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Researchers thought if they could find key mechanism, science might someday unlock benefits minus harm that comes with alcohol. Alcohol consumption has been linked to cancers of the breast, addiction counselor definition colon and rectum, liver, esophagus, voice box, throat, mouth, and probably the pancreas, according to the American Cancer Society. One standard drink in the U.S. contains around 14 grams of pure alcohol. And it also addresses what many experts see as a treatment gap. In the past, it was only the people with the most severe cases of alcohol dependence who got treatment or help. "For everybody, it's really a process to figure out what's going to work and what's not," says Sarah Vlnka.

Drink Alcohol Only in Moderation

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences. It encompasses the conditions that some people refer to as alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction, and the colloquial term, alcoholism. Lasting changes in the brain caused by alcohol misuse perpetuate AUD and make individuals vulnerable to relapse. “Moderate consumption” is limited to one to two alcoholic drinks per day for healthy men and one alcoholic drink per day for healthy women. One drink is equivalent to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits. For example, any amount of drinking increases the risk of breast cancer and colorectal cancer.

Shifting Benefits and Risks

In summarizing the recent literature it appears that light-to-moderate alcohol intake is less likely to be a risk factor for obesity than heavy drinking. Heavy drinking and binge drinking have been more consistently linked with adiposity. However, a clear cause-and-effect association between alcohol intake and weight gain is not apparent based on the mixed and conflicting available evidence on the topic.

However, some critics of the above guidelines feel that they’re actually too generous given the data we have about the health impacts of alcohol. For instance, in January of 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement saying that no level of alcohol is safe. They share that “risks start from the first drop” and increase with every additional sip of alcohol. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in March 2023 also concluded that not even low to moderate alcohol consumption provided any healthy benefits, despite past research suggesting so. Not to be a buzzkill, but alcohol can negatively influence our health in a few different ways  in both the short and long term.

1. However, a prospective study following almost 15,000 men at four-year periods found only an increased risk of minor weight gain with higher intakes of alcohol.
2. Biceps skin fold was the only anthropometric measurement that was increased in their participants after the beer drinking condition 52.
3. There are many studies that discuss the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption.
4. Given the complexity of the interplay between central and peripheral signals of satiety, more research needs to be performed in order to elucidate the precise biochemical mechanism driving food intake following alcohol consumption.

What the Dietary Guidelines say about moderate alcohol use

Heavy drinking is a major cause of preventable death in most countries. In the U.S., alcohol is implicated in about half of fatal traffic accidents. 1 Heavy drinking can damage the liver and heart, harm an unborn child, increase the chances of developing breast and some other cancers, contribute to depression and violence, and interfere with relationships. The paper also found a significant interaction between the age of study subjects and their mortality risk. While there wasn’t much of a difference in risk between younger and older groups who drank moderately, younger people in the study had greater mortality risks than the older ones at high consumption levels.

Alcohol misuse—which includes binge drinking and heavy alcohol use—over time increases the risk of alcohol use disorder (AUD). The benefits and risks of moderate drinking change over a lifetime. In general, risks exceed benefits until middle age, when cardiovascular disease begins to account for an increasingly large share of the burden of disease and death. Many studies over the past 20 years have suggested that people who have a drink a day or less may have a lower risk of cancer, heart disease, or all-cause mortality than those who abstain from drinking. Yet a growing body of newer research shows that those claims may be a mirage.

In 2012, results of a study of swine with high cholesterol levels suggested that moderate consumption of both vodka and wine may reduce cardiovascular risk, with wine offering greater protection. In 2015, 26.9 percent of people in the United States reported binge drinking in the past month. In fact, a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the majority of Americans who drink more than one or two drinks a day are not alcoholics.

The impacts of alcohol on gut health alone are significant because of its ripple effect—the microbiome is closely linked to brain health, immune health, gastrointestinal health, and much more. At the end of four to six months of treatment with the Sinclair Method, 80% of people who had been overusing alcohol were drinking moderately or abstaining entirely. In the Sinclair method, the participant takes Revia or Vivitrol one hour before drinking. These medications minimize the endorphin release in the brain that usually accompanies drinking. Because this makes drinking less pleasurable, people are less likely to crave alcohol. Take some time to decide which days are OK to have a drink and which days are off-limits.

Niacin or niacin extended-release, a B vitamin, may be used in addition to diet to lower cholesterol and other lipids. Niacin may lower total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides and raise HDL levels. Statins disrupt insulin-signaling pathways and can affect the function of beta cells in the pancreas, which create and release insulin. However, most of the time these elevations are only temporary and not usually dangerous. Is member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Research Forum on Beer and Lifestyle (FICYE). The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

1. This plaque may eventually rupture, triggering thrombus formation which may occlude the blood vessel leading to a MACE 72.
2. According to the official package insert approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Lipitor should be used with caution in patients who consume substantial quantities of alcohol and/or have a history of liver disease.
3. Among these is the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signaling cascades.
4. This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Also, if you’re prescribed a statin it’s because your risk of a heart condition, such as heart attack or stroke, is higher. This means you should make healthy lifestyle changes alongside taking a statin, including limiting how much alcohol you drink. If you’re concerned about your cholesterol levels or alcohol intake, talk with a healthcare professional. They can provide appropriate testing and additional resources if needed. Current recommendations for moderate alcohol intake are one drink per day or less for females and two drinks per day or less for males (16, 17). The effects of alcohol on overall health, including cholesterol levels, depend on many factors.

This suggests that alcoholic beverage type may be an important mediator, because in countries such as Russia, spirits are the alcoholic beverage of choice. However, the negative associations between alcohol consumption and CV outcomes in these countries also may relate to pervasive patterns of binge drinking (Leon et al. 2009). For most people, light to moderate drinking is unlikely to negatively affect cholesterol levels. In fact, it may improve HDL cholesterol levels and even reduce the risk of heart disease. Furthermore, excess alcohol intake may contribute to increases in blood pressure and waist circumference, which are also considered heart disease risk factors (11, 12). Although taking the two together has no direct risks, both statins and alcohol can impair liver function and cause tissue damage.

Approximately 1 to 2 drinks per day may have no effect on or lead to a slight reduction in stroke events; however, greater daily alcohol levels increase the risk for all stroke events and incident stroke types. In terms of stroke subtypes, compared with nondrinkers, current alcohol drinkers have an increased risk (~14 percent) for hemorrhagic stroke (Ronksley et al. 2011). Instead, the organization advises watching your weight, eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly to keep your cholesterol levels in check. Long-term heavy alcohol consumption induces adverse histological, cellular, and structural changes within the myocardium. These mechanisms contribute to the myocyte cellular changes that lead to intrinsic cell dysfunction, such as sarcoplasmic reticular dysfunction and changes in intracellular calcium handling and myocyte loss. However, modulatory influences related to drinking patterns, genetic susceptibility, nutritional factors, ethnicity, and gender also many play a role (Piano and Phillips 2014) (figure 4).

Related Conditions

And the paperwork (sometimes called the patient package insert or medication guide) may have other details about interactions. (If you did not get paperwork with Lipitor, ask your pharmacist to print a copy for you.) If you need help understanding this information, your doctor or pharmacist can help. Yes, it’s likely safe to take Lipitor and sildenafil (Viagra) together. Certain medical conditions or other health factors may raise the risk of interactions with Lipitor.

Health Categories to Explore

However, subgroup analysis with spirit drinkers was not possible in this study. In women, the risk of stroke was lower in low–moderate wine drinkers compared to never drinkers and compared to low–moderate beer or spirits drinkers 136. In another cohort, the risk of AMI appears weak in red wine drinkers, intermediate for white wine drinkers, and high for beer and spirits 13. In type 2 diabetic patients, moderate wine but not beer or spirit drinkers presented a 22%–23% lower risk of MACE and overall mortality compared to abstainers, with no differences in microvascular complications.

What is a low dose statin?

Due to this risk, doctors typically will adult children of alcoholic trauma syndrome not prescribe Lipitor if you have a liver problem, such as alcoholic liver disease. Statin drugs such as Lipitor may actually decrease the amount of CoQ10 in your body. This can increase your risk of certain side effects from Lipitor, such as myopathy (muscle pain) and rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown). Statins can lead to liver disease in roughly 2% of patients, and ongoing monitoring of liver function may be needed. Your doctor may check your liver enzymes and assess you for liver disease before starting a statin.

If you’d like to learn more about taking aspirin during Lipitor treatment, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. Due to this risk, you should avoid consuming large quantities of grapefruit and grapefruit juice during Lipitor treatment. Rhabdomyolysis may also have no symptoms aside from atypical lab values, so keeping appointments for laboratory monitoring is important if you drink and take statins. If you have questions about getting specific vaccines during your Lipitor treatment, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

FAQ about Lipitor and interactions

Definition of drinking levels according to the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Researchers have found evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction or impaired bioenergetics related to alcohol consumption. This is not surprising, because mitochondria are a major target for free-radical injury. Dysfunctional mitochondria are less efficient, can become a source of ROS, and are more likely to initiate apoptosis (Marzetti et al. 2013). Moderate physical activity can help raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the "good" cholesterol. With your doctor's OK, work up to at least 30 minutes of exercise five times a week or vigorous aerobic activity for 20 minutes three times a week.

You should NOT use statins if you have active liver disease or elevated liver enzymes. It is often not safe for people with liver disease or dysfunction to take statins. Despite the recommendation to monitor liver tests, and the uncommon risk of severe liver injury, statins may be helpful for some people with liver disease. It can be helpful to have an honest conversation with your doctor about your alcohol use if you are considering taking statins to manage your cholesterol levels. The most common side effects of statin use are muscle pain and inflammation. In extreme cases, it can lead to rhabdomyolysis, a life threatening condition that may cause liver damage, kidney failure, or death.