere with relationships.
Understanding alcohol use
Different drinks have different amounts of calories, too. These calories add up — and getting more calories than you need can make it harder to stay at a healthy weight. For example, a 12-ounce bottle of beer has about 150 calories. Keep in mind that the size of the drink and the percent of alcohol makes a difference. For example, many beers are about 5 percent alcohol, but some have higher percentages of alcohol. And some beers are sold in larger sizes than the standard 12 ounces.
Can a binge drinker moderate alcohol consumption?
While the idea of abstaining completely may feel daunting, there’s a growing cultural shift toward mindful drinking, or not drinking. Younger generations are drinking less and non-alcoholic beverages are becoming more popular. Ultimately, clinicians like Stafford and Humphreys said they hope people who decide to drink alcohol do it consciously, armed with knowledge about its risks. Surgeon General’s Advisory reported that among 100 women who have less than one drink per week, about 17 will develop an alcohol-related cancer.
There may be a more significant difference between people who drink moderately and those who don’t drink at all. In a study published in 2013, researchers compared the cancer risk of people who consume no more than one daily drink to those who drink nothing. They found that compared to people who abstained, daily drinkers had a 5%, 30%, and 17% higher risk of breast cancer, oral cavity and pharynx cancers, and esophageal cancer, respectively.
Cardiovascular Disease
- In a study published in 2013, researchers compared the cancer risk of people who consume no more than one daily drink to those who drink nothing.
- Learn how many people ages 12 to 20 engage in underage alcohol misuse in the United States and the impact it has.
- Talk with a doctor or nurse if you’re having a hard time cutting back on your drinking.
- Even in people who are not struggling with alcohol use disorder, drinking alcohol can affect other psychiatric conditions.
Getting extra folate may cancel out this alcohol-related increase. 18 An earlier study suggested that getting 600 micrograms a day of folate could counteract the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on breast cancer risk. 17 There was no association with folate and increased breast cancer risk among women who drank low or no alcohol daily. Moderate drinking is typically defined by public health agencies as up to one alcoholic drink per day for women and up to two for men.
So, Does Moderate Drinking Really Increase the Risk of Cancer?
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. 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. Hormonal factors may also play a role in making women more susceptible to the effects of alcohol. Studies have found that with the same amount of drink, blood alcohol concentrations are at their highest just before menstruation and at their lowest on the first day after menstruation. Find up-to-date statistics on lifetime drinking, past-year drinking, past-month drinking, binge drinking, heavy alcohol use, and high-intensity drinking. One condition that Schatz noted can be reversed is fatty liver disease—as long as you’re also exercising and eating well in addition to laying off the alcohol.
Alcohol Facts and Statistics
Learn more about the effects of alcohol use on men’s and women’s health. More information about alcohol and cancer risk is available in the Surgeon General’s advisory. One standard drink in the U.S. contains around 14 grams of pure alcohol. According to the Office of Alcohol and Drug Education at the University of Notre Dame, IN, a woman’s body absorbs 30 percent more alcohol than a man’s after drinking the same amount. Learn more about the financial impact of alcohol misuse in the United States. Discover the impact alcohol has facts about moderate drinking on children living with a parent or caregiver with alcohol use disorder.
Among 100 women who have one drink a day, 19 will, and among 100 women who have two drinks a day, about 22 will. A 2024 report from the American Association for Cancer Research concluded that more than 5% of all cancers in the U.S. are attributable to alcohol use. The more alcohol consumed, the greater the risk of cancer, but the risks start with any alcohol consumption.
Research on the topic is sparse to begin with, and studies that do exist are observational, as mentioned, so they don’t provide the highest-quality data. For a concrete cause and effect to be established, the research must be the gold standard randomized clinical trial. 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.
However, these studies were very limited, and no confirmed conclusion has been reached on the link between menstruation and alcohol absorption. Explore statistics on alcohol-related deaths and emergency visits in the United States. However, it’s important to keep in mind that naltrexone will not prevent you from becoming inebriated or drunk from alcohol. Just because you can’t feel the typical “high” from alcohol while taking naltrexone, it does not mean you should drive or perform other dangerous activities while under the influence of alcohol. “Doing it once in a while is very different from drinking regularly,” Kovacs said. “Without that, you’re going to have all these contradictory studies coming out,” Nissen said.
