The Truth About How Alcohol Destroys Your Body
After tobacco, alcohol is the most commonly used drug in the United States. According to advanced statistics from the National Survey of drug use in 2019, 86% of American nationals aged 18 or more reported alcohol use in their life.
Alcohol gives a person a pleasant feeling, makes him happy and sociable temporarily, but its long-term use has adverse consequences on the human body and its systems. Alcohol is used to elevate mood as a lubricant and a relaxant. Long-term use and heavy drinking destroy different systems of the human body. Let’s have a detailed review of how alcohol destroys your body.
How much alcohol destroys your body?
Usually, heavy drinking and chronic alcohol abuse destroy your organ system and functioning. Moderate and limited alcohol use has comparatively fewer adverse effects than heavy drinking.
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture, adults may choose not to drink or limit their daily intake to 2 or less than that for males and 1 or less than 1 for females. This is considered moderate alcohol use.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports 5 or more units per day in males and 4 or more in females in less than 2 hours as binge drinking.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism also defines heavy drinking as follows:
- For males: 4 drinks/day or more than 14 drinks/week.
- For females: 3 drinks/day or more than 7drinks/week.