How alcohol speeds up aging

Most of us enjoy a glass of something alcoholic now and then. The only problem is – as we grow older – the effects of alcohol on the body are more potent.

So, for those of us who are serious about looking younger and aging well – it’s important to understand just how alcohol accelerates the aging process.

Most of us already know that excessive consumption of alcohol causes liver damage – but did you know that that drinking alcohol makes you more likely to develop osteoporosis?

Alcohol interferes with the body’s ability to absorb calcium so the more alcohol you drink – the greater the risk of brittle bones and other related calcium deficiency problems.

Calcium loss means low density bone mass and the bent, frail physique we associate with the elderly.

The older we become, the higher the likelihood of alcohol related skin aging.   Alcohol is a toxin and is notoriously dehydrating – regular drinking means deeper lines and facial wrinkles.

And if you smoke as well as drink then you get something of a double whammy as far as your skin is concerned.  Smoking accelerates skin aging even more than alcohol and together the effect is much worse.

Your figure will suffer too.  Consume a lot of alcohol and you are getting ‘dead’ calories.  In fact – as a rough calculation – we need to walk one mile for every unit of alcohol we drink in order to walk off those added calories. If we don’t rid ourselves of calories from alcohol, they’ll most likely be stored as fat around the abdomen, hence the term “beer belly”.

One beer or a full unit of alcohol every evening adds 15 pounds to your stomach in a year. On top of that – drinking alcohol is likely to stimulate your appetite causing you to eat more than you need as well.

Alcohol also has an aging effect on the skin. Alcohol causes the small blood vessels to widen, producing flushed, coarse skin, broken veins and deeper lines and wrinkles.

Women fare worse than men when it comes to managing alcohol. Alcohol doesn’t need to be digested as it’s a toxin and the body wants to get rid of it as quickly as possible. It’s absorbed into the blood where it remains until it’s broken down by the liver.

It takes women longer to process alcohol – as alcohol is stored in fat which women have more of. As we get older of course we store more fat so – over the age of 40 – we find that it takes even longer to process and eliminate the alcohol.

We all know about the positive side of alcohol.  The French owe their increased resistance to heart disease largely due to wine consumption – although it is probably true that the healthier French diet has something to do with these statistics.

French people eat a much higher proportion of fruit, vegetables and wholefoods with much less heavily processed food than the average American.

Scientists have linked the protective effects of wine to an organic compound known as ‘resveratrol’ that’s found in red wine. A glass or two of this wonderful substance taken daily decreases the likelihood of atherosclerotic disease occurring. And the wine with the highest concentration of resveratrol in the world – Californian red of course!

Drink wisely and the effects of alcohol on the body can be positive – or at least not so damaging.  Drink more than you should and your looks and health will suffer.

Related articles:

• Kate Moss facial aging
• Skin aging – lifestyle choices make a difference
• Happy holidays: how to manage your alcohol intake