The Silent Costs of “Just One Glass”: Alcohol and Health Risks Every Woman Should Know (and How to Quit Drinking for Good)

Have you ever told yourself, “It’s just one glass, it can’t hurt”? The truth is, even small amounts of alcohol come with hidden health risks, especially for women. From cancer risk to anxiety, poor sleep, and faster aging, that nightly glass of wine costs more than you think.

In episode 243 of the Sober Vibes Podcast, I’m pulling back the curtain on the silent costs of “just one glass” and why being honest about alcohol is the first step to real freedom. If you’ve been bargaining with yourself or stuck in the moderation cycle, this conversation will help you shift your sober mindset and see why quitting for good is worth it.

What You'll Learn In This Episode:

• The link between light drinking and higher cancer risk
• How alcohol disrupts hormones, sleep, and increases alcohol-induced anxiety
• Why “just one” fuels poor rest and the cycle of alcohol relapse
•  The connection between alcohol and aging, and why your skin changes after quitting
•  The emotional exhaustion of trying to drink less alcohol, but never feeling at peace
•  How a sober coach can give you the tools and accountability to stop bargaining with yourself

If you’re telling yourself “just one glass” isn’t a big deal, this episode will show you the truth and remind you that freedom, confidence, and health are waiting on the other side.

Listen now: The Silent Costs of “Just One Glass”: Alcohol and Health Risks Every Woman Should Know (and How to Quit Drinking for Good)

And if you’re looking for help quitting alcohol, that’s exactly what I do in my coaching sessions. Together, we’ll build habits and tools that actually work so you don’t have to white-knuckle sobriety alone.

Resources Mentioned:

Sober 1:1 Coaching 

The Sobriety Circle 

The After-Emotional Sobriety Guide

Subscribe to the Sober Vibes Podcast on YouTube

Free Resources

Ghost Mugs 

In the Flow Book 

Episode 201 with Bria

PODCAST SPONSOR:

This episode is sponsored by Soberlink, a trusted accountability tool for anyone navigating early recovery. Whether you're rebuilding trust with loved ones or want more structure in your sobriety, Soberlink offers a discreet and empowering way to stay on track.

Sober Vibes listeners, sign up HERE and claim our $100 Enrollment Bonus.

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Chapters

• 0:00 The Truth About Just One Glass
• 2:36 Alcohol and Cancer Risk
• 5:44 Hormonal Health and Fertility
• 13:11 Sleep and Anxiety Disruptions
• 16:58 Skin, Aging, and Looking Better Sober
• 20:23 The Moderation Trap and Freedom
• 26:35 Finding Support and Moving Forward

Transcript

Courtney Andersen: 0:00

Have you ever told yourself it's just one glass, it can't hurt? The truth is, even small amounts of alcohol come with hidden risks, especially for women. In today's episode, I'm breaking down the silent costs of just one glass and why quitting for good could be the best choice you ever make. Today's episode, I'm breaking down the silent costs of just one glass and why quitting for good could be the best choice you ever make. Welcome to Sober Vibes, your podcast for alcohol-free lifestyle tips and real talk about long-term sobriety. I'm your host, courtney Anderson, sober coach author and mom. Each week, I share strategies, stories and encouragement to help you navigate cravings, build confidence and thrive in sobriety. Whether you're sober, curious or years in, this is your space to feel supported and inspired. Hey, good people of the world, welcome back to the Sober Vibes podcast. This is episode 243.

Courtney Andersen: 1:02

I am your host, courtney Anderson, sober coach author and your go-to guide with living a life without alcohol. So I used to say to myself all the time it's just one glass, I deserve it, I can handle it. But here's what I've learned and what the science backs up there that just one glass carries more weight than we realize. Women especially. The health risks tied to light drinking are serious. They're rarely talked about up until recently, right About honestly because our culture has normalized drinking, girls' nights, wine, o'clock hour and the idea that a glass of wine is harmless. But today I'm pulling back the curtain and I want to give you the truth, with just one glass, what it's really costing you and how you can finally quit for good. And before we dive in today's episode, if you're wondering about sober coaching and how you can work with me, you can check the link in the show notes below all about my coaching. You can apply to my one-on-one coaching or you can join my sobriety circle, and coaching is very impactful when it comes to getting off this ride, getting off this cycle with alcohol. So again, the link to apply is in the show notes, or you can just join the sobriety circle if you are looking for more of a community. So, getting into today's conversation, again, I'm going to share some risks of you and we'll just have an open discussion of just open ears.

Courtney Andersen: 2:31

This isn't to scare anybody, right? So number one alcohol and cancer risk. As of last year, you've heard the warnings about now cancer and alcohol being linked together, and this is a hidden cost. Is the cancer risk. Obviously, even one drink a day increases a woman's risk of breast cancer. This isn't just heavy drinking anymore, as people have always put an emphasis on heavy drinking. We're talking about light drinking.

Courtney Andersen: 3:00

The World Health Organization has made it clear that there's no safe level of alcohol. I mean there's reports now of that weed is better to smoking. Weed is better for you than alcohol consumption, right? So when I first learned that and heard these reports last year right that it hit me hard I had been telling myself that back in my drinking days that like one glass of wine would not hurt and also two of oh, it's good for the heart and all of that. But in reality, when you hear something like that, it's crazy to think how bamboozled we have been right and like how I was increasing the risk of my own health during my drinking days and not even knowing this, and this is absolutely information that every woman deserves to know.

Courtney Andersen: 3:50

So, alcohol and cancer there is a risk and I believe it's about seven to eight different, seven different cancers that are linked specifically due to if you don't drink that there is a greater percentage that you would not get one of those cancers. And if you're like what's she talking about last year, early in 2025, that the Surgeon General finally came out and said it about the warnings of cancer and alcohol. So I know that scared a lot of people. I know it. I've had clients who told me that it scared them. And it should scare us, because that is the truth of it. Because, like I said, we've all been bamboozled all of these years, right Of thinking that alcohol was good for our hearts, that alcohol helped us relax and all of that jazz. But a big F? You to big alcohol companies has. But a big f? You to big alcohol companies and for this information not being out sooner.

Courtney Andersen: 4:52

But today is again the perfect day for you to quit drinking and or not go back to drinking. Right, if you are in your, your sober journey, this is one of those things. Just to keep adding onto your list of this is what this is doing for my health. Even if you are a green smoothie, yoga, sauna, the cold plunging gal who drinks at night, you know all of that of what you're doing. It's a wash. It is a wash when there are bigger side effects. I've seen a lot more lately, too, on the gram of doctors, where now they're saying, like their number one thing for longevity and health is to not drink alcohol, which is wonderful. I'm glad that these conversations are coming out and it's the overall scheme of it, of the health matter of this.

Courtney Andersen: 5:39

So, moving on to number two, hormonal health, infertility. Do you like? This mug isn't the cutest I just want to give. I don't usually give this store a shout out and if you you're, if you're listening to it, you're not gonna to see this, but if you are watching on youtube, this is the cutest little ghost mug and it comes in a set of four that I got from Walmart for 10 bucks and I will link it in the show notes below. If you are a, if you are a Halloween lover I think I mentioned it last week or something the dictator already made me put out the Halloween decorations. I was forced, was forced to. Okay, I digress, going back, hormonal health and fertility. So alcohol directly impacts our hormones, ladies. This is why it is crucial that once we start hitting the perimenopause age and then going into perimenopause and menopause, that it is crucial for us not to drink alcohol because it is awful of what it does to our bodies.

Courtney Andersen: 6:39

I'm going to link the episode with Bria Gad. I think it was Gad yeah, bria Gad where she talks about this, and this was a great episode, so I will link that in the show notes below. So if you are wondering more about this topic, you can listen to that, because she specifically specializes in hormonal health. So estrogen, progesterone I think I got that one and cortisol, right. So what this means is that more intense PMS God knows, after 40, pms is awful, right, the worse in perimenopause, correct. And Bria talks about this bank, like of how you want to take care of yourself and kind of like putting money in the bank and that's what you want to do with your hormones, right.

Courtney Andersen: 7:27

It disrupts our cycles and even, too, with fertility challenges. So think about it. If you're already stressed, already dealing with mood swings or hot flashes, that glass of wine may feel like a quick fix of not having to deal with it, but behind the scenes it's actually just kind of wreaking havoc on your hormones so, and it's making you even more unstable. So that's not a small cost. That's your whole body that it's impacting and the chemistry of it, right, being thrown out of balance. And I have to say, with that as well, this is why it is so different between men and women, for the good people of the world who've been here for a long, long time. Thank you for listening.

Courtney Andersen: 8:16

But I have said this for quite some time that this is where the difference is when it comes to men and women's sobriety journey and their recovery journey. Dudes don't deal with second cycles, you don't, and that is what the difference is. And again, if you are new here, there's also a book I'm going to link that talks all about this. When it comes to the woman's second cycle and even to a lot of studies that have been done, it's been done on men, it hasn't been done on women to take in consideration of what we go through for 30, 40 years. So I know, around my menses particularly, I just got done right and I'm glad I'm sharing my menstrual cycle with the world, but this is the reality of it and I haven't drank in 13 years and I will be 43 here in October. Just in a matter of, as I record this, in 11 days, I'll be 43 years old. I just feel like I'm 21. I'll be 43 years old. I just feel like I'm 21.

Courtney Andersen: 9:19

But my cycle this past time I felt like the Kool-Aid man where I could run through. I felt like I could run through the wall Right, not because of energy, because I had such intense rage Because of energy, because I had such intense rage Like I could just kick through it. I told my sister this and we were laughing about it. But it's just, god, almighty. So I can't even imagine if I was still drinking at 43. And this isn't any judgment to anybody out there that this is a safe, nonjudgmental space. But I couldn't even imagine if I was hung over and going through that mood, that mood swing right, and then feeling like the Kool-Aid man running and wanting to run through a wall in a fit of rage, with then so hung over that I'm puking on myself.

Courtney Andersen: 10:10

Or and to sadder right, because that post-post hangover usually brings you down because alcohol is a depressant. So then being like 25 times sadder on my period or right before my period and like crying about that, so it truly just throws your whole system out of whack. So to feel better during this time, so to feel better during this time, it's let's not drink right, let's not add that onto what we're already going through. And even in that conversation with Priya I say to her I'm like it actually makes me sad to be losing my period. I know most women are like, fuck yeah, I'm so happy to not have a period, all of that. Women are like, fuck yeah, I'm so happy to not have a period, all of that. I might have to mourn this, that it is a part of my ladiness that it's dying, right. Anyways, I think that might be a talk for another day, but I will keep going on with today's conversation. But I just wanted to say that, as I've noticed after 40, that these monthly cycles have changed and it really is. For me, it's like this anger is coming up. I just run through a wall like the Kool-Aid man. If you don't know who the Kool-Aid man is, I cannot help you on that, because everybody should know who the Kool-Aid man is. Okay, let's continue.

Courtney Andersen: 11:40

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Courtney Andersen: 13:08

So number three sleep and anxiety costs. Okay, one of the biggest lies we have been sold is that it helps us relax, right, it helps us sleep. It helps. Yes, it may make you feel sleepy, right, it may make you pass the F out. But actually alcohol does disrupt your sleep, your REM sleep, in particular the part of the night where you are actually supposed to, where your body and your brain are supposed to be recovering. So you fall asleep faster. But then you're waking up at 3 am, right, those 3 am wakey-wakey, and you're tossing and turning. Or you wake up groggy, or at that 3 am too, where your anxiety is spiking, right, and after waking up you feel unmotivated and you're very tired, and then that then, because you're not getting proper sleep, is going to cause more anxiety and make you way more anxious. So the kicker of all this is is that alcohol spikes the cortisol, your stress hormone. That means that just that one glass of wine is literally fueling your anxiety instead of calming it.

Courtney Andersen: 14:15

Now think about when you're adding on more than one glass of wine, two glasses of wine, three glasses of wine, four glasses of wine, the whole bottle, right, a lot of my clients say once they quit, they realize how much their nightly glass of wine or a couple glasses of wine, let's be honest was behind their constant, constant, constant stress and racing thoughts in that 3am wake up yes, do they have some more 3am wake ups? Because your sleep isn't just going to, you're not just going to gain back that sleep like within a matter of five nights. It takes some time. The body does start healing, but then it takes some time for you to get into it. And us women, when we're at the age of after 40 and what like, those nighttime wake-ups become a little bit more common. But when there's not alcohol involved, it's something completely different, right? So the racing thoughts will happen.

Courtney Andersen: 15:11

I'm just saying down the road, I don't want you to think, but it's more because of the perimenopause. Menopause, this is what's crazy, and just your day-to-day responsibilities and the heaviness of the world and all of that jazz. So just know that once you take alcohol out of the equation you will start sleeping. And I have to say, if I go to bed now, past a certain time, certain time, I am a early sleeper, as in at this season of my life, once that little dictator goes to bed, it's like I am getting into bed and I try to now be asleep anywhere between nine to 10. I try 10 to be the latest.

Courtney Andersen: 15:52

But if Matthew and I have been out and about, if there's anything like past midnight, I feel so hung over the next day and I do not like that feeling. I enjoy my sleep right, and I'm sure you do too, but you can feel it, and especially once you get sober and you start realizing, like man, I really love a good night's sleep, a good night's rest. It is a game changer and it feels way, way, way, way better when you are getting that consistent sleep. Okay, so, and I think that's what I was trying to say, with that thought going back to sleep, like, even if you have a wake up in the middle of the night and you're able to put yourself back to bed without alcohol, it's not as so severe as when that alcohol disrupted your sleep and you're up at 3 am with those racing thoughts and the doom and gloom of it. All right. So because you're still waking up feeling like shit the next day and then, without it, you're waking up feeling like, okay, it wasn't the best sleep, but at least I'm not feeling like that.

Courtney Andersen: 16:55

So, number four skin and aging. Okay, this is what I know before I get into this. The best thing you can do for your aging, gracefully, is not to drink alcohol. I call this I've said this before the Benjamin Buttons effect. If you ever look at a before and after, I mean people are aging backwards here in sobriety by not drinking alcohol.

Courtney Andersen: 17:24

My husband gets it a lot where people are like, like thinking that he's younger than he is. And this man's about to be 45. He looks good, he looks damn good that people think that he's younger. And then when he tells him their age, they're like oh really, I thought you were younger, what is your secret? And Matthew, he said he's like clean living. I, I thought you were younger. What is your secret? And, matthew, he's like clean living. I don't drink and he's not wrong. He is not wrong and it is. It's dude he is.

Courtney Andersen: 17:50

We all are the Brad Pitts. What the fuck's the deal with drinking Like? When he gets, he finally catches up with Cate Blanchett and he's riding that motorcycle and he's so hot AF in that movie, on that same, with motorcycle, when he's at that age, when he catches up with her at that same age. If you haven't watched the Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons, it is a must. We all look like that in sobriety. Okay, I'm going to say it, we look great, we are Brad Pitts at that moment and that is a gift of sobriety, as you really do. I had a good friend. He is no longer with us. Rest in peace, my sweet friend.

Courtney Andersen: 18:32

But he, after a couple months of his sobriety, he called me and he was like Courtney, did I look terrible? And I was like what are you talking about? He goes because everyone keeps telling me how much better I look. And he was like what are you talking about? He goes because everyone keeps telling me how much better I look and he was like I didn't even realize how shitty I looked until people kept saying it. I was like, well, we were drinking all the time, like it was a warped reality, right. And I was like, but yeah, pirate, you look great, which it was the case. I wasn't just saying that to say it like. I'm like, yeah, like they're, the red in his face has been taken away, the bloat went down, like he was looking healthy. So that's where I'm getting getting at with this, so I can skin and aging right, and this is the one thing that people notice quickly you might within yourself. That's why I always suggest, like, taking a before picture.

Courtney Andersen: 19:24

And alcohol very much dehydrates you and it breaks down the collagen, which then leads to the dullness and the puffiness breakouts right and faster aging. So when you quit drinking, it's not unusual for people then again to comment on how they comment on your looks. Even, too, I love when I work with somebody and within a couple months, you can see that the life is coming back in their eyes and like they are getting a new spark in themselves and into their soul for real. So this isn't just a vanity thing, but on the inside, you do start to come back alive, right, and this is your body's healing and this is you no longer dulling. That, dare I say, sparkle inside, right?

Courtney Andersen: 20:17

The next one is the emotional weight of moderation, which so many people get into before they finally, finally, finally quit drinking for good. And if you're in that moderation cycle right now, I just want to say good, because that means you are on the break of giving it up for good, and I'm not. Also, this is the reality of it. There are people where it continuously, gradually gets worse for them. And then there's people who it's like you know where it was went in different waves of their drinking days and then they get to a point where they're like, okay, let me try to moderate this and let me try to see how much longer I can make alcohol fit into my life. And then they have to play this game, for some people could play it for 30 days, some people could play it up to eight, 10 years. For me, I was in that for four years before I just said I can't do this anymore, because where it can continually took me.

Courtney Andersen: 21:14

So there's also to the emotional and mental cost of just one glass. That might be one glass one night, and then it could be the whole bottle the next day. So how many times have you gone back and forth in your head Should I have one? Did I already drink too much this week? What day am I on? Am I being too hard on myself? Do I really have a problem? That's the constant negotiation that will eat away with you and comes into it, becomes very draining. It takes hold of your energy and your own self-trust because you keep breaking a word to yourself.

Courtney Andersen: 21:53

So it's not just costing you your health, which is a huge thing, it's also stealing your peace of mind. I mean, honestly, when it comes to the health issue, when it comes to the health issue, a lot of people, it's like you get to that health issue, right, and then it's oh my God, and then you have to figure out like, where do I go from here? Right, sometimes for people it's too late, and that is the reality of it. And I don't mean to sound like an ass, I don't mean to sound harsh, but I speak in reality and transparency, because it's always that thing of well, this could never happen to me, but I hope you're hearing this today and that you're needing this. The woo-woos out there it was 11-11 on my counter. I don't even know if that's a counter, but it's. I don't know something that's going on on Riverside, but the 11-11, that's a good one, because then hopefully you're hearing this and if you're into all of that, maybe that will give you the little boost to be like she's right, I need to stop, I need to stop, I need to stop right. So I just hope that this conversation is one of those that you do hear the fact and even if you're not at that point yet where you get some type of devastating, terrible medical news, that it is the fact that, oh, and there's a little blue jay out there, if you can see, we're all about the signs here in sober vibes. Okay, that you're hearing this. And if you're not there, if you haven't gotten that type of medical news, that you're listening to this and being like I I needed this kick in the ass, but that freedom thing.

Courtney Andersen: 23:36

I was on a meeting last night in my sobriety circle and that is my community and this woman in there just hit 53 days. Now she would be on 54 days and I asked her. I said how do you feel now with this newfound sobriety? Because it wasn't her first rodeo, because a lot too. When you get sober it's a lot about you just feel like you have to and not take it serious until you finally take it serious and you're like enough is enough. But I asked her how do you feel now, off of that moderation cycle? And she says I feel free. And that is so true. There is a freedom and an energy that comes when you're finally off it, where you're like freedom, and an energy that comes when you're finally off it, where you're like no-transcript. There's so much simplicity in that freedom, right, because you're done bargaining with yourself every single day and putting all of these rules.

Courtney Andersen: 24:41

So the next one, the long-term slippery slope, and here's the last hidden cost Very few people do stay at one glass, very few. Like I said, it might be one glass one day and then the next day it's like a whole bottle. It slowly creeps back up to us right. One glass becomes two Weekdays, then become the weekends and eventually then it's back to every night and wondering how the hell you got back to where you started. It's a slow slide, for everybody it's a slow slide and then, as the years go on, it becomes quicker and quicker and quicker and it happens more gradually and you don't even realize how much more you're drinking until you feel again out of control, or then you have to say enough is enough.

Courtney Andersen: 25:29

I'm back to where I started when I quit, right, and that is the truth about the moderation that almost fails and the moderation in that cycle that you get into of that moderation cycle. It's awful and it is very, very, very much. It's a sad cycle and I just don't put people who moderate drinking, people who can drink without having an issue because there are people who can drink alcohol and it doesn't affect them. But the moderation cycle really truly becomes a thing where, with people who already have issues with alcohol, they have a problem with alcohol, problem with alcohol, and then that's where they get into that, like I said, into that moderation game. This is why you have to be honest with yourself now and that is the most powerful step you can take of like when is enough enough? This isn't going to get better and there's going to continue to be life moments where you're going to go through it and if you're still drinking, that it's going to get harder and harder for you and you're going to be like why did I do this? And if you've already saying that now and you're good and tired, then it's time to get off the ride with booze, because it's not going to get better for you.

Courtney Andersen: 26:46

So, going back to tying in this whole episode together for women especially, these health risks are real the physical, the hormonal, the emotional and the long-term cost of it all is harmful. But, as I said, and as I do believe that you have the power to change the story, that you don't have to keep arguing with yourself every day. You don't have to be like, well, I'm not there yet, you could get there. That is the whole thing of it. You could get there where you are sitting in an office and a doctor is telling you that your liver enzymes are elevated. Right, this could all be a possibility for you. None of us are safe when it comes to that, and that is the reality of it when it comes to health issues, especially if you've been drinking. But can you change it all around today? Yes, by not drinking, so you don't have to keep telling yourself you're fine when deep down, you know it's holding you back. Because that is what alcohol does it holds you back, it keeps you stuck and it keeps you very, very small.

Courtney Andersen: 27:50

So quitting for good isn't about losing something. It's about gaining your energy back, your peace back right, your confidence, your self-trust, your sanity and your health back, truly, because it's all connected mind, body and soul. And I think personally that is worth everything and more. And I will ask you again how do you want to show up in this life? Because I'm sure it's not waking up every day feeling like a bag of dicks. That is how alcohol makes us feel, ladies Like a bag of ugly dicks. Okay, I'm just gonna say it right.

Courtney Andersen: 28:28

So if you're telling yourself just one glass isn't a big deal again and needing more support, coaching can help you. You can finally get honest about what it is costing you and build healthier habits. So the link to apply for coaching is below and also to the Sobriety Circle. I will put down those resources I mentioned with that book and two for that episode with Bria in the show notes below. As always, thank you for listening.

Courtney Andersen: 28:56

Next week's episode I'm going to talk about why quitting feels harder than it should and really, and the help to finally help you stop drinking. So we will dig into why white knuckling doesn't work, all of that. So again, thank you for listening. If you haven't yet. Please rate, review and subscribe to the show If you are watching, say hello on YouTube and make sure you subscribe on YouTube and give this video a thumbs up, because my plan is on YouTube y'all is to start making just single videos and more content on YouTube, because I do the longer form content and expressing myself in this way. And two it's up so it can continuously be a resource that you can find easier than on these social media platforms. Okay, on all the other social media platforms. All right, slide into my DMs, say hello, let me know how this episode helped you today and, as always, keep on trucking and stay healthy out there. Thank you.