On the Cleanse & Reboot we AIM to avoid alcohol. Certainly for the first 7-10 days so that the liver can recover and regain some energy which is depleted from alcohol consumption.
Some people may struggle with this exclusion and may need to examine their relationship with alcohol.
If for the second weekend you wish to have a glass, make it one glass only. This is a long post, but once you get to the end you may understand why it´s restricted on this programme.
Alcohol is a TOXIN to the body.
More than 90% of alcohol is eliminated by the liver; 2-5% is excreted unchanged in urine, sweat, or breath.
Women have higher blood alcohol concentrations compared to men for the same serving of alcohol and the levels remain higher for longer. This means women are more prone to neurotoxicity, liver damage, heart disease and cancer at lower alcohol levels than men.
Alcohol is a drug that is not digested like food. Instead, alcohol is absorbed into the blood, which is why your blood alcohol level increases as you drink. However, each part of the digestive system is involved in absorbing, processing, or breaking down alcohol in the body.
The chemical substances of ethanol (pure alcohol) and acetaldehyde (a toxic by-product) can cause damage to cells, tissues and organs as they travel through the digestive system.
The mouth and throat are the first points of contact when you drink alcohol and a small amount is directly absorbed through the walls of the mouth. Microbes in the mouth convert some of the alcohol to acetaldehyde, a highly toxic substance.
After alcohol leaves the mouth, it flows down the oesophagus. Alcohol can directly damage the cells lining the oesophagus. It may also cause acid reflex, which occurs when stomach contents to come back up into the oesophagus. This can also cause damage to cells.
About 20% of the alcohol is absorbed into the blood directly through the stomach lining. The more food you have in your stomach, the slower the alcohol is absorbed, and the longer it takes to move into your intestines. If there is no solid food in the stomach, alcohol moves down into the small intestine more easily and will pass quickly into the blood.
Enzymes help to breakdown alcohol and divert some of it from the bloodstream. These enzymes are known as alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and women tend to have lower levels of ADH than men. Also people who drink regularly have lower ADH levels than people who rarely or never drink. If you don’t have enough ADH or ALDH, your stomach will send the alcohol directly to the small intestine. From there, it hits your bloodstream and the brain and you start feeling its effects.
The majority of absorption takes place in the small intestine because of the extremely large surface area.
It is the liver that does the hard work in processing alcohol once it´s been absorbed. It removes about 90% of the alcohol from your blood. The rest comes out through your kidneys, lungs and skin.
To detoxify alcohol the liver uses up the essential master antioxidant called GLUTATHIONE – the key nutrient required to help break down most chemical toxins through the liver.
When the liver breaks down alcohol, it is converted to acetaldehyde, a highly toxic chemical and Group 1 carcinogen. The more cells in the liver try to repair the damage, the more likely they can make mistakes in their DNA.
Kidney Health
Short-term effects of alcohol on your excretory system include:
- More frequent urination.
- Heightened blood pressure.
- Bladder irritation
Why are women more sensitive to the effects of alcohol?
- Body Fat: In general, women tend to weigh less than men and their bodies are composed of more fatty tissue and often, less water. Naturally, water dilutes alcohol, but fat retains it, concentrating the effects of alcohol in a woman’s system for a longer period of time.
- Metabolism – Women have lower levels of the enzymes alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase, which break down alcohol in the stomach and liver. Hormonal changes and levels during a woman’s menstrual cycle also have effects on the way alcohol is metabolised.
Here are some of the ways alcohol negatively impacts women’s health:
- Weight Gain and Increased Appetite. By suppressing the hunger regulating hormone leptin, alcohol can make you hungrier, and more likely to binge eat due to an increase in the hunger hormone, Ghrelin. Alcohol causes cortisol to rise which affects your blood sugar levels. It also impacts growth hormone levels meaning you become less lean and store more fat.
- Alcohol affects oestrogen balance at all stages of life. It raises oestrogen levels and SLOWS fat burning. Pre menopause it can lead to too much oestrogen relative to progesterone and then encourage heavy bleeding, PMS, night sweats and hot flushes. In menopausal women, drinking 1-2 units /day raises oestrone and DHEAS, another hormone that can be converted into oestrogen. Excess may increase risk of breast cancer.
- Losing Focus Alcohol affects the body’s ability to regenerate. When alcohol is broken down and releases acetaldehyde, brain cells are destroyed. On average, the consumption of alcohol decreases the production of adult brain cells by as much as 40%. Women are more likely to have loss of brain volume. The more alcohol consumed the greater the shrinkage.
- Alcohol is a neurotoxin and after the age of 40 the blood brain barrier (BBB) gets thinner, so alcohol attacks cells more easily. Alcohol also causes this BBB to become leaky which is linked to multiple brain/body problems including MS, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Blood Pressure Spikes It may already be self-evident that alcohol causes your blood pressure to rise, but women are especially at a higher risk here. Research has shown that women who drank more than 10 units a week had a blood pressure level of 12 points higher than normal, twice as high as levels seen in men. This impacts kidney health.
Alcohol acts as a disinfectant in the gut.
It kills many of the beneficial bacteria that live in the intestines and this will reduce your immune resilience since 70-80% of your immune cells reside in the gut membrane. Our body needs these bacteria as they support a healthy gut microbiome and many additional critical processes.
When we drink alcohol it affects the permeability of the gut- making it leaky, enabling anything to pass through the protective layers of the intestines into the bloodstream.
Alternative drinks to enjoy:
Incorporating herbal teas such as dandelion root, nettle, or green tea into your meal plan is a great way to support liver and kidney function.
- Iced tea:Brew some of your favourite herbal tea, I like 3 ginger or a strong mint. Use either loose leaf or a few teabags for extra flavour in a litre of boiling water poured into a large glass bottle/jug. When cooled, remove the teabags, loose leaves and add freshly squeezed lemon juice (if desired) then refrigerate and serve with ice cube/sparking water or even neat. I add mint leaves and lime to my peppermint mix.
A really interesting podcast to listen to about alcohol is by the neuroscientist: Andrew Huberman
Keep it real and make the programme work for you.
For more information listen to my Instagram Live recording on my account (@christinekjeldbjerg) with Lindsey Beveridge on the 19th September 2022 or with Kate Adams on her abstinence from alcohol within the library of presentations.
