Long-Term Side Effects of Beer

If you were to abuse something as simple as milk or even water, it could have an ill effect on your health. Everything we do in life needs to be done in moderation to avoid the worst-case scenario; this includes drinking beer. However, beer over a long period can have an ill effect on our overall health, both if you were to drink moderately or if you were to drink every day. 

Whether or not you drink every day or moderately over a long period and enjoy the taste, no one wants to have side effects. The side effects of beer consumption could significantly impact your life and be the difference between life and death in certain instances. 

We have become more educated on the impact of beer over time, and the side effects are more widely publicized. Knowing about these issues is essential because it could steer you toward giving up your beer consumption. We live in a society that encourages drinking, so sometimes, knowing the harm can allow you to break away from what is essentially expected behavior of you.   

Below we will discuss the long-term side effect of drinking beer from the perspective of someone who drinks beer every day to someone who drinks beer moderately but over a long period. 

Long-term effect of drinking beer moderately 

To put into context, drinking moderately, it is recommended that men drink no more than two beers a day and women no more than one. However, moderately would be not drinking every day but every couple of days or during special events. 

If you were to think that because you are not drinking beer every day, your risk or side effects dramatically drop, you would be correct, but that does not eliminate your chances of side effects. Here are some side effects people who drink beer moderately should consider.

1. Weight gain – Gaining weight is always easier than losing weight, but it becomes easier with people who drink beer. Even on a moderate scale, drinking beer causes your body to burn fewer calories. It also is a huge source of calories and glucose, and if consumed consistently over a long period, it can lead to weight gain, even for those who exercise consistently. 
2. Increased chance of cancer – Even though the increased risk of cancer is associated with heavy drinkers, moderate drinkers also have an increased risk of cancer, such as the throat, breast, esophagus, and many more. 
3. Gout flare-ups – For those patients who already suffer from gout, the intake of alcohol will only exacerbate the pain associated with gout. Long-sustained beer drinking could lead to more gout flare-ups. 

Long-term effects of drinking every day

Of course, drinking every day will lead to quicker onset of side effects, and the side effects will be more severe. Drinking every day does not automatically make someone an alcoholic, but there are still health issues associated with the constant intake of an alcoholic beverages. Here are a few health risks associated with drinking every day. 

1. Increased likelihood of ill-guided behavior – Despite beer having low alcoholic content compared to other alcoholic drinks, it is still filled with alcohol. Once someone gets comfortable drinking beer every day, addiction or not, it could lead them to drink more, and the more they drink, the more their decision-making ability fades. This could lead them to make inappropriate decisions they would not otherwise have made if it was not for the alcohol.
2. Addiction – As mentioned before, simply drinking one beer a day is not considered an addiction. Most experts would deem one beer a day to be an acceptable level. But expanded upon the first effect, daily beer drinking over a sustained period could cause more reliance and comfortability with the product so much so that you begin to drink more than you did at the very beginning of your daily beer drinking. Plus, your body will build a tolerance, so if you drink two beers a day and develop a “buzz” over time to get that same desired outcome, you have to take five beers, and thus addiction is forming. 
3. High blood pressure – When you have drunk three beers in a sitting, your body has already begun to increase its blood pressure above what would be considered the healthy limit. With this high blood pressure and sustained high blood pressure, you are more susceptible to hypertension, and stroke, among other things. 

How to avoid developing side effects from beer consumption

The results mentioned in the previous two sections do not have to be a foregone conclusion; it is possible to avoid these outcomes. The first would be to forego beer consumption entirely, but that could be a step too far for some people. The other option would be simply to monitor your beer consumption. Stick to drinking beer in the occasional social gathering, and remove it from your daily routine. Meaning trying to make drinking beer a rare occurrence entirely. The less you drink beer, the less likely any of these long-term outcomes will occur in your life. 

Are there any benefits to beer consumption?

Everything has its pros and cons, and beer is the same. Some of the benefits associated with beer consumption include lowered risk of dementia and heart disease, and it can help with sugar levels in those with diabetes. 

These benefits are not to encourage people to go out and drink beer for health benefits. Each of these illnesses needs medical guidance from your doctor on the preferred course of action. But the fact remains that there are benefits to drinking beer. It is just a matter of now allowing drinking to become a daily routine and only letting in your life in unique circumstances. This way, you can gain the benefits and avoid the long-term repercussions of consistent or heavy drinking.