Does Alcohol Make You Look Older?

Not only will alcohol make conditions like hypertension and diabetes worse, but it also mixes poorly with the medications typically used to treat those conditions. Aging effects on the skin vary depending on the type of drug. This is because the liver’s ability to break down the toxins in alcohol slows down. Because dehydration from drinking can cause dry mouth, bad breath the day after drinking can also occur (2). On average, a 12-ounce beer has about 150 calories, and 5 ounces of wine has about 120 calories (4).

Drinking alcohol reduces the amount of vitamin D in the body. On your road to finding and maintaining recovery, we are with you for life. If you’re ready to start that journey, contact us today to learn more. To fully appreciate the positive effects of sobriety on your body, let’s first examine the damaging connection between alcohol and skin aging. Some people have no trouble cutting back on their drinking.

Skin

Would you eat that entire box of donuts if you were sober? Ria’s telemedicine-based program is designed to simplify things, allowing you to access the support you need from the comfort of home. We use evidence-based methods to help you moderate or stop drinking, and our convenient smartphone app makes the whole process portable.

People who drink may notice that they’re “feeling no pain” sooner as they get older. That’s mainly because our bodies gain fat and lose muscle in our senior years and it takes longer for us to break down alcohol and get it out of our system. Miami real estate agent Alina Freyre said she and her husband, Andy Freyre, stopped drinking two years ago. Not only did they lose weight — 50 does alcohol make you look older pounds for her and 80 pounds for him — but she said it was the “best thing that has ever happened” to them. When the liver is working hard to detoxify the body from alcohol, it creates more free radicals than the body’s antioxidants can handle, which leads to something called oxidative stress. Studies have shown that oxidative stress is an important contributing factor in aging.

You Can See It In Your Eyes

Over time, the toll of alcoholism can leave you feeling and looking different from the person you want to be. You will see many beneficial appearance changes after you quit drinking, including in the mirror. These two inspiring books from leading sobriety coach Simon Chapple are out today! The perfect companion to Rock Bottom – The Sober Life Journal captures the essence of journaling and provides space to grow and develop as you embark on a sober life. Ideal for anyone contemplating a sober life come the new year, or from #dryjanuary.

• This can lead to stains, yellowing, and permanent tooth loss.
• You can also begin detoxing to get any alcohol or other harmful substance out of your system.
• Heavy drinking over time can cause weight gain, which might result in the appearance of a double chin.

Below is a breakdown of just how alcohol takes a toll on your body and mind, making you look and feel older than you should ― plus some advice on how to cut back but still cut loose. Tanning makes you look good, but it does more damage to your skin. Whether you are tanning under the sun or in a tanning bed, it can damage the skin and make you look older over time. When you don’t drink enough of it, it can end up showing on your skin.

Alcohol and Aging: Does Drinking Make You Look Older?

Heavy drinking can have a direct effect on certain parts of your body and on your mental health as you get older. Drinking water between alcoholic beverages “will combat ethanol-induced dehydration, which will help your skin to look better the next day,” Koskinen said. If heavy drinking is a regular thing, you could face some potentially irreversible skin damage. If you’re bothered by wrinkles and the appearance of ageing, contact the team at the Harley Clinic to talk about your options.

The body flags alcohol as a toxin, and the liver focuses on breaking down alcohol before any fat, carbohydrate, or protein. When the liver is constantly working to process alcohol rather than food, you start to gain weight. There are just as many negative invisible body changes that can occur due to heavy drinking as there are visible body changes. Perhaps the biggest sign of aging that you can’t physically see is the effect that drinking has on your brain.