Loyola Medicine Doctor Urges Alcohol Moderation During Pandemic to Maintain a Healthy Immune System
April 1, 2020Categories: Primary Care, Pulmonology & Critical Care
MAYWOOD – While it may be tempting to drink more while quarantined at home, a Loyola Medicine doctor is urging moderation, as too much alcohol can diminish the body’s ability to fight off infections like COVID-19.
Majid Afshar, MD, a pulmonologist and critical care specialist and assistant professor at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, has studied the effects of alcohol on the body’s immune system, as well as its impact on breathing and lung health. He warns that excessive alcohol use (at least four or five drinks over a few hours) can alter our cytokine response, or signaling proteins, which regulate the body’s immune response.
One of Dr. Afshar’s published studies, "Acute immunomodulatory effects of binge alcohol ingestion," found that “a single episode of binge alcohol intoxication exerted effects on the immune system that caused an early and transient pro-inflammatory state followed by an anti-inflammatory state.” These fluctuations in inflammation can affect the hormone levels, as well as the body’s ability to fight and heal from disease.
As little as two drinks a day for women and three drinks per day for men begins to “dysregulate our immune system. Alcohol does affect our frontline of defense, altering homeostasis (the body’s equilibrium) that is ideal for fighting infections like COVID-19,” says Dr. Afshar.
“We are in the midst of a pandemic,” says Dr. Afshar. “Those of us who do get sick are going to have to rely on our immune system to get through this. This is especially important for our most vulnerable populations” – the elderly, as well as anyone with diabetes, or heart, lung, and immune diseases and disorders.
Alcohol can also increase the number and severity of respiratory infections. The COVID-19 virus can lead to respiratory complications, especially in individuals with an alcohol use disorder.
“High levels or unhealthy levels of alcohol consumption are not helpful for our immune system and impairs our ability to fight off infections,” said Dr. Afshar.
“I wouldn’t say stop drinking altogether. But minimize and drink in moderation. Let’s do everything we can to stay healthy and protect ourselves.
About Loyola Medicine
Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health, is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago's western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, as well as convenient locations offering primary care, specialty care and immediate care services from nearly 2,000 physicians throughout Cook, Will and DuPage counties. LUMC is a 547-licensed-bed hospital in Maywood that includes the William G. and Mary A. Ryan Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, the John L. Keeley, MD, Emergency Department, a Level 1 trauma center, Illinois's largest burn center, the Nancy W. Knowles Orthopaedic Institute, a certified comprehensive stroke center, transplant center and a children’s hospital. Having delivered compassionate care for over 50 years, Loyola also trains the next generation of caregivers through its academic affiliation with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org. You can also follow Loyola Medicine on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter).
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit us at www.trinity-health.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).