However, the relationship between wine and cognitive health is still controversial and uncertain, so more research is necessary to confirm this potential benefit. The contents of this website are for educational purposes and are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
- Because women tend to have less water in their bodies than men, if a woman and a man of the same weight drank the same amount of alcohol, the woman’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) would likely be higher.
- Depending on how much and how often you drink, these effects can impact your health and quality of life.
- People may need to drink a lot of red wine to get enough resveratrol to have an effect.
- It’s definitely not something you should take a chance on if you’re uncertain.
Ways to reduce risks
- On top of that, alcohol use is built into a lot of our winter holiday traditions.
- Consuming alcohol can increase a person’s risk of developing other health conditions, such as cancer.
- Now the pendulum has swung so far in the opposite direction that contemporary narratives suggest every ounce of alcohol is dangerous.
From clinking glasses for a toast to unwinding with friends after a long day, alcohol has played a central role in shaping traditions and celebrations for centuries. While it can foster connection and enhance social experiences, beneath the celebratory surface lie potential beneficial and harmful effects. Depending on how much and how often you drink, these effects can impact your health and quality of life. While red wine and white wine have similar nutrition profiles and alcohol contents, red wine has more antioxidants—the compounds responsible for most of its health benefits. This article dives is alcohol good for you into the research on drinking red wine to help you decide if the benefits outweigh the risks.
- These effects are only temporary, but chronic alcohol abuse may cause permanent changes in your brain, often leading to impaired brain function (9, 10, 11).
- “Regular or excessive alcohol consumption can lead to alcohol-related problems, including addiction, liver damage, and increased risk of certain cancers,” says Manaker.
- Longer-term, it may impair liver function, increase the risk of certain cancers and adversely affect cognitive and mental health.
- That’s still a subject of scientific research, but acetaldehyde damages DNA, and it’s irritates the epithelial cells that line blood vessels, the lungs, skin, gut, and vaginal tract, resulting in inflammation.
- And education, like wealth, seems to go hand in hand with better health.
Many health risks start with the first sip
According to the American Diabetes Association, moderate alcohol consumption may improve blood glucose management and sensitivity to insulin. Globally, the WHO European Region has the highest alcohol consumption level and the highest proportion of drinkers in the population. Here, over 200 million people in the Region are at risk of developing alcohol-attributable cancer. Recommendations for alcohol intake are usually based on the number of standard drinks per day. In fact, red wine may be linked to more health benefits than any other alcoholic beverage (75, 76, 77, 78, 79). Because your brain is very sensitive to damage, chronic alcohol abuse may increase your risk of dementia and cause brain shrinkage in middle-aged and older adults (12, 13, 14, 15).
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“Heavy drinking raises blood pressure, increases Substance abuse triglycerides, promotes inflammation and can cause arrhythmias, all of which elevate the risk of heart disease and stroke,” says Routhenstein. “Red wine has also demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects,” says Gould. A 2024 study found that drinking red wine may significantly decrease certain markers of inflammation related to atherosclerosis—plaque buildup on the artery walls. Interestingly, this was true for healthy adults but not people at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
What you drink makes a difference
Animal-model experiments and clinical observations have found wounds and broken bones to heal slower with alcohol use, Kovacs says. Her group’s studies along with other research shows that burn patients with alcohol use disorder fare worse. Alcohol also impacts the ability to recover from lung infections.
Make informed decisions about drinking
The evidence for moderate alcohol use in healthy adults is still being studied. But good evidence shows that drinking high amounts of alcohol are clearly linked to health problems. Therefore, we conducted this study to examine the effects of alcohol consumption on sleep quality and to provide recommendations for improving sleep quality. Drinking red wine in moderation may reduce the risk of some chronic diseases, =https://ecosoberhouse.com/ as discussed above, so it may help people live longer. Researchers need to complete more studies to determine the complex effects of moderate red wine intake on liver health.