If you like a glass of wine when you’re dining out with friends…or a few beers while watching sports with your buddies—no big deal. These are enjoyable aspects of socializing and harmless for most people. And you probably know that moderate alcohol consumption can have certain health benefits. On the other hand, maybe you (or someone you know) have started to worry about your drinking habits. Maybe you haven’t exactly stayed within the “moderate” range lately. Is it a problem? Should you cut back on drinking—or even abstain?
The truth is that you don’t have to literally end every day falling down drunk for a drinking habit to jeopardize your health, your relationships and your job. And even if you don’t have a problem with alcohol per se, it still can affect your health in ways that would surprise you. The experts in Bottom Line’s Guide to Beating a Drinking Habit will help you assess your alcohol consumption—and if there is a problem, they offer dozens of researched and proven ways to beat it. You’ll take our quiz to see if you (or someone you know) are an “almost alcoholic”…find out how many drinks per day (it’s not much!) ages your brain by six years…learn what happens to the brains of social drinkers that makes them more likely to get into fights…see how alcohol interferes with a crazy optical illusion that you need in order to drive safely at night…learn which wine is associated with less risk for breast cancer… what recovering alcoholics and heavy drinkers should eat and the supplements they should take…and much more.
Read below for more about how to enjoy alcohol safely and make sure it doesn’t control your life…
Maybe You Drink More Than You Think…
Is Someone You Know an “Almost Alcoholic”? Take the Quiz
Drink Too Much? Have a Drug Problem? Warning Signs and What to Do
Who Could Develop a Drinking Problem?
Your Brain On Booze…
Heavy Drinking In Middle Age Speeds Memory Loss by Six Years
The Scary Link Between Binge Drinking and Dementia
Surprising Brain Danger from Drinking
How Alcohol Makes It Harder to Read Facial Expressions
Optical Illusion Explains How Alcohol Impairs Vision
Even Just a Little Alcohol Makes Driving Dangerous
The Cancer Link to Drink
Even One Drink a Day Raises Cancer Risk: Should You Give Up Alcohol?
How Red Wine Affects Breast Cancer Risk
Alcohol: The Drink That’s Linked to Deadly Melanoma Skin Cancer
Should Women Drink? It’s Complicated
Surprising Other Effects of Alcohol
The Truth About Drinking Past 45
Drinkers In the Operating Room: How Alcohol Affects Your Risk for Complications After Surgery
Supporting Sobriety and Good Health
Alcoholic? AA Works—But It Helps Men and Women Differently
Nutrients That Help Alcoholics Quit
How Former Heavy Drinkers and Smokers Can Protect Their Health Today