EVENTUALLY –
May 13, 2026 – You see, for all the sobering news of alcohol’s effects on your health, there’s a silver lining. Many of the diseases attributed to alcohol can be slowed, stopped and even reversed if action is taken soon enough. Here’s what science has found so far.
If you’re not aware of the impact of a drink on your ability to fight off infections such as colds, flu and Covid-19, that’s understandable. While the link between alcohol and pneumonia has been known since 1785, large scale discussion on the impact of liquor on immunity began in the 1990s.
Alcohol disrupts the ability of the body’s innate immune system — the one you’re born with — as well as any acquired immunity you’ve developed from exposure to other pathogens. It takes very little alcohol to immediately depress the ability of key white blood cells such as macrophages, neutrophils and natural killer cells to fight viruses, bacterial infections and cancer cells.
