Can exercise replace alcohol cravings?

When people exercise as part of a treatment for alcohol abuse disorder it reduces their volume of alcohol consumption. But why? One reason may be FGF21. FGF21 – a hormone produced during vigorous exercise – prevents cravings for alcohol and animal studies suggest it may even be used as a drug to treat excessive alcohol use.

SHOW NOTES:

CHAPTERS
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:24 - Why vigorous exercise matters
00:00:54 - Altering brain reward
00:01:25 - Factors that raise FGF21
00:01:52 - Does exercise type matter?
00:02:49 - Evidence from animals – reducing consumption 50 percent
00:04:15 - An FGF21 feedback loop may protect the liver
00:04:43 - Exercise may help treat alcohol use disorder (human evidence)
00:05:37 - Concluding thoughts

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REFERENCES:
- Divergent effects of resistance and endurance exercise on plasma bile acids, FGF19, and FGF21 in humans
- FGF21 suppresses alcohol consumption through an amygdalo-striatal circuit
- Exercise as a Useful Intervention to Reduce Alcohol Consumption and Improve Physical Fitness in Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

#Exercise #Alcohol #FGF21

[chaunceywilliams]

I just love RP, sooo smart and informative. I 'm a 72-year-old male. Who works out 6 days a week alternating between cardio and strength training. I am also a recovering alcoholic with 28 years of sobriety. Exercise is my high, everything that comes along with it is just a bonus. One thing I have learned in sobriety is you don't quit addictions. You switch to healthy addictions. Case in point, I don't have a problem going to the gym daily. I have a problem NOT going to the gym daily.

[ThomasGHenry]

I did 10~20 mins of light cardio first thing in the morning, daily, for months as part of my ADHD treatment and just generally to enhance my cognition and behavior. It wasn't until I ramped it up to closer to 40 minutes and increased the intensity that I actually saw any benefit. That was life-changing. Conversely, since then lapses in that habit have lead to pretty undesirable outcomes.

[anthonyorourke]

After injuring my ankle 6 weeks ago I was unable to run, and I found myself drinking more.
Very pertinent video for me!

[yankeeapple]

The next time you have low level anxiety and are craving a drink go for a 5k run instead. The run has to be intense enough to break a sweat with your heart pounding etc.. Craving neutralized, it works. I did this for years before I quit drinking altogether.

[jimgillert]

I did not know this but cycling is what I did when I got out of the alcohol business.

[Olifoli-qc]

You’ve literally changed my life, girl. And it trickles down to all of my poor friends and family. Thank you❤️
WE WANT MORE CONTENT

[DBASSDAN]

Yes, over 10 years sober. Exercise healed me.

[Antique]

I’m 70 and ride my recumbent bike 5 miles every other day. The days I between I do weight training. Always working on something thing to keep up to speed!

[philadams]

Very true. Sometimes my cravings for junk food will completely disappear after a brutal interval session. All I want is clean carbohydrates afterwards like plain rice

[ThomasGHenry]

I really really REALLY appreciate this concise format. Thank you! I've been bookmarking your longer videos for years but I rarely get around to watching them. This is the perfect balance of depth and brevity to jam a whole lot of value into my extremely limited attention span. THANK YOU!

[xavierfelix]

You are the first person using proper scientific labeling of processes related to diet and excercise that a simple minded person as myself is able to comprehend and enjoy learning!!

Thank you

[heqitao]

As one of the most severe alcoholics ever born (if I am not drinking, I am tortured by the thoughts of doing so in both my waking life and dreams and rarely get more than 5 minutes of peace at any conscious moment) I can attest to cravings getting reduced during and after exercise. This is not an isolated case, as I have discussed this with other alcoholics over the years. The link to FGF21 is very interesting, and as Rhonda points out, probably not the whole picture, it is still something to explore.
For the record when it comes to alcoholism I have about as much empirical experience as anyone. Father drunk himself to death at 54. Mother = problem drinker. Brother = alcoholic and addict. I have used Naltrexone (worked for 9 months and then just stopped working?) and Acamprosate (did nothing), gone to rehab, AA, moved cities, moved countries, tried diet and behavioral changes (many types and all for months to years at a time). I am sober today, and I win 99% of the battles in my life long war against alcoholism, but it only takes one failure and my life is upended until I can pull myself out again. For the record NOONE wins 100% of their life battles. Logic works for awhile, but the constant mental torture seems to mean that eventually my limbic system takes over and I fall down.
Exercise and Ketogenic diet are my main methods of defense right now, but as the video shows - exercise only raises FGF21 for several hours so the relief exercise brings is quite short lived. Ketogenic diet mainly because drinking drops you out of ketosis so it is an extra incentive to stay on track. The relationship between ketones and FGF21 production in the liver should also be studied further to see if there is a positive, negative or or nil feedback loop.
I am certainly not the only one out there in this position. More research needs to be done, if not for my ruined life, for those that come next and might be able to live happy, productive lives without constant mental torture. I thank Rhonda (who my family affectionately calls Auntie Rhonda because of what she brings to our lives) for this post and condensing all of this information.

So where can I get an FGF21 analog? ;^)

[brucecarroll]

Per Chauncey W's message (see below). Exercise has been an important adjunct in my Recovery of these past 10+ years. It alone does not treat the disease but it is very helpful as an adjunct. Swapping addictions does not address the underlying psycho-emotional reasons for the addiction; all the same, a healthy one is preferred to a destructive one.

Thanks Rhonda. Keep up the Great Work!

[drsherryprice]

I used to overdrink and this would lead to me not exercising and sticking to my weight loss goals. Now I can take it or leave it and learning to stick to an exercise regimen. Thank you! So informative!

[train_with_tim]

Thank you for highlighting these important studies. As someone who has struggled with substance abuse personally, I have always found exercise is a path to reducing cravings and drug-seeking behavior. Certainly anecdotally in the recovery community, exercise is recognized as a coping mechanism.

Hopefully this type of research elevates exercise from it’s status as an adjunct or amenity in the treatment environment to a primary modality. In many populations, pairing someone seeking treatment with a personal trainer for 60 minutes would be far more efficacious than scheduling them an hour of CBT.

[erkutgurun]

Thanks Dr.Rhonda. Correct me if I'm wrong but to withstand 40+ minutes of 80%HR exercise, one has to probably either be an athlete or 20 years old. At 55, and having had an unhealthy life for the most part, and having newly gotten into this reverse aging thing, I'll be extremely happy if I can squeeze in a 4min tabata in addition to my 40minutes or treadmil walking.

[fifteenbyfive]

Worth a note that FGF-21 was lower three hours after exercise than before the exercise. I'd like to see what happens in the hours after that 3rd hour. If lower concentrations (assuming they exist e.g. are easy to replicate) remain for hours after that 3rd hour, this is important to know up or down, because we don't want to inadvertently cause an alcohol craving downstream.

[MAJALIJU]

Thank you Rhonda -- always appreciate the research breakdowns! Anecdotally I quit Juul, cigarettes, marijuana, amphetamine (all at separate times) all by using these exact principles. I replaced the 'rush' with a cardio induced 'rush' and was able to replace the habit entirely.

[therealchrisboggs]

I LOVE this format (new to me maybe, just discovered it today)! It fits in with the level of unfamiliar jargon that I can personally absorb in one sitting. I have waded through some of your longer format videos with guests but I must admit I've rarely watched them all the way through. The impression I got from those was they were more than likely aimed at medical professionals. In this new format, the information flow is clear, salient points delineated and I like the "Science Proof" (as opposed to "Social Proof") of the study documentation being shown at left, as discussed. I appreciate the information that you share Dr. Patrick!

[bspenn]

In college, guys on the cross-country team had shirts saying we were "a drinking team with a running problem."