Lockdown Lifestyle: Experts suggest excessive drinking amid lockdown can weaken immune system

DN Bureau

Planning to welcome the lockdown extension orders with a drink in your hand? Well, better to drop the idea as the recent study reveals that excessive drinking while staying indoors can have a negative impact on your immune system.

Representational Image
Representational Image


Washington D.C: Planning to welcome the lockdown extension orders with a drink in your hand? Well, better to drop the idea as the recent study reveals that excessive drinking while staying indoors can have a negative impact on your immune system.

"People drink because it mellows them," Fox News quoted Dr Shannon Sovndal, an ER doctor and author of 'Fragile' as saying. "Well, alcohol has a similar effect on the immune system, making it slow and lethargic," he added.

Also Read: Education reduces risk of alcohol dependence

As he explained the effect of alcohol consumption has in our body, he added that having one drink a day, light drinking, will likely only have a minimal effect. On the other hand, he added that heavier drinking can "dampen" all of your body's systems, including the immune system.

A report by Fox News earlier said that the immune system may see a brief boost about 20 minutes after "peak intoxication." However, 2 to 5 hours after getting drunk, that boost fades and the immune system significantly slows down.

Also Read: More years in education linked to lower risk of alcohol dependence

Researchers have also noticed that a reduction in the white blood cells, which are important to immunity, along with an increase in proteins that reduce the immune system's effectiveness.

Excessive drinking makes it harder for the body to resist disease, according to The Mayo Clinic's findings. The Clinic also suggests that drinking heavily can have high chances to be prone to developing pneumonia, which is now a common illness developed among the people who suffer from severe symptoms due to COVID-19. (ANI)










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