Diet

5 Sneaky Ways Alcohol Affects Your Health and Beauty (and How to Prevent Them)

We're conditioned to think it's glamorous, but when it comes to your health and looks, drinking's insidious side effects are anything but

by Audrey Fine

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Alcohol accelerates the aging process Ever wake up the morning after so thirsty you can't believe it? Not surprising. Plain and simple, alcoholic beverages dehydrate your body. By hindering the production of vasopressin (anti-diuretic hormones), alcohol forces your kidneys to work double time to remove excess water from your system and leaves your organs (remember, skin is your largest one) parched.

Skin that's dry from the inside out not only wrinkles more quickly than nice, moist skin does, but it can take on a pale or gray cast -- a condition that is exacerbated by the fact that alcohol also robs the body of vitamin A -- an antioxidant that's critical for cell renewal and turnover.

Next: What drinking does to your skin

SEE NEXT PAGE: Alcohol worsens skin issues

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Older comments

Nice info.

by Mollysunshine Thursday, March 28, 2013 at 02:12AM Report as inappropriate

Interesting

by kc99012 Saturday, December 15, 2012 at 05:33AM Report as inappropriate

Didn't realize how bad alcohol was for your body...even if it is just a drink every now and then.

by MizzPink Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 12:06PM Report as inappropriate

I'm glad I drink alcohol rarely. I have never been drunk before! :D

by MandyBoo Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 11:15AM Report as inappropriate

Just another reason to stop drinking.....

by Hcaddy15 Wednesday, October 31, 2012 at 09:32AM Report as inappropriate

interesting article.

by lazorc Sunday, March 18, 2012 at 07:16PM Report as inappropriate

This was a great article. I'm so glad that I choose not to drink.

by taryn.romero Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 08:17AM Report as inappropriate

This article is really a wake-up call for me. I'm in college and surrounded by so much alcohol, but this article will definitely make me think twice about what and how much I'm drinking on the weekends. I definitely do not want to age earlier than necessary!

by vfalkow Friday, September 2, 2011 at 02:11PM Report as inappropriate

I love that this article shows the dangers of alcohol! In many of my biology and psychology classes we learn a ton about drugs, especially caffeine and alcohol, and so its nice to see people getting serious about alcohol like everyone already is with smoking and other drugs. Thank you for the article!

by Steph53 Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 09:48AM Report as inappropriate

Complete, nothing more, nothing less. Alcohol is toxic. So, if we're so concerned with the nature pollution, why should we take the pollution inside? If we consider also the fact that alcohol is directly linked with the breast cancer...

by kariro Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 05:55AM Report as inappropriate