New Delhi, January 9 (IANS). A study has shown that drinking too much alcohol in a short period of time can be harmful for the intestine. This is commonly called binge drinking, which means drinking four drinks in about two hours for women or five drinks for men.
According to the study, drinking alcohol like this just once can weaken the inner lining of the intestine. This reduces the ability of the intestine to prevent bacteria and toxic elements from entering the bloodstream. This condition is called “leaky gut”. That is, small leaks occur in the intestine, due to which harmful elements can reach the body.
Gyeonggi Jabo, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the lead author of this study, said that we already knew that drinking too much alcohol for a long time causes damage to the intestine and liver, but it was not clear what changes happen in the intestine in the beginning, i.e. when drinking too much alcohol for the first time. This study showed that drinking too much alcohol even for a short period of time can cause inflammation in the intestine and weaken its protective layer. This can later become the beginning of alcohol related intestinal and liver diseases.
A team from Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the US teamed up to discover how excessive drinking causes damage to the intestines, and why this damage can last long after the last drink. For this, they observed how alcohol consumed in large quantities in a short period of time affects different parts of the intestine.
The results showed that drinking too much alcohol, even for a short period of time, hurts the gut. Due to this, some cells protecting the body start accumulating in the lining of the intestine. These cells are usually reserved in the body to fight germs.
These include immune cells called neutrophils. These cells may leave net-like structures, called nets. These nets damage the upper part of the small intestine and weaken its wall. Due to this, leakage starts in the intestine and toxic elements enter the blood.
When scientists blocked these NETs with the help of a simple enzyme, they observed that the number of immune cells in the gut lining decreased and the leakage of bacteria also decreased. That means that enzyme helped protect the intestine from damage.
Overall, this study suggests that drinking too much alcohol in a short period of time, even occasionally, is not safe for health, as it can weaken the intestines and lead to inflammation and other problems in the body.
–IANS
AS/