After dry January, many people will return to drinking again. However, before you do, it’s important to understand how this may harm your digestive health.
In this article, we will cover how drinking alcohol affects your digestive system and the long-term complications that can occur because of heavy, excessive drinking.
Short term effects
When drinking a lot, you may experience short-term symptoms because of the alcohol in your body. These can include bloating, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
Usually, these symptoms will pass within 24-48 hours of drinking as you experience a ‘hangover’ the day after. As you are getting over the effects of drinking, around 20% of alcohol is absorbed through the stomach. Most of the remaining 80% is absorbed through the small intestine.
Typically, alcohol shouldn’t have long-term damage to your body if you don’t drink regularly and or heavily.
However, whether short or long-term, alcohol can cause digestive conditions to flare up, such as irritable bowel syndrome and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD).
Long term effects
Excessive, consistent drinking can have severe detrimental effects on your general health, including your digestive system. The NHS defines hazardous drinking as consuming more than 14 units of alcohol a week for both women and men.
Damaging effects that can happen to your digestive system because of heavy drinking include leaky gut, stomach ulcers, oesophagitis, and cancer in the throat, oesophagus, stomach, and bowels. Alcohol can also cause chronic episodes of heartburn and reflux. This is due to the ring of muscle at the bottom of the food pipe becoming relaxed, causing acid to travel up.
Drinking can also damage the tissue in your digestive tract, preventing your intestines from absorbing nutrients and vitamins correctly. In time, this can cause malnutrition, leading to further health concerns. Additionally, drinking alcohol excessively can change the balance of a good gut microbiome. This can lead to an increased risk of developing certain digestive conditions, such as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and exacerbate symptoms of existing issues, such as inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Alcoholic gastritis
Gastritis can also be caused by excessive drinking. This is when the lining of your stomach becomes inflamed, causing symptoms such as stomach pain, excessive gas, and indigestion.
Alcohol-involved gastritis has also been strongly associated with an active infection of the bacteria Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). H. pylori can affect the stomach lining and put you at increased risk of stomach cancer.
Benefits of quitting drinking
The recommended alcohol intake is no more than 14 units per week, equivalent to 6 pints of beer or 7 175ml glasses of wine. This should ideally be spread out over 3 or more days.
This advice is given to help keep the risk of alcohol harm to a low level, meaning that general harm from alcohol is less likely.
Reducing or stopping your alcohol intake can help reverse some effects, such as digestive inflammation, and prevent future damage where the effects may be permanent.
Giving up alcohol can also significantly improve other aspects of your health, including:
- Improving your skin
- Getting better sleep
- Reducing anxiety and depression
- Decreases high blood pressure
- Reduces your risk of heart conditions such as cardiovascular disease
If you have an alcohol use disorder and wish to give up alcohol, it is crucial to seek professional advice from your GP or medical professional regarding your condition. They can help you get the help you need to assist you with your recovery.
Private dieticians at Digestive Health UK
At Digestive Health UK, we collaborate with some of the industry’s top dieticians to help you implement a tailored diet that meets your needs.
We offer private consultations, diagnostic tests, and treatment to determine what may be causing your symptoms and help you manage your diet in the future. Contact us today to learn more.
