Is there any possibility that excessive alcohol consumption can disrupt or damage bacterial flora in the digestive tract?

Is there any possibility that excessive alcohol consumption can disrupt or damage bacterial flora in the digestive tract Sorry, the question mark wouldn't fit. I'm thinking this probably isn't the case, as most alcohol would be assimilated long before it got that far. I'm not looking for any guesses here, so I'd appreciate a defense of your answer.

Asked by BrainBuilder_is_gone 52 months ago Similar questions: possibility excessive alcohol consumption disrupt damage bacterial flora digestive tract Health.

Similar questions: possibility excessive alcohol consumption disrupt damage bacterial flora digestive tract.

The effects of alcohol are far reaching - and indeed, the intestinal tract is one of its victims. I knew this to be the case from anecdotal evidence, but when I read some of the recent research, it is truly shocking. It really is sad since drinking is so much fun - but here it is in all of its depressing research findings... First, though, it's interesting that there is metabolism of alcohol in the small intestine - and to a lesser degree, thru the large intestine, although not as much as in the stomach.

The primary enzyme that metabolized alcohol (alcohol dehydrogenase) is found through out the GI tract. The research mainly shows: 1. Consumption of large quantities of alcoholic beverages leads to decreased intestinal absorption of nutrients including several vitamins.

2. Decreased absorption of sodium and water caused by alcohol contributes to the tendency in alcoholics to develop diarrhea. This has been found in non-alcoholic drinkers, as well.3. Excessive alcohol consumption (even a single episode) can result in erosion in the duodenum and bleeding and damage to the mucosa in the upper jejunum.

The "single episode" thing is really alarming - this refers to all of us who even occasionally over-indulge! Obviously, if one is not drinking heavily day after day, the body can repair itself, but all of that injury - even if repaired has got to add up! 4.

Bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine -which causes general abdominal "upset" complaints, is documented in alcoholics.5. This is the scariest...The mucosal damage caused by alcohol increases the permeability of the gut to macromolecules - that would not normally be allowed passage. This means that endotoxins and other bacterial toxins from the gut lumen get into the portal blood (going to the liver) - which means an increased risk of liver injury.6.

The immune system in the intestine is also affected by acute and, more importantly, by chronic alcohol ingestion. This may lead to inflammatory reactions that contribute to the development of organ injury and also to an overtaxed immune system, leading to the well-known susceptibility to infectious diseases associated with alcohol abuse. Because the intestine involves so much surface area, it represents one of the most important immune systems in mammals.It is a surface exposed to the heaviest burden of environmental antigens so it's really important that it be able to fend off those antigens.

I guess what shocked me was, although we all know the damage alcoholism does, even acute or occasional excessive drinking has all of the above effects - just in the short term. More research may prove long term effects - there is a lot more funding for research with alcoholics so not as much has been done examining groups who drink heavily, but who are not alcoholics. Sources: a great review of the recent research with an extensive reference list at the end: Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology Volume 17, Issue 4, August 2003, Pages 575-592; some additional research relating specifically to alcoholism: Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism Satellite Symposium, Alcohol and the Liver: Nutrional Pathophysiological Aspects, September 26-28, 2004, Bordeaux France, Guest Editor: MD.29(11) Supplement:166S-171S, November 2005. Sciencefun's Recommendations Seven Weeks to Sobriety: The Proven Program to Fight Alcoholism through Nutrition Amazon List Price: $14.95 Used from: $4.75 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 22 reviews) What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea - Even Water - Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers Amazon List Price: $35.00 Used from: $20.48 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 19 reviews) Hmmm, what to drink with what you eat, except that you should only drink a glass or two at a time...otherwise, you may need the first book (which interestingly also involves food!) or some immune therapy! Darn!

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Yes, excessive alcohol can damage the normal flora in the digestive tract. Not only can the excess alcohol damage the bacteria and release endotoxins from their cell walls, it can increase permeability of the intestinal wall and allow the endotoxins to enter the blood stream and to damage the intestine. See the following abstract: The present study aimed to determine the intestinal permeability to macromolecules in patients with chronic alcohol abuse and mild to more advanced stages of liver disease, and to measure the concentration of endotoxins in the plasma, as these compounds derive from the intestinal flora and are suspected to contribute to the development of alcoholic liver disease (ALD).

METHODS: The permeability to polyethylene glycol Mr 400, Mr 1500, Mr 4000, and Mr 10,000 and endotoxin plasma concentrations were measured in 54 patients with alcoholic liver disease, 19 of them with cirrhosis, and in 30 non-alcoholic healthy controls. RESULTS: Permeability to polyethylene glycol Mr 400 was found to be unchanged in patients with ALD in comparison to healthy controls, whereas polyethylene glycol Mr 1500 and Mr 4000 were recovered in about twice as high concentrations in the urine of ALD patients (pEndotoxin concentrations in the plasma of alcoholics were increased more than 5-fold compared to healthy controls (pEven if all of the alcohol has been absorbed, this effect will still be there. Sources: uni-hohenheim.de/i3v/00068900/21467041.htm .

Yes, it does disrupt the flora "Alcohol consumption affects gastric acid secretion. In low to moderate doses it stimulates gastric acid secretion—in higher doses it causes inhibition. · Chronic alcohol consumption causes shrinkage of gastric mucosa and decreased gastric secretory capacity.

Thus the stomach has less ability to kill bacteria that enter the body with food, which may lead to the colonization of the upper small intestine with potentially harmful organisms. " Sources: montana.edu/wwwai/imsd/alcohol/Vanessa/v... .

A quick jaunt over to PubMed suggests that alcoholics have an overgrowth of bacteria in the upper GI tract. I didn't see anything that indicated that this was a direct result of the alcohol consumption, however. I'm thinking that maybe other effects on alcohol on the GI tract could cause the bacterial overgrowth.Oops.

But you don't pay me to think. Sources: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=9438608&ordinalpos=18&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum misspinkpiggy's Recommendations Yogurt Starter - Regular Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 4 reviews) .

Sorry this is my guess. It absorbs into the stomach, but it can make leaky gut worse. I don't know if it.. can deeper into the intestines to affect the good bacteria.It does get into the blood stream, so I would think it would affect all parts of the body.

I take dairy free acidophilus every morning when my stomach acid is low.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.