As with age, hormones can influence how we process alcohol. Higher estrogen levels, for example, slow alcohol metabolism. For women, that means tolerance is generally highest around menstruation, when estrogen levels drop, and lowest around ovulation, when estrogen is high. (Other factors can also play a role: Overall hydration, for instance, can dip during menstruation, decreasing tolerance.)
In general, excess alcohol consumption increases the production of estrogen and decreases the ways it’s metabolized, says Pick. “There are different pathways where estrogen is metabolized, and some pathways increase the risk of breast cancer. That may be one reason there’s an association between regular alcohol consumption and breast cancer.”
People with uterine fibroids, endometriosis, or PMS symptoms may want to be especially careful to moderate their consumption, says Haas. “PMS symptoms like breast tenderness or night sweats are indicative of an estrogen imbalance.”
Alcohol may exacerbate perimenopause symptoms, too, in part because it increases noradrenaline, which contributes to hot flashes. It can also lower testosterone by increasing levels of the enzyme that breaks it down.
A Toast to Moderation
Alcohol seems to affect us all differently — and even affect our own bodies differently over time. See “What Are the Health Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption?” (from which this article was excerpt) for answers to some of your questions about alcohol and the body.
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