Does dry January help your gut health?

Are you giving up alcohol for dry January? Lots of people give up the booze after drinking too much at Christmas. If you’re starting the year alcohol-free what does it to do your gut health?

How does alcohol affect your gut health?

The microbes in our gut help us digest our food, affect our hormones and also create some of our vitamins. The microbes are essential to our health, and play an important role in the gut. When we drink alcohol it affects the immune system, can affect our nervous system and changes the environment which can affect in which microbes live.

Excess alcohol can disrupt the digestive system. This might be through an increase inflammation in the gut, and increase permeability (leaky gut) as well as damage to the tissues in the intestines. Leakiness in the gut has been associated with changes in mood, anxiety and depression.

Some studies in animals have found that in the presence of alcohol, certain microbes can promote a positive feedback mechanism encourages other microbes that thrive when alcohol is present in the gut. This means some bacteria will support the growth of other bacteria when alcohol is around, and might change the gut microbiome over time in high alcohol use.

Will dry January help my digestion?

You might find a month of dry January is all you need to improve your bloating and constipation or diarrhoea. In one study with people who were alcohol dependent who detoxed had positive changes in their gut bacteria after 3 weeks of no drinking.

High alcohol use might negatively affect which microbes are in the gut.

Reduced levels of positive bacteria like Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus are lower in people who drink heavily. Alcohol might also encourage some microbes more associated with inflammation such as Enterobacteriaceae, Streptococcus and Proteobacteria.

Some studies have shown the beneficial bacteria increased once participants stopped drinking.

Can gut health affect alcoholism?

Interestingly it’s also possible altering the gut microbiota might improve the rate of relapse for people who are alcohol dependent. Some, but not all, alcohol-dependent subjects developed gut leakiness, which was associated with higher scores of depression, anxiety, and alcohol craving after three weeks of abstinence.

There is a huge connection between the brain and the gut, with microbes, neurotransmitters and hormones travelling between the brain and the gut constantly.

Feelings of depression and anxiety are often why people turn to alcohol, so the way gut microbes affect the brain may be an important psychological factor in whether people start drinking again.

Will my digestion improve if I give up alcohol for January?

If you’ve been experiencing digestive issues like bloating, gas and constipation then a break from alcohol might improve these symptoms. If you have longer term digestions issues it’s always good to get checked out by your GP.

It’s important to feed the positive bacteria with fibre to keep them growing and crowd out the less helpful bugs.

• Concentrate on eating plenty of fibre rich foods like wholegrains, vegetables, pulses and fruits
• Eat pre-biotics like oats, leeks, onions, garlic, asparagus, artichokes and green bananas
• Drink plenty of water, aim for 8 glasses a day to stay hydrated
• Increase gentle exercise to keep your body and digestion moving.

Dry January can be a great start to the year in lots of ways, improving sleep, energy levels and mood. And your gut microbes may just thank you for the break.