Is Occasional Binge Drinking Still Harmful?

The Bender Question: We may have mostly left the boozy benders behind after college, but sometimes those brunch Bloodys and birthday beers can pile up. The research is clear: Binge drinking is bad. But is even an occasional binge harmful? 

Going Deeper: Binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks in one occasion for women and five or more for men. The biggest risk for future harm lies in regular bingeing. But even a rare bender increases the risk of accidents, injuries, and irregular heartbeat. And any amount of alcohol gets metabolized into toxic acetaldehyde, which makes us hungover in the short-term and damages DNA throughout the body over time. 

Takeaway: When DNA is damaged from acetaldehyde, it tries to repair itself. Any repair attempt raises the risk of cancer forming. The risk is cumulative, increasing the more we drink. Irregular heartbeat from bingeing (dubbed holiday heart syndrome, as it’s more common during winter holidays) bumps up the risk for stroke and heart failure. 

Bottom Line: While you probably won’t develop cancer from one single binge, it’s not without risk. You can minimize harm (and hangovers) by staying hydrated and eating beforehand to help the liver process the alcohol.