![]() Even saturated fat counteracted the harmful effects of the alcohol on microbes.Īlthough the jury is still out on whether drinking small amounts regularly is beneficial, overdoing alcohol is obviously bad for you. Similar preventive effects were seen on mice given probiotics containing beneficial microbes such as lactobacillus, found in cheese and yoghurt. The high-fibre-fed mice amazingly had virtually no obvious side-effects from the alcohol on their livers. Going back to their normal binge-drinking mice, the scientists tried feeding them a high-fibre diet (enriched with pectin found in apples) as well as alcohol shots, and compared this to a low-fibre diet. When the researchers repeated the experiment in mice lacking microbes, they found no evidence of liver damage. If our microbes are part of the problem – what happens if we eliminate them? Experiments making mice binge-drink like humans produced signs of liver damage – again because of the toxins, leaky gut and inflammation. Studies have also shown that when mice are fed these toxins, they seek out more alcohol than normal mice, suggesting that the microbes, via their toxins, could actually be encouraging us to seek out even more alcohol and – worryingly – even lead to addiction. So, drinking too much alcohol actually causes toxins to be released from our microbes, as well as growing more alcohol-loving microbe species. So, as she was drinking her beer and feeling increasingly tired and lethargic, her alcohol-loving microbe species were busy reproducing. When she looked at its possible function from its genes, she found it could produce alcohol dehydrogenase – the enzyme that breaks down alcohol to acetaldehyde. Her 5,000 or so gut microbes overall did not change, but a few species increased markedly – one relatively unknown one called Erysipelotrichia increased five-fold. One of my own researchers (I’m a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London) diligently experimented on her own microbes by drinking three pints of beer each evening for five days. Population studies, such as the American gut project, show that low to moderate alcohol intake can actually increase your microbial diversity, which is usually beneficial for your health. Within their guts the alcohol produced a brief, but large increase in the microbe species that were pro-inflammatory, stimulating the immune system as if it were under attack and contributing to the general sick-feeling so typical of hangovers. These toxins (called LPS) had somehow leaked out of their intestines, as a result of the inflammation the alcohol had produced. There was a wide variety in response: those with the worst symptoms and changes in blood tests had the highest levels of toxins coming from the cell walls of their gut microbes. ![]() Twenty-five healthy volunteers who were not regular drinkers were given a wine glass of vodka. Last year, a US study explored for the first time what binge drinking did to our microbes. So clearly the genes that control these enzymes are important – but they are not the whole story. Other twins studies have shown that liking or disliking the taste of alcohol, the amount of drinking, and alcohol addiction are strongly heritable traits. There are also more subtle gene variants that alter how much acetaldehyde an individual can produce and how fast they can eliminate it.Ī study of more than 4,000 twins in Australia has shown that susceptibility to hangovers has a major genetic component. This means that, compared with Caucasians, they suffer more side-effects from boozing, such as flushing and nausea. Many east Asian people carry a mutation in a gene that increases the speed at which acetaldehyde is formed.
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