Dry January may be more effective than you think at restoring gut health.
After the feasting and revelry of the winter holidays, many people are ready for a break and a chance to focus on health. New Year’s resolutions often focus on dieting and health, and the more recent trend of “Dry January” is an attempt to help the body reset and cleanse from alcohol use. Essentially a limited detox period, the idea is to give the liver a break, shed some of the toxic effects of alcohol, assist in weight loss, and refocus on wellness and positive mental energy. Does it work? Whether a person is a casual or more regular drinker, the answer appears to be yes. In a study published in Psychology and Health in 2020, over 4,000 adults were surveyed about whether their participation in Dry January affected their health and well-being. Every respondent said it improved their well-being and belief in achieving their goals. An article describing Dry January in the British Journal of General Practice in 2016 (Dry January first emerged out of the UK) noted that:
“Research from the Royal Free Hospital in London has shown that there are positive physiological effects to be gained from taking part in Dry January. The study, performed on moderate drinkers (those drinking around the levels of recommended limits), has shown people experiencing improvements in concentration and sleep patterns, as well as having reduced cholesterol and lower glucose levels, lower blood pressure, weight loss overall, and losing 40% of their liver fat.”
So clearly Dry January has both positive physical and mental effects for people who regularly consume alcohol and participate in it. The fact that Dry January improves sleep, concentration, well-being, and reinforces goal-seeking all point to the possibility of participating in Dry January to motivate further moderation of alcohol consumption in the future.
So what about gut health and the microbiome? We know that alcohol consumption, especially moderate to heavy alcohol consumption can alter the microbiome negatively. It can kill off beneficial microbes, eliminating whole species of good bacteria and causing the populations of others to dwindle, setting the stage for a marked increase in harmful microbes. It contributes to inflammation in the gut, especially in the lining of the small intestines. This loosens the tight junctions between cells, causing intestinal permeability (leaky gut). Indeed:
“Alcohol-induced changes in the GIT microbiota composition and metabolic function may contribute to the well-established link between alcohol-induced oxidative stress, intestinal hyperpermeability to luminal bacterial products, and the subsequent development of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), as well as other diseases. In addition, clinical and preclinical data suggest that alcohol-related disorders are associated with quantitative and qualitative dysbiotic changes in the intestinal microbiota and may be associated with increased GIT inflammation, intestinal hyperpermeability resulting in endotoxemia, systemic inflammation, and tissue damage/organ pathologies including ALD.” (Engen, et al, Alcohol Research, Jan 1, 2015)
Alcohol’s impact on the microbiome and on advancing intestinal permeability means it also can drive oxidative stress, which can impact not only the gut, but many other organs in the body including the brain.
“The brain is prone to oxidative damage because of its high metabolic activity and high vulnerability to ischemic damage. Oxidative stress, thus, plays a major role in the pathophysiology of both acute and chronic pathologies in the brain, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury or neurodegenerative diseases.” (Jelinek, et al, Antioxidants (Basel), Nov 25, 2021)
So, does participating in Dry January offer benefits for the gut and microbiome as well? Based on the fact that alcohol has a deleterious effect on the gut it should. In fact,
“Recent studies have shown that a 3-week abstinence following the removal of alcohol induces a complete recovery of gut barrier function in subjects with AUD who presented with high intestinal permeability.” (Thomas, et al, Alcohol Research, April 8, 2021)
And,
“However, 3-week abstinence produces only an incomplete recovery of the gut microbiota, indicating that alcohol consumption has a more long-lasting effect on gut dysbiosis, even after more than 1 month of abstinence. A 3-week abstinence also increases bacterial populations known to be beneficial, which leads to a decrease in potential toxins and an increase in beneficial microbial metabolites.” (same source)
Although these studies focused on heavy drinkers, even in this population there was an immediate recovery of intestinal permeability and an improvement in the composition of the microbiome. Not only does this suggest that taking a break from alcohol can lead to rapid recovery of health for most drinkers, but it suggests that lighter to moderate drinkers may see greater improvements, especially in the microbiome.
So it seems that Dry January can indeed produce real results for most drinkers, in terms of general health, but also in terms of intestinal permeability and restoring the microbiome to a more balanced state. There’s a deeper takeaway from this data as well- how demonstrable outcomes can change the psychology of those who consume alcohol to moderate their drinking more long term to achieve health benefits. Everyone studied felt that their health improved and they would be more likely to meet goals in the future. The gut-brain axis may provide a biochemical explanation for this as well:
“Moreover, subjects with increased gut permeability also had altered composition and activity of the gut microbiota. These results suggest the existence of a gut-brain axis in alcohol dependence, which implicates the gut microbiota as an actor in the gut barrier and in behavioral disorders. Thus, the gut microbiota seems to be a previously unidentified target in the management of alcohol dependence.” (Sophie Leclercq, et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2014 Oct 21)
So, the question is- How can we motivate patients to continue to modify their behavior in regards to alcohol consumption to best improve their general health, and specifically their gut health? The initial answer is to urge them to occasionally take a break from alcohol during periods like Dry January, and more importantly, to track their progress through functional testing. The feedback that abstinence is demonstrably improving their health can engender a commitment to a more long-term commitment to alcohol abstinence or moderation. The best functional test to track the effects on the gut of alcohol use and abstinence is our new test, the Gut-Ox Stress Test. This test traces the impact on the body of gut dysbiosis from microbiotic disturbance and intestinal permeability to oxidative stress, to give a complete picture of the state and impact of gut dysbiosis and oxidative damage. It’s the ideal vehicle to trace the damage and improvements of alcohol use and abstinence over time, and an excellent way to demonstrate to patients the positive effects of Dry January- or any other period of abstinence from alcohol.
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