"Would you like to order a drink with that?" If you are over the age of 21, you have likely enjoyed an alcoholic beverage with a meal or socially. While alcohol is legal and accepted to over the age of 21, it still can be harmful to a person’s health. Drinking too much can cause health issues, or it even can lead to death. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths from 2006-2010. For youth under the age of 21, 4,300 die annually from alcohol use.
Risks from Alcohol Use
Health related risks with excessive alcohol use can include sustaining injuries from motor vehicle injuries, falling, drowning, chronic disease, and some cancers. Additionally, alcohol affects the brain, heart, liver, pancreas and the immune system.
- Brain: affected with a change in mood, behavior, difficulty with thinking clear and coordination issues.
- Heart: over time, a person can develop an enlarged heart that does not pump as effectively, irregular heart rhythm, high blood pressure or suffer a stroke.
- Liver: this organ becomes fatty by developing alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis or cirrhosis, which makes the liver not function properly and leads to many other health problems.
- Immune system: excessive alcohol use weakens the immune system, making one more susceptible to illness and infections.
- Cancer: cancers of the mouth, esophagus, throat, liver, and breast have a higher risk of development with excess alcohol use.
Alcohol in Moderation
Even though some studies show that moderate amounts of alcohol consumption can be helpful for the heart, there are known harmful effects of consuming a moderate amount, so it is important to know what "moderate" is. The amount that is considered moderate for a man is no more than two drinks per day, and for women no more than one drink per day. There is no safe amount of alcohol for pregnant women, persons who are underage (less than 21 years old) or for those who have medical conditions/medications that require a person to abstain from alcohol use.
One drink is considered:
• 12 ounces of beer
• 8 ounces of malt liquor
• 5 ounces of wine
• 1.5 ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits or liquor
Alcohol-Free Weekend
The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence promotes an Alcohol-Free Weekend, April 3-5, 2015. Learn the risks associated with alcohol use, and if you are 21 or over and drink, please drink responsibly. If you are under 21, pregnant or at a medical risk, please don’t drink.
Regardless if you drink or not, please support those around you. Sometimes people drink more than they realize. If there is a concern on how much is consumed, help them keep track and set drinking limits. If there are health concerns, have them get checked by a primary care provider. Not drinking alcohol is best, but if a person wants to drink, remember, moderation is best.
ATI Active Care is a walk-in clinic, located in Waukesha, WI, that provides immediate care for non-emergency acute conditions, physicals, health screenings, preventive health and wellness programs. For more information contact BobbieJo Paul at bobbiejopaul@activatehealthcare.com or call (262) 574-2711.