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What alcohol and caffeine really do to your body

Alcohol and caffeine are two of our favourite things.

Now research has uncovered what drinking alcohol and coffee, or other caffeinated products, is actually doing to our body.

And we have good news and bad news.

Get ready for some alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Photo: Getty
Get ready for some alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Photo: Getty

While experts generally agree that drinking alcohol in moderation is OK, having too much alcohol has been linked to a slew of serious health problems.

Now, there’s a new concern to add to the list: Drinking can age you on a cellular level.

Source: Giphy
Source: Giphy

That’s the takeaway from a new study from Kobe University that was presented at the 40th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism.

For the study, researchers looked at the drinking history, alcohol habits, and DNA of 255 people, about half of whom sought alcoholism treatment services at a hospital in Japan.

Alcohol can age you. Photo: Getty
Alcohol can age you. Photo: Getty

After analysing each person’s data, the researchers determined that the more alcohol people drank, the more their cells appeared to age.

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Alcoholic patients specifically had shortened telomeres, the protein caps on the ends of human chromosomes that are markers of aging and overall health.

Drinking too much can put you at risk of age-related diseases. Photo: Getty
Drinking too much can put you at risk of age-related diseases. Photo: Getty

Health expert Jennifer Wider, MD, tells Yahoo Beauty the news is concerning given that it places people who drink heavily at risk for age-related diseases.

“In those individuals who are already at a higher risk for diseases like cancer and stroke “this could have dire consequences,” she says.

So it’s possible that any amount of alcohol can speed up cell aging, but the quantity you drink and how long you drink matters.

Don't stop hitting up the coffee machine. Photo: Getty
Don't stop hitting up the coffee machine. Photo: Getty

So what about our daily cup of coffee?

New research implies that drinking coffee could be the key to combating obesity.

Caffeine apparently helps burn off calories by boosting the release of oxytocin – and that’s the hormone that affects our appetite and metabolism.

Source: Giphy
Source: Giphy

Scientists actually suggest that coffee could allow people to battle their expanding waistline.

Trials were done on overweight mice, who received high amounts of caffeine, and the drug helped slim them down, because they ate less and made them more active.

Let's head to the coffee club. Photo: Getty
Let's head to the coffee club. Photo: Getty

“Together, the results demonstrate caffeine treatment ameliorates obesity through both the reduction of food intake and the promotion of energy expenditure,” Lead author Professor Guo Zhang said.

However, the doses used were very high - 60mg/kg, estimated to be equivalent to between 24 and 36 cups of coffee in humans.

So don’t start guzzling more coffee to deal with any alcohol cravings.

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