Many people enjoy an occasional boozy indulgence. Unfortunately, our recognition of the risks related to drinking are often underestimated. Did you know that alcohol consumption is linked to multiple cancers, mental health disorders, cardiovascular disease, and overall risk of mortality? Let’s dive in.
Alcohol and its metabolite acetaldehyde are carcinogens linked to numerous cancers including breast, head and neck, melanoma, liver, prostate, gastric, and pancreatic. It is also implicated in fatty liver disease and cirrhosis. In fact, cutting back on alcohol consumption is one of the best ways to prevent fatty liver disease from transitioning to cirrhosis or hepatocellular (liver) cancer. Alcohol consumption also increases the risk of cardiac arrhythmias, heart failure, hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, depression, dementia, chronic pain and arthritis, gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), gout, and neuropathy. I cannot tell you the number of times alcohol has contributed to neuropathy in my clinic. This stuff is toxic to the body!
The impact of alcohol on human physiology also affects the way you feel and perform. First, alcohol calories are essentially “empty” calories as they hold no nutritional value. Think of every drink as an increase in adipose tissue deposition (fat), unlike when you consume calories from other nutritious sources that are converted to glycogen, a stored carbohydrate that’s good for exercise capacity. Second, alcohol inhibits the body’s ability to absorb vital nutrients including thiamine, vitamin B12, folic acid, and zinc. These essential nutrients are necessary for blood cell formation, metabolism, and immunity. This can impede muscle growth, muscle recovery, and memory via negative impacts on the hippocampus where learning and memory processing occurs. The impact of alcohol on human physiology doesn’t stop here. It also destroys your REM sleep and leads to chronic fatigue. Heavy alcohol use will impact these components the most. You aren’t functioning at peak performance if you drink alcohol.
What is a safe amount? The correct answer is none. Previous research argued that moderate use of alcohol was safe and potentially offered protective health effects. These studies were wildly flawed in controlling for co-morbid conditions and other confounding variables. However, partaking in an occasional drink with friends is not bad. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends women drink no more than 1 alcoholic beverage per day. The recommendation is no more than 2 beverages per day for men. This is not averaged over a week. This is the max recommended amount of alcoholic beverages per day. Regarding types of alcohol, red wine is arguably the “best” form of alcohol due to the antioxidant polyphenols it contains.
Now we need to understand what is classified as 1 beverage. Many of my patients incorrectly tell me they drink 1 cocktail per night but, when questioned further, are actually drinking closer to 1.5 or 2 cocktails per night based on volume of alcohol. Here is a table from the CDC to help you understand what one drink is by volume:
The first step in understanding heavy alcohol use is to define heavy drinking. It is also important to understand that you can be a heavy drinker and not have alcohol use disorder (ie. alcoholism). Alcohol use disorder is defined as heavy alcohol use plus impairment in self-control, physical dependence, social problems, and risky use like drinking and driving.
The patterns listed below are considered heavy drinking and are highly tied to alcohol use disorder and alcohol related bodily harm:
For women: 4 or more drinks on any day or 8 or more drinks per week.
For men: 5 or more drinks on any day or 15 or more drinks per week.
Before we talk about cutting back, it is important to remember that you should discuss quitting alcohol with your physician before beginning this journey; stopping alcohol consumption abruptly can be life threatening and I am not offering medical advice here. One method many people have found helpful is to have no heavy drinking days. Meaning you intentionally never drink more than 4 (women) or 5 (men) alcoholic beverages in a day. Committing to this has actually been shown to improve how heavy drinkers feel and function – it’s also used as a positive outcome in clinical trials, in addition to abstinence. Another method I have utilized to help patients cut back on alcohol is to replace alcoholic beverages with non-alcoholic beverages. I frequently recommend heavy beer drinkers replace 1 can of beer with 1 can of seltzer water. They still enjoy the fizzy burn as it goes down and you can still “crack the can.” This method will help you slowly cut back on the number of alcoholic beverages consumed per day.
Another method I recommend to heavy drinkers is to establish an accountability partner. You need to acknowledge that you have a drinking problem and ask your spouse, friend, or coworker to hold you accountable in cutting back. Tell this accountability partner your drinking limit and ask them to intermittently confirm your commitment to this journey. Alcoholics Anonymous meetings can help you locate an accountability partner and offer exceptional resources for drinkers. Another successful method to cut back is by setting a drinking limit before going to the bar. Bonus points if you tell your accountability partner this limit! Medications, such as naltrexone, disulfiram, and semaglutide, are also used in some people to curb alcohol cravings. Finally, treat alcohol like an addiction (it is!) and avoid people or places that you recognize as negative influences on your drinking patterns. If you always have 4 beers when you go to Buffalo Wild Wings, then consider getting the BDubs to-go and enjoy your Blazin’ wings at home!
Jalen Williams – a member of the OKC Thunder 2025 NBA Championship team – recently had his first beer which was widely publicized after the championship game. His response: “[It] was my first time drinking, ever… I had shots, champagne, beer: it was all disgusting. I’mma stick to Shirley temples.” You can be the champion of your life and quit drinking alcohol too!
Now, remember that everything in life is about balance. While cutting back on alcohol consumption is a sure-fire way to improve your health, it is important to remember the other components of a healthy lifestyle that I’ve discussed in previous blog posts. While many posts focus on dinner preparation, this post will break that trend and introduce you to my favorite breakfast.
I have no idea what to call this but, as many of you know, I’ll throw about anything in a bowl and see how it tastes. This is a winner.
Add boiling water to 1/2 cup of steel cut oats. Let sit in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes then fold in 1/2 cup of blueberries and 1 cup of flavored Greek yogurt (I like mixed berry). This meal has enough protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates to keep you satiated until lunch while giving you a fantastic energy and anti-oxidant boost from the blueberries.
The Healthy Life 