{"id":27898,"date":"2025-08-31T06:00:57","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T04:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cristinatomasi.com\/?p=27898"},"modified":"2026-01-07T10:51:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T09:51:52","slug":"alcohol-risks-and-harms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cristinatomasi.com\/en\/alcool-rischi-e-danni\/","title":{"rendered":"Alcohol, risks and harms"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALCOHOL AND ITS RISKS TO YOUR OVERALL WELL-BEING<\/h1>\n

Alcohol reduces the volume of your brain. And you don't have to be an alcoholic for this to happen. Even just a few drinks a week can:<\/strong>
\n- Damaging neurons
\n- Increasing anxiety
\n- Compromising the gut<\/p>\n

Here's what alcohol really does to your body (and how to defend yourself):<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. First of all, understand this: alcohol does not work like other drugs. It doesn't just \"skim\" the brain. It penetrates directly into the brain cells and starts destroying them from the inside.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Alcohol is both water-soluble and fat-soluble. It means that it can easily pass through every cell in the body<\/strong>:
    \n\u2192 Brain
    \n\u2192 Intestine
    \n\u2192 Liver
    \n\u2192 Hormones<\/p>\n

    Nothing is spared.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Once inside, the alcohol turns into acetaldehyde. The name may sound harmless, but it is not. Acetaldehyde is a toxic substance: it damages DNA and kills cells on contact. This is what makes you feel \"tipsy.\" Basically: feeling tipsy = mild brain damage.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    2. Are you familiar with dopamine, the \"pleasure\" molecule? When you drink alcohol this happens:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      • First drink<\/strong> \u2192 dopamine spike (you feel good)<\/li>\n
      • Second drink<\/strong> \u2192 Dopamine crash (you feel anxious)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Continuing to drink is only chasing an effect that has already worn off.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. \"But I only drink on weekends.\" It is still a problem. A study of 35,000 \"moderate drinkers\" (1-2 drinks a night) showed a reduction in brain volume:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
          • Neurons in the cortex were literally dying<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
          • Thinking and memory skills were dropping.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            \ud83d\udc49 There is no such thing as \"safe drinking.\"<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. If you drink regularly, listen: alcohol doesn't just make you impulsive while you're drinking. It reshapes the brain over time making it more impulsive all the time.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              \u2192 Less self-control
              \n\u2192 More desire
              \n\u2192 More alcohol<\/p>\n

              A vicious cycle, but enhanced.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. This is why even \"casual drinkers\" may feel anxious, apathetic or depressed. Alcohol alters the stress system, even when sober.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Chronic drinking = chronically high cortisol.
                \nThat calm you feel after a drink? It's just borrowed peace, which you'll pay for with stress the next day.<\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. But the damage doesn't stop at the brain. Here's what alcohol does to the gut:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                    \n
                  • Kills beneficial bacteria
                    \n- Causes \"leaky gut\" (intestinal permeability)
                    \n- Send inflammation to the brain<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    And ironically-this inflammation. increases the desire to drink<\/strong>...a vicious circle.<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. Hangovers are not just dehydration. They are the result of:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      \u2192 Brain inflammation
                      \n\u2192 Gut microbiota collapse
                      \n\u2192 Cortisol peaks
                      \n\u2192 Electrolyte imbalance
                      \n\u2192 Dopamine collapse<\/p>\n

                      And \"the drink to recover from the hangover\"? It only postpones the symptoms and makes them worse.<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      1. The worst part? You don't have to be an alcoholic to suffer long-term effects. Just 7 drinks a week can:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                          \n
                        • Killing neurons
                          \n- Deteriorating memory
                          \n- Interrupting sleep
                          \n- Lowering the mood
                          \n- Increasing stress
                          \n- Increasing the risk of cancer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                            \n
                          1. What's next. If you are not ready to quit, at least protect your body:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                            \u2713 Eat before drinking (fat + protein + carbohydrates)
                            \n\u2713 Hydrated with electrolytes.
                            \n\u2713 Avoid sugary drinks.
                            \n\u2713 Add fermented foods to support the gut
                            \n\u2713 Give priority to sleep<\/p>\n

                            Every step is helpful.<\/p>\n

                              \n
                            1. Do you want to feel calm, confident and focused? Alcohol is not the answer. There are better ways to feel good without stealing energy from tomorrow.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                              Your brain, your gut and your body will thank you.<\/p>\n

                              \ud83d\udc49 Alcohol is not just a \"high\": it is Brain damage, inflammation and stress masked<\/strong>. Even one drink a night changes your body in ways many people don't imagine.<\/p>\n

                              You deserve to know the truth and build new habits, starting now.<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                              L’ALCOOL E I SUOI RISCHI PER IL TUO BENESSERE GENERALE L\u2019alcool riduce il volume del tuo cervello. E non serve essere alcolisti perch\u00e9 questo accada. Anche solo pochi drink alla settimana possono: \u2022 Danneggiare i neuroni \u2022 Aumentare l\u2019ansia \u2022 Compromettere l\u2019intestino Ecco cosa fa davvero l\u2019alcol al tuo corpo (e come difenderti): Prima di […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":28068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alimentazione"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cristinatomasi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cristinatomasi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cristinatomasi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cristinatomasi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cristinatomasi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cristinatomasi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cristinatomasi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cristinatomasi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cristinatomasi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cristinatomasi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}