Is it Bad to Drink Every Day?

Alcohol consumption is common throughout America and the world, and many folks drink multiple times a week. People don’t just drink to relax, though, and it’s not uncommon for people to simply have a beer or glass of wine with dinner. It’s widely known that chronic excessive drinking is habit-forming and detrimental to your health, so does that mean that it’s bad to drink every day?

Is It Bad to Drink Every Day?

As it happens, the common custom of having a small alcoholic beverage with dinner isn’t always harmful. While alcohol consumption comes with certain risks, low-level consumption actually carries considerable health benefits. When consuming modest amounts of alcohol, your circulation can improve and your risk of heart disease may drop. Beyond the heart, your odds of developing type 2 diabetes or gallstones also shrinks.

At the level of one drink per day meaning roughly 5 oz. of wine, 12 oz. of beer, or a 1.5 oz. shot of hard liquor, the risks of alcohol are usually minor. People who suffer outsized risk and little benefit from such moderate are limited to exceptions such as people with liver damage, pregnant mothers, and people with specific health conditions. While even light levels of drinking correlate to an increased chance of breast cancer, the corresponding reduction in the occurrence of heart disease greatly outweighs it.

When Does Drinking Become Excessive?

As you continue drinking over the course of the day, the benefits progressively shrink relative to the risks. Consuming five drinks in one day qualifies as binge drinking and can cause a variety of short-term problems, such as reducing your impulse control and making you more likely to partake in risky behaviors. Additionally, excessive drinking plays a role in one-third of all violent crimes and causes tens of thousands of deaths in car crashes each year.

Those who binge drink five or more times per month are classified as chronic drinkers and will also experience increased, long-term health risks such as inflammation of the liver. However, drinking doesn’t necessarily need to be this excessive to become unhealthy. Consuming more than 14 drinks per week denotes a habitual, at-risk drinker who should take steps to curtail their alcohol consumption.

Should I Avoid Drinking Every Day?

When it comes to alcohol consumptions, the risk factors and potential benefits change depending on your medical profile. If you’re interested in the potential benefits of alcohol consumption, you should consult your physician and consider your medical history. However, one thing is certain; drinking alcohol every day is only even potentially beneficial at very low levels of consumption. Once you’re routinely consuming more than one drink a day, it’s time to cut back on alcohol.

Call Dana Point Rehab

Alcohol abuse causes countless deaths each year in car crashes, accidents, and preventable illnesses. If you’re suffering from alcoholism, reach out to Dana Point for help.