Drinking alcohol in moderation is known to have a positive effect on health. In fact, many of the world’s oldest people drink red wine. However, there are still side effects of drinking that you should be careful about as you get older.
American Journal of Food and Health introduced the potential side effects of drinking after 50 doses based on the opinions of several nutrition experts.
weight gain
One of the most common side effects of drinking too much after age 50 is that it can lead to weight gain. As you age, your metabolism slows down. This means you don’t need that many calories to maintain your weight. Alcohol also contains calories, so if you continue to drink as you did when you were young, you could actually gain weight. If you enjoy a glass of alcohol at dinner, you should also factor in the calories in the drink.
increased triglycerides
Drinking too much alcohol not only makes you fat, it can also affect your heart health. Moderate drinking can be beneficial for heart health by increasing HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol, but drinking too much can have the opposite effect and increase triglycerides.
decreased muscle recovery after exercise
One of the side effects of drinking that people aren’t aware of is that it can interfere with your exercise goals and the recovery process after exercise. Alcohol can slow the process of muscle recovery by inhibiting the function of hormones, such as testosterone, that normally aid in the recovery process of muscle damage caused by exercise.
dehydration
Another way alcohol can affect your health and exercise recovery time is through dehydration. Drinks that are diuretic, such as alcohol, can promote increased water loss, especially after exercise, which can cause dehydration and prevent muscle recovery.
changes in gut health
Drinking alcohol can negatively affect your gut, especially if you drink large amounts on a regular basis. Some studies have shown that small or moderate amounts of red wine promote the growth of beneficial bacteria. However, it is also clear that excessive drinking has a negative effect on gut health.
An article in Alcohol Research reports that ‘large amounts of alcohol and its metabolites can strain the gastrointestinal tract and liver and cause damage to both the gastrointestinal tract and other organs’ . Alcohol promotes intestinal inflammation, causing pathogen overgrowth and increasing intestinal permeability, known as ‘leaky gut’. This can cause toxins and foreign bodies to enter the bloodstream, causing greater inflammation and other health problems.
Interferes with digestion and absorption of nutrients
Alcohol reduces the secretion of digestive enzymes in the pancreas, impairing the body’s ability to break down food. If food is not digested into small, absorbable molecules, the body cannot absorb nutrients, which can result in nutrient deficiencies. Alcohol not only interferes with digestion and absorption of nutrients, but also causes important vitamins and minerals to be excreted through the urine, exacerbating nutrient deficiencies.
