Drinking Beer Everyday ~ We all love our beer. We love the way it makes us feel, the way it takes bad situations and makes them good, and the way it livens up almost any atmosphere.
A Must-Read: Hops in Beer
Truth be told, a dog isn’t man’s best friend—beer is. And we all know this, deep inside.
But let’s face it: sometimes beer makes us do things we don’t want to do. Sometimes getting drunk leads to regrets. And, yes, drinking too much beer can extensively damage our health.
So what does this mean?
Are casual drinkers like you and I putting ourselves at risk? Are we digging our own early graves? Let’s phrase it another way: is drinking beer everyday bad for us?
We did a little research so you don’t have to. You may be surprised at what we found—we know we were! Take a look at the following list to find out for yourself!
Is it Bad?
Let’s start with a simple question: is it bad to drink beer?
Chances are you’ve met someone who thinks it is. Though we like to have our drink or two, we’ve all met someone who views drinking as unprofessional and unhealthy.
These are the snobs who will pour your alcohol down the sink or call you a drunk after just one or two beers.
The story goes something like this. Alcohol possesses a slew of negative side effects that damage your mental and physical health.
This means that it wreaks havoc on your body while putting you out of the right state of mind.
At first, even the happiest of us drinkers might believe this. After all, we all know what happens when you drink one too many beers.
There comes a tipping point for all of us when we are no longer in complete control of our actions anymore.
It’s important to understand, however, that this only happens when you drink too much beer.
And while intoxication rates vary from person to person, it’s safe to say that moderate drinking for anyone will produce wildly different results.
What does this mean? Simply put, it’s impossible to answer whether or not drinking beer is “bad” for your health without first examining a couple of factors.
For this reason, we chose to look at multiple types of drinkers and the effects of different drinking styles can have on the body.
What we found is both surprising and expected. Read below to find out the differences between moderate and heavy drinkers and the effects each style of drinking can have on your physical and mental health.
Health Benefits
As it turns out, the advantages of drinking or two beers a day are numerous.
Scientific studies have linked moderate beer consumption with a variety of health improvements ranging from diabetes prevention to cardiovascular health maintenance.
That sounds pretty good to me. In fact, it’s the total opposite of the negative perception that some people have about beer.
It seems that drinking moderately can actually benefit you—even if you drink every day. Let’s look at a few ways that moderate beer consumption may boost your health.
Prevents Diabetes
A recent study published in the European journal Diabetologia provides a strong defense of regular beer consumption in the fight against diabetes acquisition.
The study, which was conducted over a five-year period with a sample size of 70,000 (Danish) participants, is quite clear in its results.
Moderate alcohol consumption (mainly beer and wine) significantly decreases an individual’s chance of developing diabetes.
How significant, you ask?
Moderate drinking has been proven to reduce the risk of diabetes in women by an amazing 32%. For men, the number is a bit lower at 27%, but this is still very encouraging information.
In the case of diabetes prevention, you can’t deny that you can reap positive health benefits with daily beer consumption.
In fact, it was found that men who drank two beers a day were at the least risk of contracting diabetes. This means that anyone saying that drinking beer every day is bad for you is certainly wrong.
Improves Cardiovascular Health
The effects of regular alcohol consumption have on cardiovascular health are well-documented. In fact, many people drink alcohol regularly to boost heart health.
Though no doctor will prescribe you alcohol, many medical professionals don’t dispute the fact that drinking one or two beers (or glasses of wine) every day is good for your heart.
In fact, it’s been shown that moderate drinkers have lower chances of developing any cardiovascular disease.
That’s pretty important and certainly worth knowing.
For you, this means that as long as you keep your beer consumption to one or two beers per day, you shouldn’t be doing any damage to your heart. In fact, you’ll be helping it.
If you’re beginning to notice a pattern here, you should be. And we’re not even done.
Improves Cholesterol
Did you know that drinking one or two glasses of beer a day could improve your “good” cholesterol?
By “good” cholesterol, I’m referring to your HDL cholesterol—you know, the one that sweeps unwanted cholesterol deposits from your arteries and reduces your risk of cardiac arrest.
That’s pretty stunning. While those wishing to use this method to reduce their cholesterol levels should first consult with their physicians, it’s worth noting that this is a potentially effective method to combatting high cholesterol.
Make sure you are keeping your alcohol intake low in order for this method to work.
To recap, drinking moderate amounts of beer (one to two per day) has been proven beneficial to overall health in a variety of ways.
Whether you are looking to promote cardiovascular health, lower cholesterol, or prevent the development of diabetes, drinking moderate and regular amounts of beer could be useful for you.
Unsure? Consult with your physician and see what he thinks about moderate daily beer or alcohol consumption for your health.
Drink too Much
Now that we have examined the health benefits of drinking moderate amounts of beer every day, let’s take a look at the opposite end of the spectrum.
As it turns out, just as there are several health benefits to drinking moderate amounts of beer daily, there are just as many (if not more) health concerns associated with excessive drinking.
As you will find out, many of the health issues arising from overconsumption are simply the inverse of what we discussed before.
For example, excessive drinking can actually increase your risk of cardiovascular disease (but more on that later).
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the top health risks associated with excessive drinking.
Liver Disease
Alcohol is a major cause of liver disease. In fact, alcoholic liver disease (which encompasses many types of liver disease brought about by the excessive consumption of alcohol) is the leading cause of liver disease in the West.
Specifically, alcoholic liver disease refers to alcoholic hepatitis, fatty liver, and chronic hepatitis with fibrosis or cirrhosis. These conditions result from drinking too much beer.
How Much is Too Much?
Research indicates that drinking anything more than one or two beers a day could be too much. Certainly, you won’t be feeling the effects of any health benefits after your second beer.
If you are someone who drinks a six-pack daily, understand that this could have serious negative implications for your future health.
Remember: even if you aren’t feeling the effects of excessive alcohol intake now, you will one day. It’s important to keep this in mind so that you don’t set yourself up for future failure.
Studies show that drinking more than three beers outside of mealtimes every day could also put you at risk for alcoholic liver disease.
How bad is it? Unfortunately, certain types of liver disease (notably cirrhosis) are irreversible without a liver transplant. That’s why it’s critical that you pay attention to your daily alcohol intake starting at an early age.
Cardiovascular Disease
Remember how we said one or two beers a day is actually good for cardiovascular health?
Studies show that drinking more than this can actually damage your heart. To begin with, drinking too much can increase your blood pressure, making it harder for your heart to function as it should.
This puts you at risk for a myriad of other conditions, as well.
In addition to this, the toxicity of alcohol can have a damaging effect on your heart over time.
The more you drink, the more you damage your heart muscle and lessen its efficiency. That’s why it’s important to keep your alcohol intake within levels that are beneficial to your cardiovascular health.
If this weren’t reason enough to avoid overconsumption, it’s worth noting that binge drinking can cause irregular heart rhythms. This means that you should be careful not to go on binges if you want your heart to remain in tip-top shape.
On a related note, keep in mind that while moderate drinking improves your cholesterol and cardiovascular health, excessive drinking actually raises your cholesterol level and puts you at risk for a slew of heart diseases.
Accidents
Alcohol is also one of the leading causes of dumb decisions and accidents. When you are drunk, you are more likely to make mistakes simply because you are out of your right mind.
It follows that the overconsumption of alcohol puts you more at risk for causing (potentially dangerous) accidents.
To protect yourself and the ones you love, you should keep your beer intake down. This will reduce the chance that you involve yourself or anyone else in a dangerous accident.
It will also make it where your daily intake of alcohol remains at a beneficial level to both your mind and your body.
How Much
Knowing all this, you may be asking yourself, “How much should I drink?”
The answer to this is completely up to you and your physician. Only your doctor can tell you how much you should be drinking given your current situation.
That being said, the general guidelines are between one to two beers a day. Women may want to drink a little less than this, perhaps drinking only half a beer every other day.
Without a doubt, you should not regularly ingest more than two beers per day. While it’s certainly okay to have fun
If you are drinking more than you are comfortable with, it’s a sure sign that you are drinking too much. In this case, do your best to minimize your alcohol intake and keep it within healthy limits.
Remember: these figures don’t involve mixing alcohol. This means that you shouldn’t drink a little wine regularly if you are already drinking one or two beers a day.
This will simply increase your overall consumption levels and put you at an increased risk of health problems.
So Is It Bad?
We asked a simple question (“Is drinking beer every day bad for you?”) and got a complex answer. Namely, drinking beer every day can be both good and bad for you.
To make it simple, it all depends on how much you drink. Studies have repeatedly shown that drinking between one to two beers a day on average can benefit your health in a variety of ways, some of them even unexpected.
Overconsumption of alcohol, on the other hand, can put you at serious risk of a slew of health problems, some of them fatal.
That’s why it’s important that you monitor your alcohol intake and adjust your consumption levels accordingly.
If you are unsure how much alcohol you should involve in your diet, remember to consult your physician and not an online source. Only your physician can tell you the exact information you need to know.
Still, this guide may prove useful to the casual drinker who is looking for a way to maximize the benefits of their consumption. We hope this helps with knowing if you should be drinking beer everyday!
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