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Some effects of alcohol on your body
When enjoyed in moderation, alcohol can form part of a healthy lifestyle that includes good diet and exercise. On the other hand, excessive drinking can have harmful effects on your health. Many Australians enjoy having a drink, but not a lot of people realise how alcohol can affect their physical health.
You can find out more from our alcohol and your health tool:
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on your body
BrainSkinStomachLiverHeartPancreasBowelImmune SystemBreastsPregnancyKidneysReproductive SystemThe effects of alcohol
on your body
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Male
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Female
Your skin
Alcohol dehydrates your body including skin - our largest organ. Over time, drinking heavily can have other, more permanent and detrimental effects on your skin.
Your Skin
Alcohol dehydrates your body including skin - our largest organ. Over time, drinking heavily can have other, more permanent and detrimental effects on your skin.
Your Heart
Long-term and excessive drinking can increase your risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, weakening of the heart muscle and heart failure.
Your Breasts
Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women. Studies indicate a relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of developing breast cancer.
Of course, drinking alcohol does not mean you will automatically get breast cancer, but it does mean your risk of developing it will be increased. How much you drink over your lifetime is what increases the risk, therefore, you should stick to the Australian Government’s national drinking guidelines.
The guidelines also advise that for women who are breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is safest for their baby.
Your Pancreas
Continuous and excessive drinking can lead to pancreatitis. This can lead to permanent pancreatic damage and increases the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Your Bowel
Alcohol may cause bowel irritation and may trigger symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Excessive drinking can increase the risk of colon cancer.
Your Immune System
Alcohol can suppress the immune system, particularly in long-term or excessive drinkers, making you susceptible to illness.
Your Brain
Alcohol slows down the central nervous system which, in turn, impacts almost all of the body’s cells and systems. Alcohol misuse may cause alcohol-related brain impairment or brain injury.
Your Stomach
Alcohol may irritate the stomach lining which can bring on nausea, vomiting and sometimes diarrhoea. Long-term, excessive drinking has been associated with increased risk of upper gastrointestinal cancer including stomach cancer.
Your Liver
Regularly drinking to excess may result in a fatty liver which can affect this organ’s important function.
Continued excessive drinking may result in the liver becoming inflamed, causing alcoholic hepatitis or permanent liver scarring (cirrhosis) and subsequent liver cancer.
Your Kidneys
Alcohol has a diuretic effect which means it tends to make you pass more urine. Drinking to excess can cause a substantial increase in urine flow and lead to excessive losses of body fluid and marked dehydration.
Your Reproductive System
Drinking alcohol can decrease sex drive and performance. Alcohol can also reduce the amount of testosterone in the blood with heavy consumption of alcohol increasing risk of male fertility problems.
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can affect a woman’s menstrual cycle and ovulation. This may make it difficult to conceive a healthy baby.
To prevent harm from alcohol to their unborn child, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol. For women who are breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is safest for their baby.
Prenatal alcohol exposure can cause Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). This is a term used to describe a range of conditions that result from brain damage caused by alcohol exposure before birth. Other effects of alcohol exposure during pregnancy can include miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth and low birth rate.
Pregnancy
Prenatal alcohol exposure can cause Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). This is a term used to describe a range of conditions that result from brain damage caused by alcohol exposure before birth. Other effects of alcohol exposure during pregnancy can include miscarriage, still birth, premature birth and low birth weight.
To prevent harm from alcohol to their unborn child, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol.