Does alcohol affect the menopause?
Alcohol can contribute to some symptoms of the menopause, such as
hot flushes and night sweats. Menopause can disrupt your sleep and
alcohol can make that worse.
Many women put on weight around this time as well and as alcohol is
high in calories it can contribute to weight gain. As we get older, we
lose muscle and gain fat. We also break down alcohol more slowly.
Your alcohol intake during menopause may worsen mood swings and
contribute to anxiety. Its not sensible to use alcohol to self medicate
when you are stressed or anxious.
Our bones slowly get thinner too, particularly in women after the
menopause. Drinking a lot of alcohol can make this worse, increasing
your risk of osteoporosis (a condition that affects the bones, causing
them to become weak and fragile and more likely to break). This
increases the risk of falls and fractures.
It doesn’t affect each person in the same way, It seems to be
influenced by how much you drink and what stage of the menopause
you are at. The more you drink the greater the risks and effects.
Drinking too much can also increase risk of a range of health
conditions including breast cancer.