Alcohol and your health & wellness

Health and wellness are core necessities to your well-being. It’s important to know the impacts and risks of drinking alcohol and to know the resources to help you live well. 

An estimated 56-percent of Iowans report drinking within the last month. Most people see it as a form of recreation or a social activity, and for many, it is. But 20.4-percent of Iowans report binge drinking in the past month. This is higher than the national average. 

Recovery from an alcohol use disorder can be hard. This means changing habits and/or seeking help. Help could include counseling with a substance use specialist or mental health therapist. Taking these steps can help improve your health and wellness. 

Talk with your healthcare provider about ways to improve your health and wellness. Or, ask for advice from a recovering peer or see what other people are doing through social media. Always pay attention to your personal needs. Remember, there is hope wherever you are. Stories of recovery happen every day.

Alcohol & your health

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) causes structural, chemical changes in the brain. 

Alcohol misuse often leads to changes in the brain and perpetuates an AUD.  AUD often means not having the ability to stop or control alcohol use. Alcohol use continues despite adverse consequences to your health, social and work life

For some people, alcohol has a significant effect. It’s common for people to struggle to manage its impacts on their day-to-day life. The effects vary from person to person, depending on factors including:

• How much and how often you drink.
• Your age and sex.
• Your physical and mental health status.
• Your family support system.
• Your family history with alcohol.
• If you’re combining medications and other drugs.

AUD is a brain disorder and can be mild, moderate or severe. Alcohol misuse can cause damage in the brain and lead to an AUD. 

But there is good news! No matter how severe the problem may seem, people with AUD can and do achieve and maintain recovery.

Alcohol is a depressant and can impact your ability to enjoy life. 

Alcohol is a depressant. While the effects of alcohol may seem fun, the reality is alcohol slows down the brain’s function.  

Alcohol first impacts judgment and decision making. Then people often lose coordination and motor functioning. This is what causes slurred speech and staggering.

Unchecked, drinking can lead to alcohol overdose. This is where alcohol can cause the central nervous system to shut down completely. This can lead to slowed breathing, heart failure and even death.

Alcohol use can lead to problems at work or home. Alcohol use can increase in risky behavior, loss of relationships and more. 

Health side effects include increased risk of:

• Liver disease.
• Digestive problems.
• Heart problems.
• Neurological (brain)complications. ¹ 

If you feel that alcohol use is impacting your life, we can help. Reach out to Your Life Iowa to talk to a non-judgmental, caring counselor.

Alcohol dehydrates you. 

Alcohol is a diuretic. This means it forces more water out of your body’s cells. Even though you’re drinking liquids, the alcohol does not hydrate you. This is one of the reasons that alcohol consumption can lead to a hangover.

The greater the alcohol content, the greater the dehydration effect. Different types of alcohol can have very different amounts of alcohol content. Beer, wine, or liquors all have varying alcohol content. 

Stay informed and make low-risk choices about alcohol consumption. To help avoid a hangover, alternate drinks with water and drink in moderation.

Use the NIAAA drink calculator to see how much alcohol is in different types of standard drinks.  

The order in which you drink does not impact whether you’ll get sick or not. 

Drinking beer before shots won’t prevent you from getting sick. It all depends on the total amount of alcohol you consume, not the order that you drink it in.

After drinking, the idea that you can drink coffee to sober up is not true. Coffee contains caffeine that keeps you awake. But caffeine will not reduce alcohol impairment.  The most important thing you can do is stop drinking to reduce effects. 

A nightcap does not help you sleep well. 

A nightcap is a drink containing alcohol before bed. You may fall asleep faster if you had a drink before bed. Adrenaline levels in the body rise as we drink. This increases stress levels and decreases your ability to get restful sleep. A drink before bed could disrupt your sleep and affect your night’s rest. 

Instead of a nightcap, use healthy activities to wind down.  This includes putting devices away earlier, taking a shower or keeping the room cool and dark.

Avoiding risks

Harmful use of alcohol use increases the risk of injury, death. 

Did you know that harmful use of alcohol is a causal factor in more than 200 diseases and injuries? Harmful effects of short-term alcohol use may lead to increased risk for: 

• Car crashes
• Falls
• Burns
• Drownings
• Suicides
• Homicides
• Sexual assaults
• Transfer of sexually transmitted infections
• Intimate partner violence
• Alcohol poisoning
• Overdose (from alcohol use with other drugs, like opioids)

Effects of long-term alcohol use - over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to chronic diseases such as:

• Increased risk of cancer
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Liver disease
• Stroke
• Alcohol use disorder (which affects physical and mental health)
• Digestive problems
• Weaker immune system (increasing your chances of getting sick)

Social and wellness issues, such as:

• Mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety
• Learning problems, and issues at school or work
• Memory problems, including dementia
• Relationship problems with family and friends

If you choose to drink, you can lower the risk of negative outcomes by staying within the low-risk limits: 

• Don’t operate a vehicle or other machinery after consuming any amount of alcohol.
• Drink slowly.
• Drink water between alcoholic drinks.
• Eat food before you drink alcohol.
• Avoid drinking games or situations that encourage binge drinking. 

Making low-risk drinking decisions can help yourself and your loved ones stay safe. 

Are you noticing someone making high-risk decisions while drinking? It's important to talk to them about your concerns. Your Life Iowa can help you start that conversation.

Tips for cutting back

Small changes can make a big difference in lowering your chances of having alcohol-related problems. It’s up to you to decide if and when to change your drinking.  Here are some tips that can help: 

• Make a plan. 
• Keep track of each drink you consume.
• Know if you are drinking a ‘standard drink’ or something more.
• Determine your motivations and goals for drinking less. 
• Set goals for the numbers of days you will drink and/or the number of drinks you will have and stick to them.
• Practice saying “no thanks” to an alcohol drink if one is offered.
• Consider non-alcoholic substitutes, such as non-alcoholic beer or “mocktails."   
• Find alternatives to drinking – start a new hobby or renew an old one.
• Avoid situations and trigger that cause you to drink.
• Tell family and friends of your plan and ask for their support.
• Keep trying – don’t let setbacks deter you.
• Utilize resources to help, such as Check Your Drinking. Make a Plan to Drink Less.
• Ask for professional help from a doctor or treatment agency if needed.

Are you noticing someone making high-risk decisions while drinking? It's important to talk to them about your concerns. Your Life Iowa can help you start that conversation.

Alcohol and driving don't mix. 

In Iowa, around 26-percent of traffic fatalities were alcohol-related in 2019. It is illegal to drive under the influence in all 50 states. In 2020, one person was killed in a drunk driving-related crash every 45 minutes in the United States.

All states recognize 0.08-percent Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) as legal intoxication. Your BAC is how much alcohol is in your blood. A person's weight, the amount of alcohol consumed, and length of time drinking affects BAC. On average, it takes the body between one and two hours to process a standard serving of alcohol. Consuming more than one drink per hour can result in impaired driving, even if you’re not over the legal limit.

Being responsible is simple:  

• If you are drinking, do not drive.
• Plan your safe ride home before you start the party. Choose a non-drinking friend as a designated driver.
• If someone you know has been drinking, do not let that person drive. Take their keys and help them arrange a sober ride home.
• If you drink, do not drive for any reason. Call a taxi, a ride-share service like Uber or Lyft, or a sober friend.
• If you’re hosting a party where alcohol is available, make sure all guests leave with a sober driver.
• Always wear your seat belt. It’s your best defense against impaired drivers.

Alcohol negatively impacts pregnancy and babies.

There is no known safe amount of alcohol us during pregnancy or when trying to get pregnant4. Alcohol can affect a baby’s development at any stage during pregnancy. Alcohol passes from the mother to baby through the placenta. Alcohol exposure during pregnancy can cause miscarriage and stillbirth.  Physical, behavioral and intellectual disabilities may occur (FASD – fetal alcohol spectrum disorders)4.  

Drinking while breastfeeding can interfere with milk production. It impacts an infant’s sleep patterns and early development5. Stay safe and do not drink alcohol while you are pregnant or breastfeeding. 

If you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding, and cannot stop drinking, we can help. Call, text or chat with YLI right now. Our counselors will help get you connected with help near you. It's important to note that sudden quitting can be dangerous. Please talk with your medical provider or call YLI now.

What is a standard drink?

The amount of liquid in a beverage does not necessarily correspond to how much alcohol is in that drink. Different types of drinks can have widely different amounts of pure alcohol in them. 

Knowing the number of standard drinks in alcohol-containing beverages can help you understand how much alcohol you are consuming and make informed decisions about your health. Yet, many people are surprised to learn what counts as a drink.   

A standard drink in the United States contains 14 grams (half an ounce) of pure alcohol. If we break that down, the amount of alcohol in each of these drinks equals one standard drink:

• 12 ounces of regular beer (5% alcohol)
• 5 ounces of wine (12% alcohol)
• 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits (about 40% alcohol)

Use particular caution with fortified wine, craft brews and liquors that are often higher in potency than their standard versions. 

Source: What is a Standard Drink? National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

What is binge drinking?

Binge drinking is defined as a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08% –or higher. For a typical adult, this means consuming five or more drinks (male), or four or more drinks (female), in about two hours. Research shows that fewer drinks in the same time frame result in the same BAC in youth. Only three drinks for girls and three to five drinks for boys, depending on their age and size.

What are the consequences and health effects of binge drinking?

Drinking any amount of alcohol can carry certain risks. But crossing the binge threshold increases the risk of acute harm. These can include blackouts and overdoses. Binge drinking also increases the likelihood of unsafe sexual behavior. These risks are greater at higher peak levels of consumption. Binge drinking also increases the likelihood of falls, burns, drownings, and car crashes.

Alcohol affects virtually all tissues in the body. Data suggest that even one episode of binge drinking can compromise function of the immune system. Over time repeated episodes of binge drinking, contributes to chronic diseases.

Binge drinking can be deadly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 178,000 deaths resulted from excessive alcohol use annually in the United States between 2020 and 2021. One third of those deaths were from binge drinking or drinking too much on one occasion.

Binge drinking is also costly. Researchers estimated that binge drinking accounted for 77% of the $249 billion (i.e., $191.1 billion) economic cost of alcohol misuse in 2010.

What is "heavy" drinking?

For women—4 or more drinks on any day or 8 or more per week

For men—5 or more drinks on any day or 15 or more per week

What is "excessive" drinking?

Excessive drinking includes:

• binge drinking
• heavy drinking
• underage drinking
• drinking during pregnancy.

Alcohol & women

Watching your daughter walk down the aisle. Seeing your grandson take his first steps. Even just snuggling on the couch with your significant other. If you drink, you’re putting those moments — and your life — at risk.

A growing body of evidence indicates that women who drink are at increased susceptibility to short- and long-term alcohol-related consequences, including liver disease, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity, and alcohol-related memory blackouts, compared to men. One reason for this is that alcohol resides predominantly in body water, and pound for pound, women have less water in their bodies than men. This means that after a woman and a man of the same weight drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman’s BAC will tend to be higher, putting her at greater risk for harm.

Other biological differences may contribute as well. While alcohol misuse by anyone presents a serious public health concern, women face alcohol-related problems sooner and at lower drinking levels than men. Women who drink are also at greater risk for developing breast cancer than women who do not consume alcohol.

Excessive alcohol use is a leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. Excessive alcohol use is associated with more than 27,000 deaths among women and girls in the U.S. each year. Alcohol-related deaths of Iowans over 45 have nearly doubled the past several years. Alcohol contributes to at least 60 different health conditions. Time to start understanding the importance of watching how much you drink.

After all, life’s full of beautiful moments you don’t want to miss as a mother, daughter, sister or friend. Make sure you’re around to make them.

Alcohol & brain injury

Brain injury and alcohol use can be related.

Brain injuries can lead to problems around the use of alcohol. Screening for brain injury is a best practice. Especially for patients in any healthcare, community, and/or corrections-based setting. Brain injury screening tools assess a person's exposure to brain injury.