Brews and Bugs: How Alcohol Affects Your Gut Microbiome
It’s been a rough day at the office. Kicking back with a glass of red wine sounds sooo relaxing.
Celebrating your husband’s promotion is the perfect time to pop open a bottle of champagne.
You’re missing your daughter as she goes off to college for the semester and an old fashioned is calling your name (Brandy, not whiskey because well, what even is a whisky old fashioned?).
Have you ever noticed how prevalent alcohol is in our culture? It’s everywhere! No wonder it was so difficult to kick it every time you tried!
Sometimes, it’s easier to just drink than it is to not.
Ugh, and the questions…
“You’re not pregnant are you?!” hahah…not a funny joke.
“Who are you trying to impress?”
“What’s wrong with just one?”
“Don’t you know red wine is good for you?”
I feel like we need to knock out that last one before we get started…
No, red wine is not good for you. Resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine, is good for you. But you can get resveratrol by eating red grapes and peanuts. Drinking any amount of alcohol increases your risk of cancer.
Back to regularly scheduled programming…
While you may enjoy the occasional drink or two, have you ever wondered what impact it may have on the diverse community of bugs living deep within your digestive system?
From the fizzes of fermentation to the potential pitfalls of overindulgence, we have a complicated relationship with alcohol.
On the one hand, as adults, it’s our choice whether or not to partake in drinking, and as long as we’re doing it safely, is there really harm in the occasional drink with friends?
On the other hand, alcohol is a toxic substance - just look at the label on any type of alcohol (nail polish remover, denatured alcohol, etc.) - so is any amount healthy to put in your body?
In this article, we’re going to dive into the science of how alcohol interacts with the gut microbiome and the implications for our overall health and well-being.
By the end, I hope that you have the information you need to make decisions that are right for your body. Just remember, we’re not going for perfection here. For most people, having an occasional drink or two isn’t going to make or break your health. The beauty is there is no right decision, you get to decide what’s best!
But it does do some very real things to your body, which is what we’re talking about today.
We’ll start with how it impacts your immune system.
Let’s dive in!
You may have noticed that heavy drinkers get sick frequently. That’s because alcohol presents a twin attack on the immune systems of many people because both sugar and alcohol consumption increase.
This happens because heavy alcohol consumption contributes to systemic inflammation by interfering with the body’s natural defenses. Most of this “interfering” happens in the gut.
According to a 2010 study published in World Journal of Gastroenterology, “Chronic alcohol use impairs the balance of microflora in the gut, the gut barrier function… When these defenses are impaired, systemic inflammation ensues.”
A 2021 Spanish study, published in Molecular Sciences, came to similar conclusions:
“Chronic excessive alcohol consumption causes inflammation in a variety of organs, including the gut, brain and liver. While alcohol has direct effects on the gastrointestinal tract when it comes into touch with the mucosa, the majority of alcohol’s biological effects are due to its systemic dispersion and delivery through the blood. Alcohol has been proven to affect the microbiome in the gastrointestinal tract, with alcoholics having a different and higher bacterial load in their gut.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, about 3 million deaths worldwide each year are linked to the use of alcohol. Even moderate amounts of alcohol consumption can have harmful effects on health.
The most well-known disease associated with heavy alcohol drinking is liver disease; however, alcohol consumption is also associated with chronic pancreatitis, mental health issues, and certain cancers such as gastric cancer and colorectal cancer.
Is any amount of alcohol safe to consume?
Now, new research, published in 2023, is shedding more light on how alcohol also damages other areas of the gastrointestinal system—specifically the small and large intestines.
In the study findings, published in the journal eGastroenterology, researchers went into great detail to explain the complicated processes that can ultimately lead to alcohol-associated bowel disease.
The researchers pointed out how the body instantly begins to metabolize alcohol once it enters the digestive tract. The ethanol in the alcohol is then broken down by the liver into a carcinogenic compound called acetaldehyde.
Although acetaldehyde is eventually broken down further into acetate—with the water and carbon dioxide being expelled by the body—it can still have damaging effects before the process concludes.
Included in those damaging effects are changes to gut composition.
“Ethanol, as well as acetaldehyde and acetate produced by ethanol metabolism, may promote and/or contribute to bowel pathogenesis via different mechanisms, including gut microbiome-related changes and intestinal epithelial/immune dysfunctions,” wrote Dr. Luca Maccioni, a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Liver Diseases and Laboratory of Physiologic Studies at the National Institutes of Health and lead author of the study.
Another 2023 study examined links between binge drinking and gut health.
The study, conducted on 71 young adults who binge drink, found the study participants displayed altered gut microbiomes after participating in binge drinking.
The researchers further reported that in this “altered” state, the study participants were “associated with a poorer ability to recognize emotions and alcohol cravings.”
The research, conducted at University College Cork in Cork, Ireland, adds a new dimension to the study of how alcohol damages gut health. According to the researchers, it shows changes in the gut are also connected to cravings, emotions, and overall neurological processing.
In short, the very destruction of the microbiome caused by alcohol consumption creates a cycle that makes a person even more susceptible to alcohol cravings. But it goes beyond just cravings for alcohol.
Heavy drinking can increase cravings for unhealthy foods. How many times have you craved a chocolate shake and fries the next day to ease a hangover?
“Changes in the gut microbiome composition and the neuroactive potential were associated with higher craving over time, constituting interesting candidates for early biomarkers of dependence,” wrote Dr. Carina Carbia, the lead researcher of the study and a postdoctoral fellow, in a media release.
The study details were published in the journal EBioMedicine in March 2023.
What can you do if you want to avoid alcohol? After all, so much of our culture is wrapped around alcohol. Here are three suggestions:
Eat a big meal and make sure you’re hydrated before going out. If you’re hungry or thirsty, you’re going to drink more. The body needs energy and alcohol contains energy in the form of calories. As I always say, you make bad decisions when you’re hungry! Whether you’re at the grocery store or a bar!
2. Drink something that looks like alcohol. Because we’re humans with human brains, we don’t want to be different and would much rather fit in with the crowd. If you’re pounding bottles of water, you stand out. It’s ok to not want to feel excluded. You’re human and this is real talk. Many bars and restaurants now make delicious mocktails. Just ask. Most of them are well versed in making mocktails, sometimes they even have delicious mixers like Seedlip brand which is made from herbs. If nothing else, drinking seltzer water with a lime wedge looks very similar to a gin and tonic. No one needs to know!
3. If you’re going to drink alcohol, alternate between alcohol and water. Remember, alcohol dehydrates the body as it tries to clear the toxins from your body. Staying hydrated will help you to not overindulge.
At the end of the day, whether you drink alcohol or not is your choice. I do, however, think it’s important to know what that choice is doing to your body. If your health goals include things like losing weight, improving digestion, or increasing energy, it’s going to be difficult to do those things if alcohol is playing a starring role in your life.
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Sources: World Journal of Gastroenterology, Molecular Sciences, eGastroenterology, EBioMedicine.