The Dangers of Low to Moderate Chronic Drinking

Think having a few drinks once a week won’t harm your health? Researchers say, think again. 

What You’ll Discover:

• Why quantity doesn’t equate to chronic drinking.
• The dangers associated with chronic drinking even with minimal consumption.
• What you can do to curb chronic drinking and its health risks.

As you pull up to the bi-weekly happy hour mixer you regularly attend, you’re looking forward to relaxing and having a few drinks with some friends who are also regular attendees. It’s also a great opportunity to meet a few new professionals that could possibly enhance your career. It’s an all-around positive experience.

Or at least, that’s what you think. In actuality, those 2-3 drinks that you plan to have while mingling and talking business are having an effect on your brain and body. Three drinks every other week may not seem like all that much. After all, it’s well under the benchmark for what’s considered heavy drinking or binge drinking. But in actuality, more recent research into the effects of alcohol have shown that even low to moderate drinking can have a negative effect on our health. 

It may be time to trade those happy hour beers or glasses of wine for a non-alcoholic beverage if improving your health and cognitive function is a top priority. 

Why Even a Few Drinks a Week is Now Considered Chronic Alcohol Consumption

Don’t let the current guidelines fool you into thinking that having a few drinks on a regular basis isn’t an issue. The criteria for what’s considered chronic alcohol consumption is changing. 

Many researchers, doctors and health advocates will tell you that chronic alcohol consumption is just that - it’s consuming alcohol on a regular basis regardless of the quantity. Even if you only have a few drinks once a week, if it’s done consistently that’s chronic drinking. It’s particularly harmful if the chronic drinking is done at the same time or the same event regularly. For example, a Friday afternoon happy hour that you go to every week. 

Now that you have a better idea of what chronic drinking is, let’s delve further into the potential health risks associated with regular low to moderate drinking, some of which may be very surprising. 

Low Alcohol Consumption May Be Lower Risk, But It Isn’t No-Risk

The undeniable truth is that any kind of alcohol consumption comes with risks. There are the immediate risks that come with intoxication as well as long-term adverse health risks and behavioral brain changes.

Increased Cancer Risks

This is one of the major reasons why more Americans are reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption. Literally, every adult in the country knows someone who has been diagnosed with cancer, or worse, has received the diagnosis themselves. The National Cancer Institute estimates that there will be over 2 million new cancer cases in 2025 alone. Worse still, over 618,000 will lose their battle with cancer in the same time period. 

Research has shown alcohol consumption increases the risk of many cancers, including:

• Breast
• Bowel
• Esophagus
• Mouth
• Throat

Cardiovascular Health Risks

Although cancer is a serious health risk, more Americans actually die of cardiovascular problems. Heavy drinking has very adverse effects on the cardiovascular system, but low to moderate drinking can increase risks as well. The risks include a greater chance of:

• High blood pressure
• Irregular heart rhythms
• Stroke
• Heart failure

Liver Damage

After a day or night of drinking, the liver takes a beating. That’s because alcohol is filtered by the liver, which kills liver cells. Even though the liver is extremely resilient, over time as a person consumes more the damage adds up. 

The type of liver damage that can occur includes:

• Alcoholic hepatitis
• Cirrhosis of the liver
• Fatty liver
• Liver cancer

Worried alcohol consumption could be affecting your liver health? Test your liver function with a convenient at-home test.

Digestive Problems

Gut health is a big topic these days now that we’re beginning to understand the role it plays in whole-body health. Most people who suffer from hangover symptoms are all too familiar with the fact that consuming alcohol, even in small amounts, can cause gastrointestinal distress. But over the long-term is can also cause:

• Gastritis
• Stomach ulcers
• Impaired nutrient absorption
• Pancreatitis

Reproductive Problems

Many people are surprised to find that chronic drinking can cause reproductive problems. It’s now believed that the reproductive problems associated with consuming alcohol are likely due to hormonal changes that come from drinking. 

• Impotence in men
• Irregular menstruation in women
• Infertility

Brain Changes

Neuroscience is increasingly becoming more advanced. Because of that, we are gaining a better understanding of how alcohol consumption affects the brain. The impact of low to moderate chronic drinking is actually worse than once believed. Cognitive impairment is clear when a person is drinking, but the lasting impact of regular drinking is more concerning. It can cause both neurological and behavioral changes that include an increased risk of:

• Anxiety
• Dementia
• Depression
• Memory loss
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Reduced impulse control

Sleep Disturbances

Another serious issue with low to moderate alcohol consumption is that it can disturb sleep, impacting both the quantity and quality of sleep. Even if you only have 1-2 drinks it reduces sleep quality by 24%. You may fall asleep alright, but having alcohol in your system disturbs REM sleep, which is essential for restoration. You’re also more likely to wake up in the middle of the night, reducing the amount of sleep you get.

The issue of poor sleep is another health problem that’s been in the spotlight in recent years. There are far too many adverse health effects to list here, but even one night of poor sleep can have a serious impact, which means chronic low to moderate drinking is a major problem in terms of getting rest. 

The Other Undeniable Risk - Low to Moderate Chronic Alcohol Consumption Could Turn Into Heavy Drinking

The other major risk of regular alcohol consumption is that it could increase over time. You may only have a few drinks with dinner once a week now, but a year or two down the road it could become a nightly ritual. 

Not all chronic moderate or low alcohol consumption escalates into heavy drinking, but it does significantly increase the odds compared to not drinking at all or drinking infrequently. Very few heavy drinkers started out regularly consuming 7-14 alcoholic beverages a week. More often it’s a slow progression in which a person drinks more and more. 

What might be most troubling is the fact that this is by no means an exhaustive list of the risks of low to modern chronic alcohol consumption. Other issues like immune suppression and impaired social interactions are also associated with regular drinking.

If you’d like to drink less to reduce the risks above, then Naltrexone treatments could be a solution. It’s an FDA-approved medication-assisted treatment (MAT) that can help people reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption. It gives you control over your drinking habits and how much you choose to drink.

Interested in exploring Naltrexone? Then take the online Alcohol Use Assessment to find out if it’s an option for you. 

‍