What it is:
The evidence of alcohol's impact on the body (Part 1) and its disruption of health goals (Part 2) has been laid out in our previous posts. For those who choose to include alcohol as part of their journey, we have put together the current research on how to protect yourself before, during, and after alcohol consumption. The information below demonstrates how to possibly negate hangovers and general health issues caused by drinking.
Purported claims:
Practices that reduce inflammatory build-up, ADH / ALDH metabolite excess, and overall stressors may aid alcohol recovery. Incorporating healthy practices can give you a higher threshold to tolerate alcohol's impact. As stated in our previous post on building a healthy foundation of lifestyle practices, you may be able to lessen alcohol's effect.
One immediate consequence of alcohol is the next-day hangover. The cause is possibly a combination of several factors, the main ones being:
Impact of ethanol itself and its metabolites
The processing of alcoholic beverages and residue called Congeners
A person's previous actions, including hydration levels, recent meal timing/composition, and diet in general
Genetics, sex, state of health, and body composition
Positive Claims:
Some studies have shown an inverse association between light to moderate drinking and the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Resveratrol - Studies state red wine may be healthy for the heart due to its polyphenol and antioxidant properties.
Natural wines have fewer additives and are possibly less detrimental to the liver.
What the science says:
So how can you protect yourself if you decide to drink alcohol?
Overall
Maintain a healthy body weight:
Those who are underweight and drink excessively may especially be at risk from the damaging effects of alcohol on the heart.
Those who are overweight, already carry extra fat in their organs and other tissues, putting excess stress and inflammation on the body before alcohol consumption.
So, maintaining a healthy body weight may help reduce your overall risk of alcohol-related diseases.
Sleep is essential for preserving and recovering the body and brain, especially when placing ourselves under physical stressors like alcohol. Drinking is less likely to affect your sleep if you:
Don't drink every day.
Reduce the amount that you drink when you do.
Leave as much time as you can between your last drink of the day and bedtime. Sleep experts recommend 4 hours, if possible.
Consistent, balanced nutrition may help the absorption, storage, and metabolism of certain vitamins and minerals that are affected by alcohol. Watch out for deficiencies in:
Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K
All B vitamins, especially:
B1 (Thiamin)
B6
B9 (Folate)
Vitamin C
Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphate, Zinc
A meal containing all of these before and after drinking may be protective alongside a multivitamin for good measure. For example, a meal that contains Spinach, Sweet Potato, Avocado, Mushrooms, and Salmon may have protective benefits compared to a meal lacking the vitamins and minerals mentioned above.
Coffee, dark leafy greens, and foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids like salmon have been shown to protect the liver. So, make these items part of a consistent eating plan to utilize their benefits.
Before Drinking
Consuming a balanced snack or meal that contains fat, protein, and carbohydrates before or during alcohol consumption may help your liver and body to manage the influx of alcohol in a steadier stream. A meal can protect the body in many ways, from buffering the stomach lining to guarding the gut microbiome.
Selecting B vitamin-rich foods, especially folate, before, during, and after drinking may reduce cancer risk (1,2,3) and improve recovery.
Some research shows B-12 and Folate supplementation may have protective properties against liver injury from alcohol.
Milk thistle (silymarin) is another supplement that has been touted to protect the liver but with minimal evidence.
Reducing your overall inflammation burden can include anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric and ginger.
After exercise and prior to any alcoholic beverages, first replace water, electrolytes, and macronutrient levels. For recovery purposes and glycogen storage replenishment, choose foods high in carbohydrates, protein, and electrolytes.
During Drinking
Avoid drinks that spike your blood glucose (added sugar, sugary beverages / heavy with mixers like orange juice, coke, or Red Bull).
Select alcoholic beverages that utilize fewer congeners.
Create or consume drinks containing anti-inflammatory foods, like a ginger turmeric cocktail with no refined sugars.
Aim for hydrating choices e.g. sparkling water, fresh lime, and vodka.
Consume water in a one-to-one or every other ratio to your alcoholic beverage.
After Drinking
Consistently replace and replenish the gut microbiome with probiotic foods such as yogurt, kefir, sourdough, miso, natto, kimchi, and other bacteria-rich foods.
Participate in physical activity since adrenaline and dopamine spikes have been shown beneficial for hangover and health recovery.
1-3 minute cold shower (uncomfortable but not extreme) can also spike adrenaline and dopamine for hangover recovery.
Positive Benefits of Alcohol?
Some studies show cardiovascular issues decrease in specific populations where drinking moderate amounts of alcohol occur (1,2,3). In this specific health risk, an alcoholic beverage showed lower mortality rates. However, this is just one health issue that showed a reduction. Others, such as liver disease or brain volume, showed an increased risk when alcohol was consumed. The take-away from these studies is that moderation in every part of life will serve your health.
Red Wine and Resveratrol
The benefits touted by red wine due to the antioxidant and longevity properties of the polyphenol resveratrol are limited. The amount of wine you would have to consume for noticeable benefits is impossible, and the detriments of alcohol far outweigh any possible antioxidant benefits.
Hangovers:
Recovering from a hangover can be tricky, so preempting the issue through certain choices may reduce the consequences of drinking. Reducing the burden to the greatest extent possible may include:
Limiting congeners
Limiting sugars (added e.g. cola or even natural e.g. orange juice)
Alternating water with each beverage
Having a meal prior to drinking
One study even suggested a drink of sweet lime, pear, and coconut water (1) may enhance alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity.
Congeners
Congeners (products other than ethanol in alcohol) may also contribute to destruction within the body and, therefore, harsher hangover effects. Congeners are the outputs of the fermentation process such as when glucose is broken down by the yeast that produce ethanol, other items are broken down also. These include acetaldehyde, acetone, histamines, fusel oil, furfural, methanol's metabolites, histamines, esters, tannins, amines, and amides. Any one of these in excess may be detrimental to recovery from alcohol exposure.
Alcohols with high congeners content such as brandy, red wine, or rum may give harsher hangovers.
Medium Congeners are whiskey and some types of red wine.
Beer and clear alcohol such as vodka tend to have lower Congeners. High-filter vodka has the lowest excess metabolites.
Our take:
If you are consistently drinking alcohol, it does put a strain on your bodily systems. Every time you consume an alcoholic beverage it passes through your organ systems and kills off some of the cells. The liver especially takes the brunt force of this onslaught, and although it's very good at regenerating itself, there is only so much it can take. Therefore, if you choose to consume alcohol taking regular breaks over weeks or months can help your body and health goals.
Your liver can recover from the effects of alcohol, including fatty liver, in as little as two weeks, and greater improvements can occur the longer you abstain from alcohol. One month is the recommended abstinence length to give your liver a break from fatty residue build-up.
Physical activity, restful sleep, and balanced nutrition can all assist in the healing process.
Will this benefit you?
Adopting practices to offset the impact of alcohol will benefit you. However, abstaining from alcohol has a clear advantage in terms of reaching health goals. Speak with your Client Advocate if you feel you may benefit from reducing your alcohol intake.
Still curious? If so, here’s what to keep an eye on:
Tests that examine liver function can help you pick up on possible issues related to your drinking habits. However, damage can occur before these tests can register the harm, so decreasing alcohol consumption and increasing protective lifestyle changes are best. Speak with your doctor for access to liver function tests. They will look at:
Albumin levels (may decrease in cases of chronic liver disease)
Bilirubin levels (may show increased levels if the liver is malfunctioning)
Liver enzyme levels
References and additional reading:
Mahan, L K, and Raymond, J L. Krause's Food & the Nutrition Care Process. Elsevier Inc, 2017. Print.
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