If you’re starting to feel like your 5 o’clock pour is frequenting more often than not then it could be time to reassess your alcohol intake and its impact on your health goals.
Drinking alcohol is a very normalised part of our culture. It is a common way to ‘wind down' in the evening and is commonly associated with socialising. However, when you drink too much (more than two drinks most nights per week for a prolonged period of time) there is an onset of some negative immediate and long-term health effects.
Drinking within guidelines: can it still be a problem for your health?
When we are talking about our overall health and wellbeing, we can’t go past alcohol consumption. I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news here but alcohol is certainly a substance that takes away from our energy and vitality! Here are a few reasons why:
Sleep
Alcohol is commonly used to ‘wind down’ at the end of the day and seeing as it is a sedative it is often used as a sleep aid. When we take a closer look at how alcohol impacts our sleep this theory seems quite counterproductive.
Alcohol disrupts your deep, restorative sleep, causing you to wake up many more times during the night. Many of these wake-ups ups won’t be in consciousness, and this is one of the reasons why you don’t wake up feeling very refreshed after drinking. Alcohol does a great job at blocking REM sleep which is essential for our cognitive function, learning and memory, and emotional and mental health.
REM sleep is a time when some hormonal systems are recharged and refreshed, with growth hormone being one of them. Growth hormone is needed for the regulation of metabolism and body fat - hello weight loss! A study showed that there was a 50% drop in growth hormone during sleep impacted by alcohol. Unfortunately, just one glass of wine with dinner is enough to negatively impact your sleep, causing less REM sleep.
Liver health
The health and efficiency of the liver play a significant role in our overall health and wellbeing. It has a vital role in our energy production, hormonal balance, fat loss, and skin health. The liver works endlessly in conjunction with the gallbladder to excrete substances that the body no longer needs, including old hormones, pesticides, stored body fat, and all sorts of toxic substances that we consume and come into contact with.
Alcohol is a poison to the human body and we cannot excrete it. Luckily the liver kicks in and transforms the consumed alcohol into another substance called acetaldehyde, which is what you are then able to excrete. The liver prioritises alcohol detoxification over everything else which subsequently can lead to a build-up or insufficient detoxification of other toxins.
Estrogen and cholesterol need to be converted by the liver so that they can be safely detoxified by the body. When the liver is constantly having to prioritise alcohol these other substances are reabsorbed which can lead to elevated levels in the body. For this reason, frequent consumption of alcohol can lead to impaired oestrogen metabolism in women, which is why alcohol is a risk factor for oestrogen related conditions such as fibroids and breast cancer.
Alcohol and digestion
If you were out for dinner and had a bottle of shiraz with your meal what do you think would happen to the food? Would your body prioritise alcohol detoxification over digestion? You know the answer, the body prioritises alcohol. It's hardly convenient.
When we eat a meal, the food is broken down into smaller nutrients which are then absorbed through the small intestine and carried to the liver for either immediate use or storage. When large amounts of alcohol are consumed with food, alcohol stops the breakdown of nutrients by decreasing the secretion of digestive enzymes from our pancreas. Alcohol can also impair nutrient absorption by damaging the stomach and intestine. Over time this can lead to nutrient deficiencies. Kind of annoying when we consistently order or make a super healthy meal but the body doesn’t take much notice.
Keeping within the current guidelines
The current New Zealand alcohol intake guidelines suggest women can have up to 2 standard drinks per day and no more than 10 standard drinks per week. Men can have 3 standard drinks per day and no more than 15 standard drinks per week. At least 2 alcohol-free days per week is recommended.
We have these guidelines to minimise the risk of harm from alcohol for the general population, however, we are all individuals. Our bio-individuality, as well as our lifestyle choices, can influence how well our body is able to deal with the alcohol we drink. For example, these parameters don’t take into account preexisting physical and mental health conditions.
Keep an eye out for part 2 of this blog post series for a comparison of different alcoholic drinks! Nutritionally, not all alcoholic drinks are created equal, so we will focus on the calorie and sugar content and how that affects your health and goals.
Can we conclude with a sprinkle of positivity? Red wine contains the antioxidant resveratrol which neutralizes free radicals, reduces inflammation, and prevents cardiovascular disease. The key to receiving the positive benefits of resveratrol without the negative effects is drinking in moderation. For you, this might look like drinking a glass of wine with dinner 4 nights out of the week.
It goes without saying that social connection, laughter, and enjoyment, positively impacts a person’s mental and physical health. We all know that being with friends and family can be incredibly enjoyable and adds so much richness to our lives and this is where the odd alcoholic drink is consumed and enjoyed. However when the drinking tally is mismanaged it does not contribute to a positive experience for our health, consider the above for how it can impact you.
Written by our fantastic Nutritionist Olivia Bragg - click on her mage below to find out more about Olivia and how you can work with her.
All images from Unsplash
