Sipping Smart: The Impact of Alcohol on Inflammation

The general consensus is that the impact of alcohol is largely negative, but we’re all human, and it can be nice to drink in social settings and around the holidays. Does that mean alcoholic drinks comply with The Paleo Diet®? No, but like many other things in life, moderation is key. We like the 85/15 principle, meaning your diet is comprised of 85% healthy Paleo choices and 15% mindful indulgences. 

But first, there is an important distinction to be made between light drinking and binge drinking. A binge is classified as five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women over a two-hour period. Binge drinking is significantly worse for you than just an occasional beer or a glass of wine at dinner, causing a cascade of inflammatory signals and even organ damage.¹

The Sweet Spot for Balancing Alcohol and Health

The impact of alcohol consumption on inflammation is an interesting one. While we would assume that alcohol always causes inflammation, it’s not that simple. The relationship between alcohol and inflammation is a J-shaped curve, meaning that a low level of alcohol consumption can actually decrease inflammation, but high levels are very damaging.¹ The inflammation curve follows the same shape as the mortality curve below.²

Comparison of All-Cause Mortality in Relation to Number of Alcoholic Drinks Consumed³

If you’re wondering how often you can drink—as long as you stay under the limits—women can have one daily drink without causing damage, while men can have two drinks in a day.⁴ One drink is equivalent to 5 oz. of wine at 12% alcohol by volume (ABV), 12 oz. of beer (5% ABV), and 1.5 oz. of liquor (40% ABV). 

While this falls outside of The Paleo Diet’s guidelines, low-level of alcohol consumption is not damaging to your health. As the previous graph shows, the most positive effect is seen at 0.5 alcoholic drinks a day. With light drinking, factors like type of alcohol, age, sex, and medical conditions play a role in if inflammation develops or not. But heavy drinking is always damaging, regardless of other factors. 

Why Wine Outshines Beer and Liquor

You may have heard that a glass of wine per day is good for you, and that’s partly true. Red wine contains compounds called polyphenols. Many have antioxidant properties, protecting your cells from the damaging molecules produced during the breakdown of alcohol. But you know what else has polyphenols and is way healthier? Fruits, veggies, and chocolate. 

Among the other types of alcohol, beer has no effect on inflammation in low quantities, and liquor increases inflammation regardless of the amount consumed.⁴ So while wine may not be inherently healthy, it is the better choice compared to beer and liquor.

Keep in mind that most wines are laden with preservatives like sulfites, which are not very good for you. Consider seeking out organic wines that do not include these preservatives.

The Impact of Alcohol on Chronic Conditions

Interestingly, people with a genetic predisposition for cardiovascular disease will experience the most positive effects from red wine out of any other group.⁵ This is because those handy polyphenols can help you rebalance your cholesterol and lower systemic inflammation, so if you’re already healthy, the polyphenols won’t do as much for you. 

If you are clinically obese or have any other chronic illness, the potential for alcohol to damage your organs, weaken your immune system, and worsen your existing conditions is significantly higher.¹

Why Age and Gender Matter When You Drink

Women metabolize alcohol less efficiently than men, even when they weigh the same. Studies have shown that women experience more inflammation and cognitive disturbances at lower alcohol levels compared to men. The exact reason is unknown, but it’s supported by numerous studies.^{4, 6}

As we age, our bodies become less capable of metabolizing alcohol, resulting in a higher blood alcohol concentration.^{1, 4} Other factors like compromised organ function, medications, and medical conditions can make alcohol consumption more dangerous.^{7, 8}

What Happens When You Overdo It

Binge drinking leads to high blood alcohol, meaning that alcohol circulates in your body and permeates nearly every tissue.¹ Our bodies are usually pretty good at protecting us from toxins, but when you binge drink, your body can’t keep up. Our cells have something called glutathione (GSH), an organic compound that works as an antioxidant,¹ protecting cells from a number of damaging particles. 

Alcohol’s breakdown process creates a toxic byproduct called acetaldehyde⁹ that is quickly converted to less damaging molecules. When you drink a lot of alcohol, your body breaks down more of the alcohol into acetaldehyde, and your cells try to protect themselves with the GSH, but its reserves are depleted. That’s when the acetaldehyde begins damaging your cells.¹

While alcohol can damage your stomach and esophagus as well by raising acidity levels, acetaldehyde is mostly created in the intestine¹ and liver. ⁹ Excess acetaldehyde attacks your gut microbiome, killing off protective cells and damaging the lining. A damaged lining allows toxins to enter the bloodstream, where they can wreak havoc on your organs.¹

Your immune system recognizes those toxins and goes into overdrive trying to get rid of them, causing immune exhaustion and systemic inflammation. You’ll also experience localized inflammation in the liver, pancreas, brain, and kidneys.⁹

Everything in Moderation

If you want to have a drink or two sometimes, that’s totally fine and may even be beneficial (especially if you like red wine). But binge drinking should be avoided at all costs since even one episode of binge drinking can allow toxins into the bloodstream.⁶ The safest way for you to mitigate the negative impact of alcohol is to drink a glass or two of organic red wine, slowly, with food.

You don’t need to exclusively drink red wine to experience those inflammation-improving effects—but can opt for a functional mocktail instead. Our Old-Fashioned Mocktail is made with tart cherry juice, which contains inflammation-reducing polyphenols. Explore our full collection of non-alcoholic beverages at the link below.

References

1. Molina PE, Nelson S. Binge Drinking’s Effects on the Body. Alcohol Res. 2018;39(1):99-109. PMID: 30557153; PMCID: PMC6104963. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30557153/
2. Albert, M. A., Glynn, R. J., & Ridker, P. M. (2003). Alcohol consumption and plasma concentration of C-reactive protein. Circulation, 107(3), 443–447. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.cir.0000045669.16499.ec  
3. Di Castelnuovo A, Costanzo S, Bagnardi V, Donati MB, Iacoviello L, de Gaetano G. Alcohol dosing and total mortality in men and women: an updated meta-analysis of 34 prospective studies. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Dec 11-25;166(22):2437-45. doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.22.2437. PMID: 17159008. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17159008/
4. Li, X., Hur, J., Cao, Y., Song, M., Smith-Warner, S. A., Liang, L., Mukamal, K. J., Rimm, E. B., & Giovannucci, E. L. (2023). Moderate alcohol consumption, types of beverages and drinking pattern with cardiometabolic biomarkers in three cohorts of US men and women. European Journal of Epidemiology, 38(11), 1185–1196. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10924636/
5. Maraldi, C., Volpato, S., Kritchevsky, S. B., Cesari, M., Andresen, E., Leeuwenburgh, C., Harris, T. B., Newman, A. B., Kanaya, A., Johnson, K. C., Rodondi, N., & Pahor, M. (2006). Impact of inflammation on the relationship among alcohol consumption, mortality, and cardiac events. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(14), 1490. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.166.14.1490
6. Orio, L., Antón, M., Rodríguez‐Rojo, I. C., Correas, Á., García‐Bueno, B., Corral, M., de Fonseca, F. R., García‐Moreno, L. M., Maestú, F., & Cadaveira, F. (2017). Young alcohol binge drinkers have elevated blood endotoxin, peripheral inflammation and low cortisol levels: Neuropsychological correlations in women. Addiction Biology, 23(5), 1130–1144. https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12543
7. Stankevic, E., Israelsen, M., Juel, H. B., Madsen, A. L., Ängquist, L., Aldiss, P. S., Torp, N., Johansen, S., Hansen, C. D., Hansen, J. K., Thorhauge, K. H., Lindvig, K. P., Madsen, B. S., Sulek, K., Legido‐Quigley, C., Thiele, M. S., Krag, A., & Hansen, T. (2023). Binge drinking episode causes acute, specific alterations in systemic and hepatic inflammation‐related markers. Liver International, 43(12), 2680–2691. https://doi.org/10.1111/liv.15692  
8. Alcohol and age: A risky combination. Harvard Health. (2018, January 27). https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/alcohol-and-age-a-risky-combination
9. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022, May). Alcohol metabolism. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/alcohol-metabolism