By Emma Black
Evidence-based insights into alcohol consumption and its effects on the body. Excessive alcohol consumption, whether occasional or chronic, can severely impact your health. Alcohol affects not only the liver but also the brain, gut, pancreas, lungs, cardiovascular system, immune system, and more. Current research highlights health risks even at low levels of alcohol consumption, regardless of the type of beverage. Continue reading to understand how alcohol impacts various systems in the body.
Alcohol disrupts the brain’s communication pathways, altering its structure and function. These changes can affect mood, behavior, cognitive clarity, and coordination. Alcohol consumption also increases the risk of stroke. For further details, visit NIAAA’s topic page on Alcohol and The Brain.
Beyond the brain, alcohol impacts the peripheral nervous system, which includes nerves outside the brain and spinal cord. Chronic alcohol misuse is linked to peripheral neuropathy, common in severe alcohol use disorder (AUD), causing numbness in the arms and legs, painful burning sensations in the feet, heart arrhythmias, orthostatic hypotension (a drop in blood pressure with position changes), diarrhea, and erectile dysfunction.
Heavy alcohol use disrupts the endocrine system, which regulates hormones essential for bodily stability. These disruptions can lead to conditions such as thyroid diseases, dyslipidemia (abnormal cholesterol levels), reproductive dysfunction, stress intolerance, and diabetes. Alcohol may also delay or disrupt puberty. In individuals with diabetes, alcohol can impair blood glucose control, exacerbating cardiovascular and neurological complications. Heavy drinking may also increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by contributing to weight gain, elevated blood triglycerides, high blood pressure, and reduced insulin sensitivity.
Alcohol consumption can lead to a ‘leaky gut,’ allowing toxins to enter the bloodstream, altering gut microbiota, and increasing the risk of colorectal cancer. It can damage the gastrointestinal (GI) tract’s epithelial lining, promote inflammation, and cause GI bleeding. Alcohol is also linked to gastroesophageal reflux disease and heightened risks of esophageal and oral cavity cancers. See the Cancer section for more details.
Chronic heavy drinking weakens the heart muscle, leading to cardiomyopathy, high blood pressure, arrhythmias, or increased heart rate. It raises the risk of ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction (heart attack). Even low levels of alcohol consumption may pose risks. Heavy alcohol use can also cause blood deficiencies, including anemia (low red blood cells), leukopenia (low white blood cells), thrombocytopenia (low platelets), and macrocytosis (enlarged red blood cells).
Excessive alcohol weakens the immune system, increasing susceptibility to disease. Heavy drinking, even on a single occasion, can impair the body’s ability to fight infections for up to 24 hours. Both acute and chronic alcohol use disrupts immune responses, hindering infection defense, tissue repair, and contributing to organ damage. Alcohol-related behaviors also increase the risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV, accelerate HIV progression, and heighten susceptibility to organ damage and coinfections.
Heavy alcohol consumption damages the liver, leading to conditions such as, Alcohol-associated steatosis, Alcohol-associated steatohepatitis, Alcohol-associated hepatitis, Alcohol-associated fibrosis, Alcohol-associated cirrhosis, Hepatocellular carcinoma
Alcohol misuse increases the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome, bacterial pneumonia, and respiratory syncytial virus infections. Frequent drinkers are more susceptible to diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis compared to those who drink moderately or not at all.
Alcohol increases the risk of myopathy (muscle wasting) and fractures. Even low alcohol intake heightens the likelihood of recurrent gout attacks. Alcohol also impairs bone fracture repair and reduces bone density.
Chronic alcohol misuse can lead to pancreatitis, a painful inflammation of the pancreas that impairs digestion and blood sugar regulation. Acute pancreatitis can develop into chronic pancreatitis, a risk factor for pancreatic cancer and diabetes.
The National Cancer Institute states that alcohol consumption is a known human carcinogen, with increased risks tied to higher and regular intake. Even moderate drinking (one drink per day) or binge drinking (4+ drinks for women, 5+ for men in one sitting) slightly elevates cancer risk. Specific cancers linked to alcohol include:
Head and neck cancers (oral cavity, pharynx, larynx), Esophageal cancer, particularly squamous cell carcinoma (with higher risks in those with alcohol-metabolizing enzyme deficiencies), Liver cancer, Breast cancer (even one drink per day increases risk by 5-15% compared to non-drinkers), Colorectal cancer For more details, visit the National Cancer Institute’s webpage on Alcohol and Cancer Risk (last accessed June 6, 2024).
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Friday,8th August 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
