The more alcohol you drink the greater your risk of damaging your body.
Because of this, the NHS gives advice on sensible drinking based on the known risks.
There is no guaranteed safe level of drinking, but if you drink below a certain level the risks of harm are reduced.
The risk levels of drinking are classified as:
- Lower risk drinkers: men who don't regularly drink more than three to four units and women who don't regularly drink more than two to three units of alcohol a day.
- Increasing risk drinkers: men who regularly drink more than three to four units and women who regularly drink more than two to three units of alcohol a day.
- Higher risk drinkers: men who regularly drink more than eight units a day or 50 units a week and women who regularly drink more than six units a day or 35 units a week.
'Regularly' means drinking these amounts every day or most days of the week.
Liver problems, depression, reduced fertility, high blood pressure, increased risk of various cancers and forgetfulness are some of the effects of long-term excessive drinking.
Brain
Addiction
If you feel a regular need to drink, or you drink every day, you may be addicted to alcohol or likely to become addicted. People with high alcohol tolerance are especially vulnerable to alcohol dependency.
Depression
Drinking might cheer you up for a few hours but in the long term it's more likely to make you feel depressed. Alcohol changes the chemistry of the brain, increasing the risk of depression or making depression worse.
Memory
You may not normally drink enough to have a complete memory blackout, but alcohol, even in smaller amounts, can affect your day-to-day memory. And the more you drink, the more you forget.
Inside your body
Mouth and throat
Regularly drinking more than the recommended amount increases your risk of mouth and throat cancers between two- and fivefold. If you also smoke the risk of mouth cancer is even greater. Stopping drinking will reduce these risks.
Heart
Drinking more than the recommended levels can lead to high blood pressure and serious heart problems. For example, drinking at higher risk levels increases the chances of suffering high blood pressure two- to fourfold.
Liver
Fatty liver is the first stage of liver damage, but it is reversible. More serious conditions include alcoholic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis. In those drinking above lower risk levels the risk of liver cirrhosis is increased between two- and 13-fold (the latter figure is the risk for higher risk drinkers).
Stomach
Gastritis is a condition where the stomach lining is inflamed. The symptoms are similar to the sick, nauseated feeling and stomach pains you get from a hangover.
Fertility
Alcohol can lead to loss of erection during sex and to reduced sexual performance. Intoxication can increase the risk of an unwanted pregnancy or contracting a sexually transmitted disease. Excessive drinking also affects female fertility. Among other effects, it upsets vital hormones that affect reproductive function.
Bowel
Drinking increases your chance of developing bowel cancer.
On the outside
Skin
As alcohol is a diuretic it dehydrates your body. It can also permanently enlarge blood vessels in your skin, leading to a permanent flush, and it aggravates conditions such as rosacea and psoriasis.
Breasts
Alcohol is not the main cause of breast cancer, but drinking does increase your risk of developing it. For those drinking above lower risk levels, the risk increases 1.2- to 1.6-fold.
Waist
If you have a healthy appetite and drink above recommended lower risk levels, you’re likely to become overweight because of the extra calories in the alcohol.
