What Alcohol Does to Your Body: Harvard’s Dr. Sarah Wakeman With the Medical Facts You Need to Know

Today you’re getting a masterclass from one of the most renowned and respected experts on alcohol.

She’s here to give you the latest research and science of how alcohol impacts your body, brain, and mind. She’s going to give you facts, dispel myths, and help you be informed about the decisions you are making when it comes to your mental, physical, and emotional health when it comes to alcohol consumption.

Dr. Sarah Wakeman is Senior Medical Director of Substance Use Disorder at Mass General Brigham, home to nationally recognized hospitals and cutting-edge research. She's also an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Program Director of Mass General Substance Use Addiction Services.

How much is TOO much alcohol?

Is some alcohol healthy?

What happens to your brain when you drink?

And how do you help someone you love who drinks too much?

Get the latest research so that you make the most informed decisions about the role alcohol plays in your life.

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In this episode, you'll learn:‍

• 4:40: What is alcohol and what does it do when we drink it?
• 5:30: How is alcohol formed in the first place?
• 5:55: Wait. Alcohol that we drink is the same as WHAT?
• 7:20: Are there negative impacts to having a drink every night?
• 9:30: Know THIS about alcohol, especially if cancer runs in your family.
• 10:30: What alcohol does to your liver, and how you can change that.
• 12:25: This recent event increased alcohol use in the U.S.
• 12:45: What does alcohol impact your kidneys?
• 13:30: Does alcohol damage your gut microbiome and does it matter?
• 14:50: Ask yourself these 3 questions to assess the role alcohol plays in your life.
• 17:45: How much drinking is too much, from a medical perspective?
• 19:00: Here’s why many people don’t share their alcohol habits with doctors.
• 20:30: 7 questions to ask if you or someone you love has a problem.
• 25:15: Physical symptoms of alcohol overuse. 
• 26:00: 7 benefits you’ll see pretty quickly once you stop drinking. 
• 27:10: How does drinking make menopause worse?
• 28:00: Think alcohol makes you sleep better? This is what actually happens.
• 29:00: What’s a hangover and what happens in your body?
• 31:00: This is how alcohol increases anxiety. 
• 33:05: If you’re living with depression, this might actually be the reason.
• 34:00: Keep forgetting names and important information? 
• 37:00: What to do and NOT do when talking to someone about alcohol.
• 40:00: Why a tough love approach doesn’t work for alcoholics.
• 42:30: Why most people avoid seeking help with their relationship to alcohol.
• 45:00: What’s the most effective way to talk to your kids about drug use?
• 46:30: The 5 most important things to communicate to someone you love.
• 47:50: The 3 important first steps when you’re the one who wants to quit.
• 49:50: Set yourself up for success so that you stick to your alcohol-free goal.
• 50:30: How can you get the support you need?
• 52:22: What to know if you have an alcohol use disorder.

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Resources and go deeper:

Sarah Wakeman References & Research

• Follow her on X here
• See Sarah’s medical profile here.

• PBS: Why medication to treat alcoholism is vastly underutilized
• Mass General Brigham: Substance use disorder: addictions & treatments
• Rutgers: Women increase drinking during pandemic
• The New York Times: Could all those ‘quarantinis’ lead to drinking problems?
• Substance Abuse: Why patients with substance disorders leave hospitals early
• Sage Journals: Hospital-wide initiative to redesign substance use disorder care
• WBZ News: MGH to quiz patients about use of alcohol and illegal drugs
• The New York Times: 48 million Americans live with addiction. How to get help
• UMass Chan Medical School: Inserting SUD care into the medical system

• University of California: SMART Goals, a how-to guide for setting them
• Tasty: 47 easy and delicious mocktail recipes
• The New York Times: The best non-alcoholic drinks
• National Public Radio: 6 strategies to help you take a break from alcohol
• University of Kansas: Why you need a ‘why’ & how to find it
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism: Effects on health
• National Institutes of Health: Alcohol’s effect on the brain (video)
• Nature: Alcohol consumption and gray & white brain matter
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism: Join a study
• Henry Ford Health: Hangxiety - the link between alcohol & anxiety
• American Addiction Centers: The link between alcohol & depression
• Columbia University: How much is too much to drink?
• Northwestern Medicine: What alcohol does to your liver 
• MDPI: Alcohol and the intersection of your gut, liver, and brain
• Pharmacology Biochemistry & Behavior: Tolerance to alcohol
• Alcohol Clinical & Experimental Research: Effects on cortical thickness
• New England Journal of Medicine: Alcohol and the risk of breast cancer
• Sleep Foundation: Alcohol and sleep
• The New York Times: Why does alcohol mess with my sleep?
• American Addiction Centers: Alcohol and memory loss
• Harvard Health: 7 steps to cure your hangover
• Insider Science: What happens to your body during a hangover (video)
• Mental Health America: What is codependency?
• Alcoholics Anonymous: How to find a AA meeting near you
• American Addiction Centers: How to help an alcoholic
• Addiction. The Next Step: Crisis Toolkit
• America’s Rehab: How to talk to an alcoholic in denial