4 Habits that Weaken the Immune System
Content
- Long-Term Effects of Alcohol on the Immune System
- Alcohol Addiction, or Physical and Psychological Dependence
- Alcohol Addiction Research by The Recovery Village
It makes your body release stress hormones that narrow blood vessels, so your heart has to pump harder to push blood through. One night of binge drinking can jumble the electrical signals that keep your heart’s rhythm steady. If you do it for years, you can make those heart rhythm changes permanent and cause what’s called arrhythmia. Over time, it causes heart muscles to droop and stretch, like an old rubber band.
- However, alcohol can also weaken the immune system, cause serious health conditions and make the body more vulnerable to infections and viruses.
- Learn more about the results of some large prospective cohort studies of alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease.
- Cirrhosis, on the other hand, is irreversible and likely to lead to liver failure despite abstinence from alcohol, according to Dr. Menon.
- Similarly, wine intake, especially red wine, has been identified as having a protective effect against the common coldReference Takkouche, Regueira-Mendez, Garcia-Closas, Figueiras, Gestal-Otero and Hernan29.
- But unhealthy factors, like stress, smoking, or drinking alcohol, can be taxing for your immune system and make it harder for it to fight off infection.
Some alcoholic beverages contain components that combat ethanol’s damaging effects. The ethanol in alcohol damages immune cells because it generates free radicals. Alcoholic drinks containing antioxidants may cause less damage than other drinks because they help protect against some of the free radicals in ethanol. While any alcoholic drink can have negative effects on the body, beers or wines that contain vitamins, antioxidants and polyphenols may cause less damage to the immune system than heavy liquors. In addition to pneumonia, alcohol consumption has been linked to pulmonary diseases, including tuberculosis, respiratory syncytial virus, and ARDS.
Long-Term Effects of Alcohol on the Immune System
In fact, the National Institute on Alcohol and Abuse and Alcoholism explains that one episode of drinking can cause problems. An individual who drinks small amounts of alcohol will have a suppressed immunity for a short amount of time. If you drink twice or week or less and only drink two to three drinks per occasion, your immune system may not be at a high risk of damage. If you find it challenging to limit or stop your alcohol intake, it may be time to seek help for alcohol addiction. However, women who drink more than two drinks on one occasion and men who drink more than three drinks on one occasion may experience more health complications due to their excessive alcohol consumption.
One thing that is clear from studies is that heavy alcohol consumption impairs the immune response and increases your susceptibility to bacterial and viral infections. Alcoholic cirrhosis is a devastating https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/do-you-genuinely-like-the-feeling-of-being-drunk/ consequence of continuous, excessive alcohol consumption. It is a late-stage disease of the liver that is caused by the formation of scar tissue that replaces previously healthy, functioning liver tissue.