Countless amounts of individuals are suffering from poor digestive health due to conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).  Yet, these same individuals continue to drink alcohol and wonder why there digestive system is in shambles.  In fact, not even gut irritating grains can match the negative impact that frequent alcohol consumption has on those with IBS.

It’s important to realize that if you suffer from a digestive disorder such as IBS, chances are you’re suffering from high amounts of intestinal inflammation.  By consuming alcohol, you are severely aggravating this intestinal inflammation and making symptoms of IBS much more intense.

Many are under the impression that one or two drinks is harmless and has no effect on their IBS.  However, this is not true.  In fact, those one or two drinks can have a significant impact on an IBS condition and can dramatically delay the healing process.

After reading this post, you may form a second opinion when it comes to consuming alcohol.  Interestingly, many who give up the alcohol habit typically see almost an immediate reduction in their IBS symptoms.

So, if you think alcohol isn’t effecting your ability to recover from IBS, it might be time to rethink that opinion!

Alcohol and IBS – What You Need to Know

As mentioned before, those suffering from IBS are almost always suffering from intestinal inflammation.  This inflammation typically stems from one of two areas:

• Consumption of Inflammatory Foods
• Fungal Overgrowth’s in The Gut

In our experience, this intestinal inflammation is typically a result of both inflammatory foods and fungal overgrowth’s.  When the gut becomes chronically inflamed, conditions such as IBS can develop.  However, what most don’t realize is the intestines become extremely permeable, or “leaky,” when under chronic inflammation.

This is mainly because inflammatory foods strip the mucosal lining and allow undigested food particles to easily pass into the blood stream.  This of course will create an intense reaction from the immune system and can cause extreme flare ups in IBS symptoms.

Unfortunately, when the gut is permeable and we consume alcohol, the effects can be disastrous.  Typically, alcohol is filtered by the liver before being released into the body.  This helps reduce the toxic effects alcohol has on the body.  However, those with intestinal permeability will “leak” unfiltered alcohol into the blood stream before being properly filtered by the liver.

It’s for this reason that those with poor gut health often times find themselves buzzed after only one drink.  Yet, this unfiltered alcohol can create an intense immune response in the body and significantly make IBS symptoms much worse.

IBS, Candida, and Alcohol

Here is the thing that is vital for you to understand;  If you suffer from chronic digestive problems or suffer from an IBS condition, chances are good that you also suffer from a candida overgrowth in the gut (1).  For those unaware, candida is a pathogenic fungus which feeds on sugars and can essentially take over a hosts gut microbiome.

Extreme health problems can result when individuals with candida overgrowth partake in frequent alcohol consumption.  In fact, alcohol is like throwing gasoline on the fire for anyone dealing with a candida overgrowth in the gut.  This is because alcohol is the perfect fuel for candida to thrive and multiply.

As mentioned before, candida operates on a sugar metabolism.  Essentially, candida takes these sugars, ferments them, and produces small amounts of alcohol and toxic byproducts.  This means, even if you don’t consume alcohol, eating a high sugar diet can lead to the production of alcohol in the gut.

Unfortunately, when alcohol is added to the diet, candida is able to use the sugars present in the alcohol to quickly reproduce.  In fact, unlike sugar in which candida must first ferment, alcohol is already fermented and is like rocket fuel for the growth of candida.  Also, since candida produces small amounts of alcohol on its own, it’s likely that you are actually consuming more alcohol than you may think.

The Liver Connection

Those with IBS will almost always suffer from poor liver function.  In fact, it’s almost guaranteed that if you have a candida overgrowth in the gut, the function of your liver will be sub-optimal at best.  This is because candida releases a toxic byproduct called Gliotoxin.

Research has shown that gliotoxin has a toxic effect on the liver and can actually damage liver cells resulting in a poorly functioning liver (2).  As we already know, alcohol already puts immense amounts of stress on the liver.  However, alcohol in combination with toxic byproducts such as gliotoxin can have disastrous effects on the entire health of the body.

Inflamed intestines, gut permeability, immune system dysfunction, and poor liver health can take their toll on the body overtime.  In fact, it’s for these reasons that those with digestive disorders such as IBS struggle tremendously to fully heal.

Stop Alcohol and Follow a Gut Healing Diet

At this point, you may be beginning to understand the toxic effects alcohol can have in those with digestive disorders such as IBS.  Knowing this, it’s important that all alcohol is removed from the diet.  This will give both the intestines and the liver a break and can help in the healing process.

It’s important during this time to begin to follow a gut healing and IBS friendly diet.  For those unaware what this type of diet should look like, please refer to our Diet Protocol Page for full details. 

However, the basis around any type of gut healing diet should be high quality animal foods.  Animal foods contain all the nutrients needed in order to repair the health the gut lining.  It should be mentioned that animal foods do not contain anti-nutrients and will not contribute to intestinal inflammation like most plant foods.

With that said, animal foods have always been a staple in our ancestors diet.  In fact, all other foods acted as supplements while animal foods provided the building blocks required to repair and maintain the body.  Shying away from animal foods is never a good idea for anyone suffering with IBS.  In fact, we have written about before the many dangers plant based vegan and vegetarian diets can have on those with digestive disorders such as IBS.

Consume More Bone Broth

We talk about bone broth frequently; and for good reason! Bone broth has amazing restorative properties when it comes to sealing the gut and reducing intestinal inflammation.  It can help repair the mucosal lining which is often almost always damaged in those suffering with digestive conditions such as IBS.

Bone broth contains an abundance of gut healing vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that can help improve both gut health and overall health off the body.  Interestingly, bone broth is great for hydrating the body due to its high amounts of naturally present electrolytes.

Furthermore, bone broth is an excellent source of collagen.  Research has shown that collagen supplementation can help significantly improve inflammatory conditions in the body (3).  Consuming bone broth daily is  great way to naturally increase the amount of collagen available to the body.

Cook Gut Friendly Meals

As well as following an IBS friendly and gut healing diet, consider trying our Intestinal Health Cookbook.  Our cookbook contains everything you need in order to start making gut friendly and delicious recipes.  We use only non-gut-irritating ingredients in all of our recipes and can be great for those with gut issues due to IBS.

There are over 20 different amazing recipes in our cookbook that will leave you both satisfied and happy.  Also, many of the recipes are easily modifiable so that you can add your own creative touch to the recipes!

Avoid Store Bought Fermented Drinks

Although fermented drinks such as Kombucha are highly recommend by those into natural health, we recommend you stay away from such products until the gut is properly healed.  In our experience, most of the Kombucha sold in stores contains high amounts of sugars which can actually make an IBS condition worse.  Also, these drinks tend to contain small amounts of alcohol.

With that said, our cookbook explains how to create your own kombucha at home and how to properly ferment it so no sugar is left over.  However, unless your making your own kombucha at home, we recommend you stay away from store bought kombucha.

On the contrary, we recommend you try fermented vegetables instead.  Fermented vegetables contain no sugar and are typically well tolerated by those with IBS.  If well tolerated, fermented dairy products such as kefir can also be added into the diet. 

However, it’s extremely important that you take it slow with these foods in the beginning.  Start with as little as a teaspoon a day and slowly work your way up.  This will give your body adequate time to adjust to this powerful food and will allow you to properly gauge how it’s affecting you