What alcohol does to women’s bodies
Alcohol slows your thinking and can lead to accidents. Heavy drinking kills brain cells causing memory loss.
Alcohol can cause bloodshot eyes and blurry vision. Distances and speeds are harder to judge.
Alcohol draws water from the brain, making you dizzy and producing throbbing headaches.
Heavy drinking can make your heart beat irregularly and make it feel hard to breathe.
Alcohol can dry out your skin, and make your nose and cheeks red.
Alcohol can give you body odor (B.O.) and bad breath.
Alcohol has a lot of calories and can lead to weight gain.
Women break down alcohol more slowly than men, and may still feel a bit drunk the next morning.
Alcohol can hurt a baby's brain development very early in pregnancy -- before a woman even knows she's pregnant.
Drinking alcohol can lead to unsafe sex or situations that make you feel uncomfortable.
How much drinking is a “binge”?
Binge drinking means drinking a lot of alcohol in a short period of time. Binge drinking increases health risks. Because women’s bodies process alcohol differently than men, it takes less alcohol to cause harm.
What is “one drink”?
12 oz beer
5 oz wine
1 oz liquor*
*1.5 oz for 80 proof liquor
What’s more than a “standard drink”?
1 pint of draft beer
1 wine cooler
1 cocktail
1 cup jungle juice
Alcohol affects women differently from men
A woman will absorb about 30% more alcohol into her blood than a man of the same weight who has drunk the same amount.
Our bodies are built differently
- Smaller bodies, with a
- lower proportion of water
- higher proportion of fat
- Less of the stomach enzyme that breaks down alcohol means it takes longer to recover
This leads to a higher blood alcohol concentration per drink
In women's bodies:
- Alcohol increases estrogen levels, increasing risk of breast cancer
- Alcohol lowers vitamin levels such as folic acid
- Folic acid prevents cancer and birth defects
This means alcohol is more toxic for women
- Smaller bodies, with a
- lower proportion of water
- higher proportion of fat
- Less of the stomach enzyme that breaks down alcohol means it takes longer to recover
This leads to a higher blood alcohol concentration per drink
- Alcohol increases estrogen levels, increasing risk of breast cancer
- Alcohol lowers vitamin levels such as folic acid
- Folic acid prevents cancer and birth defects
This means alcohol is more toxic for women