When it comes to balancing and healing your gut, you can experiment with different diets, lifestyle changes, and so much more. You may experiment with probiotics, increasing fiber intake, detox plans, or other supplements that promise less bloating and regular elimination. Even after all of those efforts, you still may not be able to get your gut under control. Have you thought about your alcohol intake, though?
Most people who drink alcohol can typically recall a time when it caused them digestive troubles. A night of drinking can lead to irregular bowel habits or bloating, depending on the alcoholic beverages you drank. Alcohol also affects many other aspects of your overall health, not just the digestive system. In this article, we will take a look at how much alcohol impacts gut health, which can affect your mental health, hormone balance, energy levels, and much more.
It Can Affect Immune Function
A large portion of the body’s immune cells are created in the gut, so an imbalance in your gut microbiome can affect this production. In fact, an imbalanced gut can increase the likelihood of a weakened immune response. Additionally, the integrity of your intestinal lining helps support optimal immune function, but that lining is broken down with regular or chronic alcohol consumption.
It Creates An Imbalance Of Gut Microbes
If you take a high-quality probiotic to help balance gut microbes, it’s likely that alcohol consumption is sabotaging that effort. That is true whether you drink alcohol a couple times per week or daily. Researchers note that certain unhealthy gut microbes feed off alcohol, which makes your cravings more irresistible, especially if you regularly imbibe.
It Can Contribute To Leaky Gut
When you drink alcohol, you increase the risk of leaky gut, or intestinal permeability. This is because alcohol destroys epithelial cells in the gut lining. That increases toxic byproducts of bacteria and cell damage, which triggers inflammation in the gut. Intestinal permeability can also be a cause of many autoimmune diseases, food sensitivities, or other immune concerns.
It Can Affect Your Mood
Believe it or not, your gut microbiome plays a role in how you feel. Your gut supports mood via the release of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, and supports the communication of the gut-brain axis. If you have an unhealthy balance of bacteria in the gut because of alcohol consumption, you may worsen symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other mood disorders.
How Much Alcohol Does It Take To Impact The Gut?
In all honesty, it does not take much. A few drinks per week or a single alcohol binge (more than four to five drinks in one sitting) can prevent you from having optimal gut health. Alcohol’s toxic nature and the byproducts it creates when the body metabolizes it can affect normal gut bacteria and jeopardize the gut’s lining. Unfortunately, the effects become more problematic when you drink more. If you want to help improve gut health after cutting back on alcohol intake, consider the following:
- Take probiotics because they can help establish healthy bacteria in the gut. By increasing the amount of beneficial bacteria, you can help improve immune function, enhance digestion, and feel better overall. If you notice that a probiotic harms the gut or worsens existing symptoms, you may need to modify your diet even more. Eliminating gut-irritating foods, such as dairy, grains, gluten, and corn, may help improve gut health.
- Increase your fiber intake by adding a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes to your diet. Researchers state that adding more fiber to your diet is one of the best ways to enhance your gut microbiome. You should also increase your intake of prebiotic fiber, which you can find in oats, apples, artichokes, bananas, and sunchokes.
- Replenish integral nutrients, such as B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin D, magnesium, and more, because alcohol can deplete them. Nutrients like zinc, vitamin C, and omega-3s can help rebuild the gut lining and benefit those with leaky gut.
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
