THE NEW YORK TIMES – Here are six effects alcohol can have on your gut.
1. Acid Reflux
Drinking alcohol causes the muscles in your body to relax, including the muscular valve that seals off your stomach from your esophagus. That can make the valve open more than it should, allowing stomach acid to escape into your esophagus. This can cause heartburn, pain and other symptoms of reflux.
Acidic alcoholic beverages (like wine and cider) and carbonated ones (like beer and some cocktails) can worsen reflux symptoms, said Dr. Cynthia Hsu, a gastroenterologist and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
2. Inflammation and Bleeding
Even one night of heavy drinking may cause your stomach lining to become inflamed, leading to symptoms like nausea, stomach pain or discomfort for a day or two.
That inflammation is temporary and can heal quickly — kind of like when a burn on the roof of your mouth from eating hot food heals within a few days, Dr. Shane said.
Alcohol can also increase your risk of bleeding in the digestive tract.
In a 2016 study of nearly 50,000 men in the United States who were followed for 26 years, those who consumed one to two drinks per day were 67 percent more likely than men who didn’t drink at all to develop serious gastrointestinal bleeding, mainly from ulcers in the stomach and the first part of the small intestine.
The risk was greatest for men who regularly consumed alcohol, especially liquor, outside of mealtimes.
3. Gas and Bloating
When you consume alcohol, the stomach absorbs a small amount of it, with your intestines absorbing or breaking down the rest.
But drink too much at once — faster than your body can absorb the alcohol — and you’ll end up with more alcohol than usual mixing with the microbes in your intestines …
