How long have you been cooped up? If you’re like most folks, it’s so long you have every floor tile counted and memorized at this point.
We’re all getting bored and going a bit stir crazy. And let’s face it, we’re starting to pick up some bad habits as a result.
We sit too much… eat too much… and watch too much TV for starters.
But some folks are picking up one MORE bad habit that might turn out to be the worst of the lot. Many people are DRINKING too much too.
And, trust me, I get it. This strange combination of stress AND boredom could drive anyone to reach for the bottle more often than usual. As the old Merle Haggard song goes, “I’ve always had a bottle I could turn to – and lately, I’ve been turning every day.”
But don’t give in to the temptation to drink alcohol to pass the time. Because a new report details how even a “temporary” bad booze habit to get you through the quarantine could backfire badly.
How ‘the bottle’ can let you down
It turns out indulging in drink could DAMAGE your immune system and leave you RIPE for infection.
Too much booze could even make you more prone to picking up the very same coronavirus infection you’re working so hard to avoid right now.
Old Haggard sings that the bottle eventually let him down. And the new report shows alcohol could do the same to your immune system if you turn to it too often for support, comfort, and relief here in the age of coronavirus.
In fact, just a SINGLE NIGHT of going overboard can mess with your body’s ability to fend off threats.
Scientists at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine found that four or five alcoholic drinks in the space of a few hours can mess with the body’s cytokines, which play a key role in both the immune system and inflammation.
Alcohol messes with your immune system
But one of the studies published by the university’s researchers found something even more baffling… and dangerous.
A single episode of binge drinking didn’t just cause inflammation. It caused a rapid JUMP in inflammation, followed by a quick PLUNGE.
Those sudden spikes and drops can alter your hormone response and mess with your body’s ability to heal itself on a cellular level.
Excess alcohol also throws your homeostasis out of whack, which can make it difficult to fight off infections as well.
Put it all together, and the lesson is painfully clear. The more you drink, the lower your body’s ability to defend itself from viruses and other threats becomes.
None of this means you can’t enjoy an alcoholic drink at the end of another looooooooong day of quarantine. Just use a little restraint.
One drink is fine if your doc says you are healthy enough for it, and it doesn’t interfere with any medications you are taking.
Sip it. Savor it. But don’t refill it – and the bottle will never let you down.
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