With continued alcohol use, steatotic liver disease can lead to liver fibrosis. Eventually, you can develop permanent and irreversible scarring in your liver, which is called cirrhosis. You probably already know that excessive drinking can affect you in more ways than one.
The Myth of the Beer Belly
Ensure you eat a hearty meal before going out, and keep healthy snacks on hand if you get hungry. You may have heard of the term “beer belly.” Still, the belief that alcohol causes increased fat stores around the abdominal area is inaccurate. A small percentage of the calories you drink from alcohol turns into fat. Some evidence suggests that heavy drinking may cause your adrenal glands not to regulate how much cortisol they secrete.
- You probably already know that excessive drinking can affect you in more ways than one.
- But keep in mind this is exponentially increased if you’re a heavy drinker, eat bad fattening foods, and aren’t exercising.
- Drinking alcohol in moderation may help you control your urges to eat and keep you in the right mind to make better food choices.
Alcohol Can Increase Cortisol and Inflammation
If you drink every day, or almost every day, you might notice that you catch colds, flu or other illnesses more frequently than people who don’t drink. That’s because alcohol can weaken your immune system, slow healing and make your body more susceptible to infection. “Some people think of the effects of alcohol as only something to be worried about if you’re living with alcohol use disorder, which was formerly called alcoholism,” Dr. Sengupta says.
What are the other side effects of drinking alcohol?
The State of Victoria and the Department of Health shall not bear any liability for reliance by any user on the materials contained on this website. More research does alcohol make u gain weight is needed to fully understand how much alcohol may affect weight and why it may do this. The exact number of calories can vary widely by drink and serving size.
