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I recently listened to a Mel Robbins podcast, author of “The Let Them Theory”, where she interviewed Dr. Sarah Wakeman, MD. Sarah is an addiction medicine specialist, at Mass General, and a nationally recognized leader in the treatment for substance use disorders. It is titled What Alcohol Does to Your Brain, Body, and Health. (A link to this podcast is found below).
This article is a summary of many of the points covered by Dr. Wakeman, during the podcast. The one that shocked me into paying close attention to this episode was where she cited the Surgeon General of the US: “Alcohol is the leading preventable cause of Cancer” and “All alcoholic drinks should have a Cancer warning on them, like cigarettes.”
What Really is Alcohol?
Dr. Wakeman explained that alcohol is the end result of fermentation. When a sugar substance like that found in grapes, potatoes, or barley is fermented, it forms a molecule – an alcohol molecule. The alcohol molecule found in alcoholic drinks is the same molecule found in cleaning products, mouthwash, hand sanitizer, and rubbing alcohol. They all contain the same chemical.
She even mentioned that some people who are unable to access alcoholic drinks will drink these other products. I remember, as a child, while helping in our family grocery store, seeing a very tall, thin man come in daily to purchase a bottle of Vanilla Extract and nothing else. He would open the bottle and start drinking it as soon as he left our store. I have since learned on Reddit that “drinking a four-ounce shot of vanilla extract is equivalent to doing four shots of vodka”. Unknowingly, this was my first introduction to an addiction.
Studies on Alcohol and Its Effects on Human Health
In this episode, she explained why earlier studies suggested that a daily glass of wine or an occasional drink may be healthy. The control groups consisted of a non-drinking group. Unfortunately, these subjects may not have imbibed because they had a health condition that prohibited them from drinking or may have been recovering from alcohol abuse. Instead, more recent studies have used a control group consisting of “infrequent drinkers”. The findings were clear: “any amount of alcohol increases the risk of cancer for everyone”. None of the results concluded that you can achieve health benefits by drinking a glass of beer or wine every night.
Dr. Wakeman emphasized that studies on alcohol abuse found an increased risk of dementia, impact on the liver, and further deterioration of any chronic conditions. A higher risk was found if one has more than 10 oz of alcohol each week. For women, or anyone over 65, there is an additional risk if consuming 35 oz or more of wine per week.
How Alcohol Affects Our Body
She discussed specific health issues related to alcohol abuse, “a potential poison causing cancer risk”:
The Liver
- Inflammation of the liver, causing fatty deposits, often referred to as “fatty liver”
- Early on, fatty liver can be reversed by no longer drinking
- If it becomes sclerosis of the liver, you get scarring, making the liver stiff, resulting in a loss of function
- Some who drink heavily, even young people in their late 20’s or 30’s, can present with liver failure, which could require a liver transplant
- Studies between 2010 and 2012 found an increase in alcohol-related liver failure, even death, in young people
The Kidneys
- Alcohol makes our kidneys less sensitive to ADH (antidiuretic hormone). We urinate more frequently and become dehydrated
- This can result in headaches and feeling unwell
Gut Microbiome
- Heavy levels of alcohol abuse harm the microbiome
- It creates more leakage in the gut – leaky gut – where the walls of the intestines become permeable, allowing substances that should not leave the gut move into the blood and even cross the blood-brain barrier
- Alcohol can change the makeup of your gut microbiome just as would happen if you indulged in a high-fat, high-sugar, or high-carb diet
Questions to Consider
Dr. Wakeman mentioned that people generally lie about the things that they find embarrassing, whether it is about their weight, how often they floss, or their drinking habits. She suggested that questions for a doctor to ask his patient should include those about alcohol use, such as:
- Quantity and how often?
- Have you tried to stop and were unable?
- Are people close to you concerned about your drinking?
- Does it impact your work?
- Is it making you more anxious?
- Do you crave alcohol?
- Do you need to drink more now to have the same effect as before?
- Do you feel sick if you stop drinking?
Some Specific Health Issues
Many of us fool ourselves by claiming that ‘we can stop whenever we want’. We claim that we don’t have a problem. This episode discussed:
Menopause and its symptoms made worse by alcohol
- Hot flashes – alcohol amplifies them
- Sleep disturbances
- Mood changes
Sleep
We have sleep cycles that need balance for restorative sleep
Alcohol
- Makes you fall asleep faster but imbalances your sleep cycles
- You may wake up in the middle of the night and have difficulty getting back to sleep
- You may sleep through the night but not feel refreshed in the morning
- Your brain doesn’t get the amount of restorative sleep required
Memory
- Alcohol damages parts of the brain, like the Amygdala and the Hippocampus, that control how our memories are “laid down”
- It alters our communication pathways and how we process information
- Brain damage, due to alcohol abuse, seen on an MRI or CT scan, can detect volume brain loss and indicate a 50-year-old brain, for example, looking much older than it should
- Most distressing was Dr. Wakeman’s assertion that “longterm, it can cause dementia and severe memory problems”. “The part of the brain where you lay down memories gets damaged, causing Amnesia Syndrome, where you can only remember things from the past and are unable to lay down new memories.”
Approaching Someone Who Overindulges
She recommended:
- Share the link to this podcast
- Share your worries, lovingly and kindly
- Ask how they, themselves, feel about their drinking
- No tough love, judgment, or shaming
People must change this habit for themselves, not for others – we can only love and support them
If it is for yourself:
- Figure out when and why by keeping a drinking diary, as you would a food diary, when going on a diet
- Set yourself up for success – organize social activities that are not around alcohol
- Let people know what you are planning to do and why and ask for their help
- Know that some people may no longer fit into your life, like your drinking buddies, after having these conversations
- Get treatment – it works!
- Remember, it is a disease, not a personality disorder
I found this podcast to be extremely informative. Fortunately, I eliminated “social drinking” many years ago. If I hadn’t, this podcast would certainly have made me think twice about ordering a glass of wine at dinner. Interestingly, once I made the decision, I haven’t missed it.
To watch the entire interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tXoJN8-H6k
If improving brain function, i.e., cognition and memory, is your issue:
https://www.nppwebinars.com/regenerating_the_brain.html
Cravings and Addictions: Check out:
https://edisoninst.com/can-a-holistic-nutritionist-help-you-quit-smoking/
*Audio link for those in need or who prefer to listen to our blogs:
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