This Is What Being An Alcohol Lover Post 40 Does To You

Awesome as it is to be a grown up, independent and most importantly being of legal drinking age, adulthood comes with a truckload of baggage. Like Uncle Ben once said, “with great powers comes great responsibility”.

One has to be responsible because the ‘drinking age’ comes with the tiny conditions applied asterisk above it. And this study just goes ahead to prove that.

YouGov recently conducted a survey in Britain and found that alcohol has adverse effects on the mind and body.

Affected Age Groups

The study reveals that the age groups at the highest risk of alcohol’s ill effects are women over the age of 40 and people over the age of 65. These age groups were also found to be consuming the most amount of the spirit. In case of the former, over 28% drinking more than their kids!

Although, a Danish study published recently states that Alzheimer’s patients who consumed two to three drinks daily had a 77% lower risk of death than those than those that drank less or nothing.

“Alcohol affects just about every system because it’s a small molecule that goes everywhere in the body,” Paul Wallace, emeritus professor of public health at University College London and medical director of the charity Drinkaware said in a statement.

“From the gut to the heart, the blood vessels to the skin, its effects are all-pervasive”, here’s what alcohol is doing to you after 40.

1. Brain

Alcohol breaks through all nervous barriers and hits your brain nerves in the face! Stimulating at first but over time this can give you a higher tendency of anxiety and depression.

But the breather here is that the damage caused to the brain here can be undone in a time span of just 6 months! Can we drink to that?

2. Liver

There has been an alarming rise (almost 400%) in liver ailments since the 1970s. “Those at risk are not just chronic alcohol abusers, but also middle-aged professionals who drink a little too much most nights,” Dr Debbie Shawcross, consultant hepatologist at King’s College Hospital liver unit states.

The good news is that our liver has a self-healing capability so three consecutive non-drinking days a week to allow it to regenerate. Ok, we’ll drink to that day after!

3. Heart

Although a glass of Red a day keeps heart risks at bay, People who regularly binge drink – consuming double the daily limit of three to four units for a man and two to three units for a woman or more in one session – dramatically increase their risk of stroke.

4. Skin

“Alcohol causes flushing and this can trigger rosacea, a chronic redness in the skin, because the blood vessels enlarge and produce more blood flow,” says Professor Nick Lowe, consultant dermatologist and spokesman for the British Skin Foundation.

Moreover, your skin looses its natural hydration and glow when you drink too much (alcohol). The excessive sugar tends to damage collagen which in turn leads to flaky skin, puffiness and acne.

5. Fertility

According to a study, teetotal women conceived much sooner than even occasional drinkers and also had a lower risk of miscarriage.

As for men, excessive alcohol consumption lowers testosterone levels and reduces sperm quality and quantity, directly affecting their chances of having a baby.

6. Cancer

If you want to maintain a safe distance from cancer, there is no permissible quantity of drinking. Alcohol consumption is directly linked to cancer of the mouth, oesophagus, bowel, breast and throat.

7. Weight

Alcohol is high in calories content, almost as much as fat. Being a source of sugar, alcohol hikes insulin levels and pumps up fat storage by increasing fatty deposits in the liver and, in middle age, excess can lead to fat storage around the stomach a.k.a. beer belly.

Not only can it affect your weight directly, the liquid can suppress the hormone leptin, which controls appetite, which is why people can overeat when drinking.