Is Any Amount of Alcohol Safe?

Understanding the Impact Alcohol Can Have on Your Body

 

Many people wonder if there are safe amounts of alcohol to consume. The truth is that even low amounts of alcohol can negatively impact your health. As described in the University Health Network (UHN) guide “Alcohol and Your Liver,” alcohol is a toxin that can be addictive. As alcohol is absorbed by your body it can affect the brain, heart, and muscles. 

The more alcohol you consume the greater detriment to your overall health. UHN notes that it is less about the type of alcohol that you are drinking and more about the amount. As little as 2 to 3 alcoholic drinks per day can directly harm your liver and that people with “any type of alcoholic liver disease” should stop drinking.

What is 1 drink equal to:

  • 12 ounces of beer
  • 5 ounces of wine
  • 3 ounces of sherry or port
  • 1 ½ ounces of liquor

UHN recommends that even with a healthy liver women should not consume more than 1 drink per day and men should not consume more than 2 alcoholic drinks per day. Again, people with any stage of alcoholic liver disease should completely abstain from alcohol.

It is not only gender that can affect the amount of alcohol that can harm your body. Height and weight may also be a key indicator, a 125 lbs woman may feel more severely impacted by 2 alcoholic drinks than a 185 lbs woman. Additionally, factors such as the types of medicine you are taking can have an adverse effect on your health when combined with alcohol. 

Read the full article “Alcohol and Your Liver.”