Drinking alcohol and gut microbiome changes: The WILD way booze changes your microbiome

Alcohol and gut microbiome changes generally go hand in hand. The science behind this has always been that alcohol indiscriminately kills gut bacteria, creating an unhealthy gut microbiota. But a new study shows that this idea may be completely wrong, and could give us insight in how to protect against the detrimental effects of drinking on gut and liver health.

The idea that alcohol kills bacteria is microbiology 101, and why many people douse themselves in hand sanitizer. But drinking alcohol and wiping your hands with it are two totally different things. Alcohol is absorbed in the stomach and duodenum, at which point it “touches” approximately .0000000002% of the microbiome. Something else is clearly at play.

A new study finds that the negative health effects of alcohol on the gut may not be that simple. As it turns out, it might not be about killing microbes at all. In fact, it may be about fueling an overgrowth of specific types of bacteria, causing an imbalance.

This new science on alcohol and the microbiome points to some ways we can use nutrition to fight the negative effects of drinking alcohol. Today we chat about the mechanism.

In our next video we'll talk about how we can address it.

Enjoy!

Next video:

Preventing alcohol gut: Shaping a gut microbiome resistant to booze

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