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10 Benefits of Not Drinking Alcohol

benefits of not drinking alcohol
Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / Pexels

Are you considering avoiding alcohol? There are many benefits of keeping away from this substance. Read on to learn why to avoid drinking alcohol.

Although drinking alcohol has become a large part of popular culture, there are still many reasons to avoid it or limit your consumption of it. Read on to learn why not to drink alcohol.

There are many, many reasons to avoid or limit your alcohol consumption. Alcohol may be encouraged in current culture, but consumption of it largely overworks and poisons your organs and body in general. If you’re looking for reasons not to drink alcohol, you will find an abundance. Read on to learn about ten benefits of not drinking alcohol.

1. Your Liver Efficiency Improves

Keeping your alcohol consumption in check is part of a healthy lifestyle.
Keeping your alcohol consumption in check is part of a healthy lifestyle. (Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / sasint)

When you consume alcohol, even if only occasionally, it enters the bloodstream as a toxin. This forces your liver to work overtime in order to remove it (along with other toxins) from your body. The strain of alcohol on your liver can build up over time and create buildup that lessens the liver’s capacity to work.

2. Your Brain Works Better, Mental Health is Improved

Decreasing alcohol consumption helps your mental health, and improves your brain's processing abilities.
Decreasing alcohol consumption helps your mental health, and improves your brain’s processing abilities. (Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / geralt)

If you’ve ever had a little too much alcohol, you will be familiar with the brain fog/cloudiness of your memories, the impaired speech, and the slower thinking that accompanies it. These are all harmful to the normal processes that your brain requires in order to function at its best. Alcohol prevents the brain from working at its normal pace, making your mental health take a dive. You will have better memory function if you avoid drinking alcohol altogether.

3. Your Skin Becomes Healthier

Reducing your alcohol consumption is a great way to support your daily skincare routine.
Reducing your alcohol consumption is a great way to support your daily skincare routine. (Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / kerdkanno)

Although we don’t often think of skin as an organ, it is actually the body’s largest organ and can largely be affected by alcohol consumption. Drinking alcohol can zap the elasticity in your skin due to its diuretic properties. Heavy alcohol consumption has also been associated with increased facial lines, under-eye puffiness, and midface volume loss.

4. Benefits of Not Drinking Alcohol: You’ll Sleep Better

Sleep is often disrupted by alcohol. Without it, your sleep improves.
Sleep is often disrupted by alcohol. Without it, your sleep improves. (Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / Claudio_Scott)

As a sedative, alcohol interacts with neurotransmitters in your brain and leads to less restful sleep. Avoiding alcohol helps the body rest, the mind calm, and your hydration levels balance out. Getting the proper sleep is essential to your body’s systems working at their best.

5. You Might Lose Weight

Without consuming excessive calories from alcohol, your metabolism works better and you could lose weight.
Without consuming excessive calories from alcohol, your metabolism works better and you could lose weight. (Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / mojzagrebinfo)

Because alcoholic drinks are full of empty calories and rich in things like carbs and added sugar, excessive alcohol consumption can lead to weight gain and obesity, which means that one of the benefits of not drinking alcohol is that you might lose a few extra pounds. Further, alcohol prevents the body from absorbing the right nutrients, so once you quit, your body will be able to benefit more from a healthy diet.

6. Your Immune System Works Better

Drinking alcohol lowers your immune system's abilities to fight off colds and sickness.
Drinking alcohol lowers your immune system’s abilities to fight off colds and sickness. (Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / saniusman89)

As a toxin to the body, alcohol lowers your immune system, making you more prone to sickness and may even lead to an increased risk of cancer. Avoiding alcohol helps you stay healthy and active.

7. Benefits of Not Drinking Alcohol: Your Mood Will Elevate

Drinking alcohol brings down your mood. Without it, your brain and mood are elevated and balanced.
Drinking alcohol brings down your mood. Without it, your brain and mood are elevated and balanced. (Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / Alexas_Fotos)

Alcohol interferes with serotonin in our brains, an important neurotransmitter that affects mood. Too little serotonin can decrease your mood and even lead to depression and anxiety. If you’ve noticed that you’ve been down lately, avoiding drinking alcohol may help improve your mood.

8. Your Heart Works Better

Increase cardiovascular health is one of the many benefits of not drinking alcohol.
Increase cardiovascular health is one of the many benefits of not drinking alcohol. (Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / jorge_romero_ortiz)

Heavy drinking is also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Avoiding alcohol gives your heart a better chance to work normally and lessens your risk of developing heart-related complications.

9. Your Stomach Feels Better

Often your stomach will hurt after drinking alcohol, causing inflammation and discomfort.
Often your stomach will hurt after drinking alcohol, causing inflammation and discomfort. (Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / mohamed_hassan)

Another benefit of not drinking alcohol is that your stomach will function better without alcohol slowing it down or making it upset. Alcohol tends to give people gas, as it irritates the stomach’s lining, forcing your gut to work harder to remove it. Quitting alcohol has only a positive impact on your belly.

10. Benefits of Not Drinking Alcohol: Cancer Risk is Lower

Instead of reaching for a beer or glass of wine, go for a refreshing iced tea or lemonade instead.
Instead of reaching for a beer or glass of wine, go for a refreshing iced tea or lemonade instead. (Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / suju-foto)

Avoiding alcohol lowers your risk for certain types of cancer, including breast, liver, and mouth. Drinking too much alcohol lowers an important cell molecule in the body, which can turn cells into cancerous cells. Avoiding alcohol lowers the tendency for this molecule to form, resulting in less cancer risk.

Instead of reaching for the next glass of wine or cocktail, try these alcohol alternatives for a healthier life.

Read on:

Important Information regarding Health-related Topics.

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