SUMMER IS PRIME TIME for barbecues, beers and – if you work in a digestive nutrition practice like me – complaints about alcohol-related diarrhea. But fortunately, there are some practical things social drinkers can do to enjoy their margaritas or mimosas today – and enjoy life outside of the bathroom tomorrow. In addition to drinking only moderately, of course, here's what I advise: 1. Don't drink on an empty stomach. Alcohol in all of its forms – beer, wine and spirits – is a direct irritant of the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. The more contact it makes with the surface lining of your stomach and gut, the more likely you are to experience various symptoms of digestive upset – from nausea and that "raw" unsettled stomach feeling to spasmodic diarrhea the following day. One way you can mitigate this effect is by avoiding drinking on an empty stomach. By ensuring that there's some food in your belly before you start drinking, you should be able to minimize the degree of direct contact alcohol has with your stomach's inner lining. Food also slows down the rate of stomach emptying, meaning that the alcohol will hit your intestine more gradually and give your body's dedicated enzyme systems time to metabolize it gradually. When a large amount of alcohol hits the digestive tract at once, the toxic byproducts of alcohol's metabolism can build up quickly in your bloodstream, setting off red flags in the brain's poison-detecting zone. This may predispose you to nausea and even vomiting as your brain attempts to rid you of what it perceives as a health threat. 2. Consider a preventive soluble fiber supplement. Another way alcohol affects the GI tract is by preventing the colon from reabsorbing water as it normally does. More water hanging around in the colon means more urgent, looser (and even watery) stools the following day. This explains why alcohol gives you diarrhea – or just more frequent stools – the day after. If you are prone to this unpleasant after-effect of drinking alcohol, you can try to minimize its severity by taking a soluble fiber supplement like Citrucel or Benefiber in the evening before you go out drinking. Soluble fiber supplements absorb water in the bowel and hold onto it well, which should help ensure your stools are more formed than they otherwise would be the morning after having a few drinks. 3. If you have IBS, watch out for high-FODMAP alcoholic drinks. People with irritable bowel syndrome may be especially susceptible to digestive distress when they drink beverages that are high in poorly digested carbohydrates called "FODMAPs." Certain FODMAPs occur naturally in alcoholic drinks – specifically rum, sherry and port – while others are more likely to be found in popular mixers like cranberry juice cocktail (which typically contains apple and pear juices) and high-fructose corn syrup-containing products like Rose's lime juice, many brands of bloody mary mix, tonic water and sodas like Coca-Cola and Sprite. If you've got IBS and enjoy drinking socially, you may be best off sticking to lower-FODMAP options like wine, champagne or sparkling wine, or gin or vodka mixed with club soda or a splash of fresh citrus or fresh-squeezed citrus juice. To branch out from these mixers, look for low-FODMAP tonic waters marketed by Fever-Tree, pure cranberry juice by Simply Cranberry or make your own simple syrup with this recipe by FODMAP Everyday. 4. Replenish with salt While no one truly knows what causes the many symptoms of a hangover, it is likely that dehydration – and the electrolyte imbalances it produces – is probably a key contributor. Anyone who's traveled internationally may have noticed that across cultures, very salty foods are common among folk hangover remedies – and likely for good reason. Alcohol interferes with our body's production of a key hormone that regulates our fluid balance, causing us to pee a whole lot more. Excess peeing can contribute to dehydration, and nothing is better than salt to help a dehydrated body hold onto its water stores. So if you wake with that raw, gnarly stomach and an unsettled, gurgly gut the morning after drinking, you may help speed up your recovery by drinking higher-sodium fluids to rehydrate rather than plain water. Additional sodium will enable you to hold onto fluids more effectively, and bring your cells' hydration status back up to normal more quickly. Gatorade, V8, Pedialyte, broths or water with an electrolyte tablet are all good options. While these tips may help your digestive system adjust to a moderate level of social drinking, be aware that excessive alcohol intake – whether from "binge drinking" a few times per week or regularly consuming more than two drinks per night – can cause a variety of other digestive problems. That's because excessive alcohol intake is associated with an unfavorable shift in the composition of your gut microbiota, which suppresses the levels of health-promoting species while promoting levels of more pro-inflammatory ones. It also seems to be a risk factor for developing small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, or SIBO. Higher alcohol intake is also strongly associated with an increased risk of developing all digestive system cancers, including esophageal, stomach and colon. As is the case with so many other things in life, moderation is key. Source
