Go Alcohol-Free For Your Gut Health!
In recent years many of us have heard about the importance of “gut health”. In fact, scientists are increasingly discovering just how important a healthy gut is to overall health.
So how can we keep our guts healthy, functioning and filled with the good stuff? Well, one very effective way is to reduce your alcohol intake. And we are here to tell you all about why going alcohol-free will help your gut health.
Why Is A Healthy Gut Important?
But first, let's start by understanding what a healthy gut is and why having a healthy gut is so important. How does having a healthy gut affect your overall health and well-being?
To keep it simple, your gut (gastrointestinal system) is at its healthiest when you have a balance between the helpful and the bad (or rather potentially harmful) bacteria and yeast in your gut.
Why is this balance in your gut important? Well, 80% of your immune system is in your gut. A gut that is out of balance can significantly affect your immune system, and potentially even cause autoimmune illnesses.
At the same time most of your body’s Serotonin, and many other hormones are stored in your gut. If the environment in your gut is not balanced it can cause imbalances in your hormone production. This can throw your whole body off kilter.
If you need any more reason to believe that the gut is the foundation of your body’s health then don’t forget that the gut is the system that processes and digests food and nutrients to fuel your body, as well as remove the waste and toxins your body creates.
What Does Alcohol Do To Your Gut?
So what does alcohol do to your gut? Alcohol can have a number of negative effects on the gut. To name just a few:
Alcohol can inhibit the production of digestive enzymes, making it harder for your body to process and digest nutrients from food.
Alcohol can cause inflammation in your gut making the gut lining more permeable and allowing bits of food to enter your bloodstream and cause all sorts of negative consequences like food intolerance. This is also known as leaky gut.
Chronic alcohol consumption can lead to a disbalance in the macrobiotics in your gut and infections like SIBO.
How Can Going Alcohol-Free Help Your Gut?
So if you are bored of bowel issues or just want to look after your overall health look no further. Quitting alcohol or mindfully drinking can help restore your gut health and keep your body functioning at its best.
Cutting out alcohol can help your gut health in various ways.
1. Replenish Good Helpful Gut Flora
Not only does alcohol kill the good bacteria and yeast in your gut but it provides the perfect environment for harmful bacteria and yeast to thrive. By cutting out alcohol you make the gut more hostile to these bad bacteria. Your gut flora will therefore start to balance itself out again.
To help balance your gut flora you can eat food that is high in fibre or probiotics such as fermented food like kimchi and sauerkraut. You can also take probiotics orally or drink beverages high in probiotics such as Kombucha.
2. Reduce Gut Inflammation
Even just one night of drinking can cause gut inflammation. But the good news is that research suggests that after only three weeks of full sobriety, your gut is likely to be fully healed. That means that after about three weeks your gut permeability will be back to healthy levels and any inflammation is likely to have gone down.
4. Support Nutrient Uptake
By cutting out alcohol you allow your body to produce enough digestive enzymes and give them the right environment to work it. That means that you will be able to get more of the good stuff from your food and your body will be properly fueled.
5. Help Regulate Bowel Movement
You will get better bowel movements after cutting out alcohol. That is because your gut and digestive enzymes are able to function better, detoxify and remove toxins more easily. All in all, this is going to mean you get less diarrhoea and uncomfortable feelings in your bowels.
Sign Up For JOMO
Take the pain out of quitting alcohol by signing up for JOMO. JOMO offers a subscription box filled to the brim with delicious alcohol-free goodies, delivered regularly to your front door.
Each box contains a mindfully curated selection of goodies including:
One full-sized alcohol-free spirit with cocktail mixers, garnishes and recipes,
some tasty bar snacks,
a range of ready-to-drink non-alcoholic beverages
a magazine with everything you need to know about the alcohol-free lifestyle.
So make it easy to keep your gut healthy, embrace an alcohol-free lifestyle and find the joy of missing out with a JOMO subscription.