5. Alcohol consumption
Smoking and drinking are often mentioned in the same sentence – and it’s because both were once assumed to be perfectly socially acceptable behaviors before we had properly been able to calculate the potential health risks that go along with them. If you are a casual drinker, it might be good for your health, your circulation and your heart – but once you are someone who drinks more than a few times per week (or more than a few drinks at a time), then you’re crossing into physically dangerous territory for the body.
Alcohol consumption can affect everything in the body where it gets consumed to excess: It can affect the heart, the liver, the joints and the brain in the long-term – and there’s research that points to the fact that being a long-term heavy drinker might additionally cause lung issues, which can include an increased likelihood of conditions like emphysema, but also an increased rate of developing associated lung conditions such as pleurisy.