Here's What Science Says About Alcohol Consumption
It’s often suggested that while heavy alcohol consumption is harmful, small or moderate amounts may provide some health benefits. However, new evidence suggests that alcohol consumption, even at low levels, may carry more risks than benefits for overall health.
According to a study from the UK Biobank that examined brain scans of 36,678 middle-aged and older adults, even just one to two alcoholic drinks per day is associated with negative changes in brain structure, including reductions in overall brain volume, gray matter and white matter integrity (Cognitive Function).
The brain consists of two main types of tissue: gray matter and white matter. Gray matter comprises neuron cell bodies, which contain the cells' genetic material. White matter, on the other hand, is made up of axons - long fibers extending from neurons. These axons are coated with a fatty substance called myelin, giving white matter its characteristic appearance.
This myelin sheath enables rapid communication between nerve cells, facilitating efficient information transfer throughout the brain, which is very important for Parkinson's patients.
The study demonstrates that the negative effects on brain structure are not limited to heavy drinkers but are observable even at low levels of alcohol intake. As consumption increases, so does the severity of these structural changes. This research provides compelling evidence that there may be no "safe" level of alcohol consumption when it comes to brain health.
A review published in "Frontiers in Neuroscience" also addressed the complex interplay between alcohol consumption and cognitive decline, noting that chronic alcohol abuse leads to "changes in neuronal structure caused by complex neuroadaptations in the brain."
Alcohol Is Converted Into the Poison Acetaldehyde
Ethanol, the type of alcohol in drinks, is both water-soluble and fat-soluble. This allows it to easily pass into all cells and tissues of your body. When ingested, ethanol is converted to acetaldehyde, which is a well-known poison that indiscriminately damages and kills cells. Your body then converts acetaldehyde to acetate, which can be used as fuel. However, this process is metabolically costly and provides no real nutritive value.
When you consume alcohol, it enters your stomach, then your liver starts converting the ethanol to acetaldehyde and then to acetate. Some of these byproducts reach your brain by crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB).
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a protective mechanism that prevents most substances from entering the brain. However, alcohol is an exception due to its unique property of being both water- and fat-soluble. This characteristic allows alcohol to easily penetrate the BBB and enter the brain tissue.
Once inside, alcohol interacts with and affects the brain's internal environment, which is primarily composed of two major cell types: neurons (nerve cells) and glial cells (found between neurons). The presence of alcohol in the brain disrupts normal neural circuit function, leading to the various effects associated with intoxication (slurred speech, cognition, balance).
What’s less known, however, is that alcohol-induced changes in neural circuits can persist long term, even if you don’t drink heavily. Drinking patterns like having one or two drinks per night or drinking only on weekends, for instance, can lead to changes in the brain's circuitry for habitual and impulsive behavior.
These changes can continue even when not drinking, potentially making people more impulsive in their daily lives.
Fortunately, these changes are not permanent in most cases. A period of abstinence, typically ranging from two to six months, can allow these neural circuits to return to their normal state. The exception is in cases of chronic, heavy alcohol consumption over many years, where the changes may be more persistent.
Alcohol Damages Your Gut Health
Alcohol negatively affects your gut microbiome and gut-liver-brain axis, a bidirectional communication network that links these three crucial systems in your body. Alcohol's antimicrobial properties, which make it effective for sterilization, also indiscriminately kills beneficial gut bacteria.
For instance, alcohol consumption decreases beneficial bacterial species naturally found in the human gut. This, in turn, impairs intestinal permeability and chronic inflammation. The metabolism of alcohol in your liver also triggers an inflammatory reaction, combined with the disruption of gut bacteria, can lead to a condition known as "leaky gut." In this state, harmful bacteria from partially digested food can escape your gut and enter your bloodstream.
Good bacteria start to die-off and bad bacteria increases and starts to damage the gut, liver and the brain.
Through the neuroimmune function, inflammatory molecules cross your blood-brain barrier, disrupting neural circuits that regulate alcohol consumption. Increased alcohol intake, creates a vicious cycle of gut microbiome disruption, liver inflammation and altered brain function.
Even Light Drinkers May Be at Risk of Early Death
A systematic review of 107 additional studies involving more than 4.8 million people revealed that drinking less than two drinks a day are not associated with reductions in risk of mortality. Further, drinking more than this significantly shortens one's life expectancy.
One reason for this detrimental effect could be alcohol's link to cortisol. Regular alcohol consumption, even at moderate levels, can lead to changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal glands function.
This alteration increases cortisol levels even when not drinking. In other words, individuals who drink regularly may experience elevated levels of cortisol, often referred to as the "stress hormone," even during periods when they are not consuming alcohol. This drastically impacts overall health and well-being.
This means that regular drinkers may actually feel more stressed and anxious when they're not consuming alcohol. Cortisol plays a vital role in your health, and leads to severe health issues like muscle breakdown, inflammation and impaired immune function when chronically elevated, which is why keeping cortisol levels low is so important.
Alcohol Increases Estrogen Levels and Cancer Risk
Drinking alcohol affects your hormones, particularly the balance between testosterone and estrogen. Alcohol tends to increase estrogen levels, which has negative effects in both men and women. Increased estrogen levels are one of the primary factors contributing to your cancer risk.
Alcohol also increases cancer risk via acetaldehyde toxicity, which can cause DNA damage, inflammation, leaky gut and weakened immune function. Drinking alcohol also disrupts sleep, which means you’re not getting a restorative night’s sleep when you drink. Further, acetaldehyde toxicity can alter DNA and gene expression, which raises your cancer risk as well.
How to Mitigate Some of Alcohol’s Harmful Effects
I don’t recommend drinking alcohol, and the best way to avoid its harmful effects is to simply not drink it. If you do plan to have an alcoholic beverage, however, supplementation can be used as a preventive measure when taken beforehand. Amino acids may help, boosting glutathione levels which helps acetaldehyde toxicity, a primary cause of hangover symptoms.
Since alcohol consumption depletes B vitamins, which are necessary for alcohol elimination from your body, taking a B vitamin supplement before and after drinking can be beneficial. However, it's crucial to note that this approach does not protect against alcohol poisoning or other serious risks associated with drinking alcohol.
Therefore, it's essential to consume alcohol very responsibly and minimally, regardless of any preventive measures taken. For optimal health, however, consider avoiding alcohol completely and instead utilizing alternative methods for stress reduction and social interaction that don't involve drinking.
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