From fewer orgasms to deafness, how alcohol REALLY affects our bodies as Abbey Clancy says boozing’s ‘aged her 10 years’
EVERY mum stuck at home with the kids can relate to Abbey Clancy, who says she's been boozing far more than she should in lockdown.
But rather than solving all of life's problems, the model, 34, confessed this week that it made her feel like she’s "aged about 10 years".
Abbey, who has four kids, is far from alone. One study found that 61 per cent of Brits increased their booze intake after lockdown began, with Google searches for ‘wine delivery UK’ soaring by 2,250 per cent.
But now we are no longer stuck at home, it could be time to check we haven’t slipped into bad habits.
As our map of the human body shows, the effects of alcohol are far more than skin deep.
Here, we talk to experts about how boozing really hurts you from top to toe.
Bloodshot eyes & blurry vision
When you’re a busy mum, it helps to wake up bright-eyed - however, too much alcohol can have the opposite effect.
It makes the blood vessels in the eyes widen, allowing more blood pass through them, so they become more visible.
Susan Sarangapani, ophthalmic surgeon at Ophthalmic Consultants of London, says it can be hard to see well the next morning too.
"Too much alcohol can affect the way the muscles in the eyes work together and react to signals in the brain, leading to blurry vision," she tells Sun Online.
Some effects won’t fade with your hangover either.
Swedish researchers found that women who had one or more alcoholic drinks per day were about 11 per cent more likely than non-drinkers to need surgery for cataracts, which form when the transparent lens in the eye develops cloudy patches.
Bad hair day
At the moment, Abbey is known for her healthy-looking mane of blonde hair.
But over time, if women drink a lot, it can have a knock-on effect on their tresses too, according to trichologist Iain Sallis of Hair Medic.
The body will generally become ill, so over time, the hair will start to suffer and won’t grow as well, which can make it look lacklustre and dishevelled
Iain Sallis from Hair Medic
"Long-term chronic drinking can make the liver get fatty, disrupt blood sugar and make women gain weight," he says.
"The body will generally become ill, so over time, the hair will start to suffer and won’t grow as well, which can make it look lacklustre and dishevelled."
Hearing loss
Boozing can even make you hard of hearing.
Studies have found that dehydration it causes can affect the fluid levels in the ears, making you feel dizzy.
It can also increase blood flow to the inner ear, triggering tinnitus – or ringing – which may be temporary at first, but then become permanent. What's more, it can also damage the tiny hair cells in your ear, making it harder for your brain to interpret sounds.
Dr Deborah Lee of says: "In the short term, acute alcohol intake can cause reversible hearing loss. Long-term, excess alcohol intake can cause permanent deafness."
Restless nights & snoring
One more reason Abbey may be feeling ten years older from drinking too much in lockdown is that booze prevents you getting a good night’s sleep.
"Drinking close to bedtime interferes with a number of normal sleep processes," Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, Silentnight’s resident sleep expert, says.
WHAT IS ALCOHOL MISUSE?
ALCOHOL misuse is when a person drinks to excess regularly.
That means drinking more than 14 units a week - the level recommended by the NHS.
A unit of booze is 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol.
That's the amount of booze the average adult liver can process in one hour.
A strong pint of beer contains three units, while a lower strength lager is just over two units.
The weekly recommendation of no more than 14 units, equates to six pints or 10 small glasses of wine.
Meanwhile, a 750ml bottle of red, white or rose, is 10 units.
That's 1.5 units in a small glass of wine, just over two in a medium glass and three in a large glass.
A single measure of vodka, gin and other spirits is one unit, while a double shot is 1.4 units.
"The Rapid Eye Movement – or REM - sleep stage is missed as you go straight into a deep sleep.
"As the alcohol wears off, you will return to REM sleep, making you more likely to wake up after only a few hours sleep."
You’ll snore more too, adds Dr Ramlakhan.
"Alcohol relaxes the muscles in the body, including the tissues in your throat, mouth and nose, stopping the air flowing smoothly. This makes them more likely to vibrate - and you to snore."
Acne breakouts & dry skin
As a model, Abbey is admired for her flawless complexion.
But over time, drinking too much will cause tell-tale damage that will make you look permanently older.
In fact, alcohol is believed to be the second biggest cause of skin ageing after sun damage, says Dr Rekha Tailor, cosmetic doctor at
Dr Tailor says it does everything from trigger more acne to starve the skin of water and vitamins it needs to make it look plump and youthful.
Alcohol is a diuretic, so it forces the water out of your body and makes it more difficult to rehydrate afterwards
Dr Rekha Tailor
"Alcohol is a diuretic, so it forces the water out of your body and makes it more difficult to rehydrate afterwards.
"So it will leave you with dry, flaky skin and the fine lines and wrinkles will be more visible, with the skin often appearing dull.
"Alcohol also depletes our levels of Vitamin A, which is also key to the production of collagen, which is responsible for the elasticity in our skin."
Trouble breathing
It’s easy to smell alcohol on a drinker’s breath because alcohol in the blood enters the body’s airways and lungs so easily.
According to Dr Deborah Lee of , booze also lowers levels of an important chemical which coats the tiny air sacs in the lungs, making breathing slower and more difficult.
Alcohol also dampens the lung’s immune response making it more likely that heavy drinkers will develop pneumonia.
Kidney failure
Although alcohol affects every organ of the body, heavy drinking damages the liver first, because it's the place where alcohol is broken down by your body, according to Dr Lee.
"When you drink excess alcohol, it causes a build-up of fat in the liver.
‘Once the fat is inside liver cells, it triggers an inflammatory reaction and over time, scar tissue forms so your liver eventually fails."
Cancer risks
Boozing also boosts your risk of breast cancers, possibly because it damages the DNA in the cells.
Even moderate alcohol consumption has been linked to a 30 to 50 per cent increased risk in breast cancers, compared to women who don’t drink, according to a range of more than 50 studies.
Less orgasms & incontinence
As booze dehydrates you so much, it can make you more likely to develop vaginal dryness.
And even though it can make you less sexually inhibited, Katie Mann, chartered physiotherapist and chair of the Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy board, says that it can also make it harder to orgasm.
She told the Sun: "While people may do things sexually that they wouldn’t do sober, it can slow down the nerve responses, making achieving orgasm more difficult."
And there may be one more embarrassing side-effect, adds Katie.
"Alcohol is a relaxant, so the pelvic floor may relax more too, making you more likely to leak urine."
Which types of alcohol are worse for your looks?
All types of alcohol are variations of the chemical ethanol, and the liver and brain break this down the same way.
But your favourite tipple may also include extra ingredients that can make you look and feel worse the next day.
Prosecco/champagne and white wine
White wine, contains around 10-11 per cent alcohol. It's not just this higher content that leaves us with a notorious 'white wine hangover'.
It makes your stomach secrete more acidic, irritating the lining and making you feel sick, and leaving you severely dehydrated.
According to dentists, the high acid and sugar content in bubbly and white wine can also cause erosion of tooth enamel, which can’t be reversed over time. Over time this makes teeth look more yellow .
How bad is it for your looks?: 8/10
Vodka
Vodka packs a powerful punch – most brands are mixed with 40 per cent alcohol.
However it is so pure that it contains no 'congeners', or by-products made during fermentation, which are otherwise difficult for the body to break down.
It also has less sugar compared to most alcoholic drinks, and is more skin-friendly, as long as it is drunk in small doses and heavily diluted.
How bad is it for your looks? 5/10
Beer
The boys may be onto something. Pale beer has a low alcohol content – between 3-6 per cent by volume for lager, compared to other drinks.
It also contains cereals and yeast, which slow down alcohol absorption from the stomach into the bloodstream.
Beer is more diluted with water than spirits and wines, too. This makes it filling and it takes longer to drink, giving your body time to process it and less likely to suffer a bad hangover.
How bad is it for your looks? 4/10
Red Wine
Red wine has a higher alcohol content than white – around 12-14 per cent - because the grapes are picked at a later, more potent stage.
Red wine is also fermented longer with skin and pips, meaning it creates another more toxic type of alcohol called methanol, or wood alcohol.
The liver processes ethanol in the alcohol first when you drink red wine.
However, after-effects are likely to drag on because it has to break down methanol too, which means you will still be suffering – and showing the after-effects – many hours later.
How bad is it for your looks? 7/10
Clumsiness
The effects of alcohol may even extend down to your feet.
Foot expert Rebecca Cornthwaite of footwear chain Shuropody says booze can reduce blood flow to your toes, and even make you more likely to fall over.
This condition, called neuropathy can also cause a hot burning sensation and make your feet looked mottled.
Rebecca says: "People with neuropathy will find that nerve function and sensation will be affected, leading to a tingling feeling in the feet, a loss of sensation and a lack of co-ordination.
MORE IN HEALTH
"It can impact on balance, making people more prone to trips and falls."
It can even ruin the look of your toes, says aesthetic doctor, Dr Rekha Tailor, of Health & Aesthetics, says: "Too much drinking does not only lead to dehydration of the skin, but also the finger and toe nails too, making them brittle, more prone to peeling and dry and easier to break."