Alcohol has long been known to have a range of effects on the body, from impairing cognitive function to increasing the risk of certain cancers. But a new study suggests that it may also have a cleansing effect on the brain. According to research published in Scientific Reports, a little alcohol could help your brain clean itself. Water does help eliminate alcohol, but only after the liver has metabolized everything.
Reducing the amount of glucose in the body is a good thing, and this is what the study found when it gathered a group of volunteers from New Scientist staff. The alcohol-free group saw a 16 percent drop in glucose levels after just five weeks, while the drinkers saw no such change. The U. S.
National Toxicology Program and the Department of Health and Human Services both mention alcohol as a human carcinogen (a substance known to cause cancer). The more you shed it, the more likely you are to get liver cancer, breast cancer, and head and neck cancer, among others. In fact, 3.5 percent of all cancer-related deaths are related to severe alcohol use. In the same New Scientist study mentioned above, the group of non-alcoholic subjects experienced a 15 percent drop in their liver fat, on average.
Some people even lost 20 percent. This is significant because it means that kicking the bottle could be as effective as IVF treatments when it comes to fertility. Over a three-year period, 430 couples between 20 and 35 years old were closely monitored; what they found was that 64 percent of women who drank fewer than five alcoholic beverages a week became pregnant, while only 55 percent of those who drank more did so. The liver does the heavy lifting when it comes to processing alcohol.
After alcohol passes through the stomach, small intestine, and bloodstream, the liver begins to cleanse itself and eliminates approximately 90% of alcohol from the blood. The rest comes out through the kidneys, lungs, and skin. The effects of alcohol on the elimination of THC from the body and fat cells are inconclusive. A person can use alcohol as a diuretic at best, which means they can get rid of more urine than they would without it. Research has shown that alcohol can also further dehydrate the body, meaning that the detoxification process will take longer.
Many people believe that sweat removes alcohol from their system; however, this is not true as only 10 percent of alcohol consumed is eliminated in urine, breath and sweat. The only real way to eliminate alcohol from your body is to wait for the liver to get to work and break down the alcohol. Red wine is particularly beneficial here as it increases levels of “good” HDL cholesterol which helps cleanse the body by eliminating LDL or “bad” cholesterol. Alcohol also slows down the immune system making white blood cells that fight bacteria slower and much less efficient. Heavy drinkers may be more likely to succumb to diseases such as tuberculosis or pneumonia, and increase their risk of developing numerous forms of cancer. Detoxification won't necessarily remove all toxins from your body right away but it can help alcohol get rid of more easily. Hepatologist Jamile Wakim-Fleming explains how your body eliminates alcohol and gives us a better idea of what affects this process.
Because blood alcohol levels decrease over time, the extent to which water intake helps to be processed will depend on how long the alcohol has been in the body and how much alcohol is left in the bloodstream at that time. Because alcohol is metabolized quite quickly, most doctors rely on observations of alcohol use such as difficulty speaking or smelling like alcohol or a breathalyzer test to confirm intoxication or recent alcohol use. The concept of eliminating alcohol from the body is not entirely accurate; fluids will rehydrate the body and improve physical symptoms but only once the liver has processed all remaining alcohol into acetaldehyde and later into acetate. Although the liver processes most of the alcohol in the body drinking water can help combat dehydration and dilute alcohol concentrations in surrounding body tissues. The liver can only process a small amount of alcohol in an hour so you may have to wait a long time before all traces are released from your bloodstream. In these examples, the amount of alcohol consumed plays a greater role than percentage of alcohol content in determining how long it takes for your body to process it; this could be an indicator that you are overdoing it or developing an issue with drinking. Alcohol is predominantly broken down in the liver through an enzyme called Alcohol Dehydrogenase; there is virtually no other way for your body to eliminate it. Blood Alcohol Level (BAL), Liver Processing Time (LPT), History Of Alcohol Use (HAU), Gender (G) and other factors all play a role in determining how quickly your body can break down Alcohol. Because Alcohol has a diuretic effect drinking plenty of fluids helps fight dehydration caused by Alcohol in your blood brain heart and muscles. He holds a Clinical Diploma in Advanced Clinical Practice and is a Clinical Leader in Alcohol and Substance Abuse for Abbeycare Gloucester and works as a Clinical Leader in Alcohol and Substance Use in Worcestershire.
