How does drinking alcohol impact my immune system? Your immune system works to protect your body via two primary mechanisms, both of which can be affected by alcohol. The first mechanism is an immediate response, which uses an inflammatory approach to essentially “nuke” unwanted intruders. When your body senses a foreign bacteria or pathogen, it mobilizes immune cells called macrophages out of the bloodstream and into the part of your body that is being invaded that essentially “eat” the bad bacteria.
