The Internet is full of stories about people who’ve altered beyond recognition after giving up their bad habits. But what happens if one does the opposite? How would your health and appearance change if you decided to do something harmful on a regular basis?
Find out what happens if you drink a glass of beer every day.
which shows what happens to the body after drinking Coke, but a new one that has caught our attention is the effects beer has on the body 24 hours after consuming it.
but have you ever thought what that one or two beers at after-work drinks are doing to you?
which created the imagery, just 5 minutes after a beer, its alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream and immediately begins to affect your brain and muscles.
your body tries to deal with what it sees as a “poison”, trying to get rid of it as quickly as possible.
Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways and can affect the way the brain looks and works. These disruptions can change mood and behavior, and make it harder to think clearly and move with coordination.
Drinking a lot over a long time or too much on a single occasion can damage the heart, causing problems including:
Cardiomyopathy – Stretching and drooping of heart muscle
Arrhythmias – Irregular heart beat
Stroke
High blood pressure
According to a study published in the journal Hypertension, 38 ounces of beer or 13 ounces of wine increased participants’ blood pressure by an average of 2.4 mmHg. Another study at the University of Bristol found that individuals who drink on a regular basis have a blood pressure around 7 mmHg higher than people who do not drink. To keep your blood pressure in check, follow the American Heart Association’s recommendation of no more than to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.
Heavy drinking takes a toll on the liver and can lead to a variety of problems and liver inflammations including:
Steatosis, or fatty liver
Alcoholic hepatitis
Fibrosis
Cirrhosis
Alcohol causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that can eventually lead to pancreatitis, a dangerous inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels in the pancreas that prevents proper digestion.
Drinking too much alcohol can increase your risk of developing certain cancers, including cancers of the:
Mouth
Esophagus
Throat
Liver
Breast
Just one 12-ounce beer has about 150 calories, and fruity cocktails are loaded with sugar. If you’re drinking regularly, those empty calories can cause you to start piling on the pounds without even realizing it. “Of course, everyone’s body reacts differently to alcohol,” says Wesley Delbridge, RD, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. But one thing applies to everybody: “Once alcohol is introduced, our body wants to process it right away. It shuts down every other system to process that alcohol.” This can have a negative effect on your metabolism.
Believe it or not, excessive amounts of alcohol can negatively impact your cholesterol just like fat and salt, increasing your risk of developing heart disease. In a 2011 study at the University of Rochester Medical Center, scientists found that levels of LDL or "bad" cholesterol rose 20 percent in mice who spent a weekend binge drinking, compared to mice that consumed no alcohol. The CDC estimates that nearly 15 percent of Americans binge drink (consuming seven drinks a day) twice a week. "People need to consider not only how much alcohol they drink, but the way in which they are drinking it," said lead study author John Cullen, Ph.D., research associate professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
“A lot of people will say that alcohol puts them to sleep. Technically that’s true, you’re going to sleep, but that sleep is not as deep or effective,” Delbridge says. A recent study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research found that drinking before bed increased the kind of brain waves that usually occur when you’re awake but resting—meaning you’re getting a disrupted, not restful, night’s sleep. Even though you may have difficulty falling asleep at first, cutting your alcoholic beverage at dinner will help you wake up feeling rested and rejuvenated.
Regular consumption of alcohol could have detrimental effects on your workout routine because when you drink, “your body isn’t picking up the vital vitamins and minerals it needs,” Delbridge says. With your body preoccupied with digesting and absorbing the alcohol from last night, you might not be building the lean muscles you’re aiming for at the gym.
Let’s be honest: Your taste for fine wine or scotch on the rocks can be an expensive hobby. Start drinking less and your bank account will thank you.
