Don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but alcohol is bad for your health. While drinking in limit may not harm your health, outrageous amounts of booze can wreak havoc on your health. It can mess with your system in ways you wouldn’t imagine. And a new study has found that too much alcohol can make you more vulnerable to Covid-19. Read on to know the side effects of too much alcohol and how it makes you more vulnerable to coronavirus disease.

Too much alcohol can increase COVID-19 risk

Drinking alcohol in excess can increase your chances of developing Covid-19, found the study published in the journal Alcohol: Clinical and Experiment Research. The German study discovered that frequent drinking raises the levels of the ACE2 enzyme in the lungs, which coronavirus uses to enter cells, raising the possibility of catching the virus through exposure.

For the study, the researchers found that chronic alcohol exposure increases the levels of ACE2 in the lungs of the rats used for the study. There was a high possibility that SARS-CoV-2 could enter the lungs and infect them. They speculated that this would imply that blood alcohol levels could speed up the rate at which COVID-19 enters body cells.

Also Read: Is it safe to drink alcohol after getting the Covid-19 vaccine?

They also found that with abstinence from alcohol exposure, the rats exhibited an elevated anti-inflammatory response, indicating that discontinuing heavy drinking may have a protective impact.

How to reduce the intake of alcohol?

Anybody who drinks more than 14 units of alcohol a week needs to cut it down significantly. So, here are some tips to avoid alcohol:

1. Set a goal

You should set a drinking goal of how much you will be drinking. You should keep it under the recommended guidelines. Limit your alcohol intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men or 1 drink or less in a day for women.

2. Track your intake

Now that you have decided how much you’ll be drinking, it is good to track how many drinks you drink in a day. You can even use apps to track your alcohol intake and keep it in control.

3. Seek help from family members

Don’t shy away from asking for help when it comes to alcohol abstinence. It can be a difficult process, and sharing it with your closed one can make it easier.

4. Have a plan for cravings

So, what do you do when cravings creep in when you think about quitting alcohol? You make a plan for it. Remind yourself about the harmful effects of alcohol, distract yourself with a hobby, talk to loved ones, or exercise. Find the perfect distraction for yourself and make it work.

5. Exercise

Exercise is a great alternative to alcohol. A lot of people turn to alcohol to ease anxiety, but exercise can help ease the symptoms as well. Studies have also shown that exercise can help you deal with stress and anxiety.

Also Read: 4 things that happen to your body and mind when you exercise regularly

6. Avoid triggers

What triggers you to drink alcohol? Is it watching the match? Getting together with your alcoholic buddies? Is it loneliness? Try saying “No” when you are with your friends who drink alcohol. Talk to someone about your loneliness if it bothers you. Whatever triggers alcohol cravings, try to look for an alternative and deal with it in a sensible way.

Since alcohol does not just increase your risk of getting infected with Covid-19, it also increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases, it is best to quit it. If not quit, at least reduce its intake.