Immune System
Alcohol may have an adverse effect on killer cells which are important in the body’s defense system.
{The Dept. of Health and Human Services Seventh Report to Congress, 1990}
Alcohol use impairs the body’s defense against pathogens infecting the lungs. Impairment from alcohol use can increase a person’s risk for various illnesses including infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, and certain types of cancer.
{Alcohol Health and Research World, Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD, 1997}
Alcohol intake, including single episodes of moderate consumption, interferes with a wide variety of immune defenses.
{Monocytes, alcohol use, and altered immunity. Alcohol Clin. Exp. Res. 1998, by G. Szabo}
“Alcohol can suppress the B cells that make antibodies, which can leave you more prone to bacterial infection,” says clinical immunologist Marianne Frieri, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Pathology at SUNY at Stony Brook, and Director of Allergy Immunology at Nassau County Medical Center in East Meadow, New York.
{Prevention magazine, Oct. 1998}
Subject: The common cold and sore throat. Alcohol has been reported to affect the immune system negatively.
{VitalCast, Feb. 2000, HealthNotes on Line}
Immune cells can be damaged by free radicals which may be generated in dangerously high numbers by alcohol.
{The Complete Guide to Natural Healing}
In a study reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, the focus was on the possible influence of smaller and normal amounts of alcohol: alcohol seems to interfere with the immune system. Even moderate amounts have a subtle effect on immunity.
{"Booze Could Be Tied To Allergy Blues," webMD.com, Jan. 2002}
Chronic (or regular) alcohol ingestion can depress antibody production and other immune responses in animals.
{Journal of Allergy, Journal of Leukocyte Biology, and Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, Alcohol Alert, NIAAA, on alcoholism.about.com - Mar. 2003}
--- Immune System and Cancer ---
You will strengthen your immune system to resist many types of cancer if you avoid alcohol and smoking says the National Cancer Institute, Oct. 1990.
{“The Family Guide to Symptoms, Ailments and their Natural Remedies,” Carlson Wade}
--- Immune System and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ---
Abstinence from alcohol, along with stress reduction and careful diet are of critical importance when you have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
{Richard Carson, President of the Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome Club, New Age Journal 1994}
--- Immune System and Meningitis ---
The sleep-deprived and those “party-hearty” sorts who do a lot of drinking in smoke-filled rooms are most at risk for meningitis, perhaps because of depressed immune function.
{Dr. Andrew Weil, Jan. 2000, Self-Healing}
AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome)
--- Occurrence/Trends ---
There are one million Americans with AIDS. The CDC estimates that six out of every 1,000 adult or adolescent males, and one out of every 1,000 adult or adolescent females in the U.S. is infected with the virus.
{“AIDS,” Washington Post Health, Sep. 1997}
AIDS has killed 22 million, and people continue to die from AIDS or the drugs intended to treat it. According to the CDC the number of AIDS deaths in the U.S. since the beginning of the epidemic is 448,059. There are over 800,000 HIV-positive Americans now.
{“Special Report - AIDS at 20,” Newsweek, June 11, 2001}
Sexually transmitted diseases affect more than 12 million American men and women each year, and many are teenagers or young adults. Using alcohol increases your chance of getting STD (sexually transmitted diseases) because alcohol can interfere with judgment and ability to use a condom properly.
{Women’s Health Information, Healthgate.com - Oct. 2002}
An estimated 22 percent of adult Americans are infected with a sexually transmitted genital strain of herpes virus, called herpes simplex, a virus which can’t be cured.
{Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Oct. 2002} Alcohol use was implicated and increased the risk probably because alcohol impairs judgment.
{Harvard Public Health, 2002}
--- Alcohol, HIV and the Immune System ---
Alcohol abuse is common among people who are HIV positive. Lead researcher Professor Gregory Bagby, of Louisiana State University said, “Our study shows alcohol consumption may increase susceptibility to infection upon exposure to HIV. An increased risk of becoming infected with HIV is one of the many reasons why young people should moderate their alcohol consumption. “Professor Michael Carter, of the UK National AIDS manual, told BBC News Online, “It may help to explain why some people become infected with HIV when exposed to the virus, while others do not.”
“Anything which has a significant effect on a person’s immune system will increase the risk of that person contracting HIV if they are in a situation where HIV transmission is possible. Alcohol consumption on its own can reduce a person’s ability to make informed choices around safer sex and protecting themselves from HIV infection,” commented Mark Graver, of the Terrence Higgins Trust.
{“Alcohol increases HIV risk,” in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, news.bbc.co.uk - Mar. 15, 2003}
--- Effect of Alcohol on HIV multiplication ---
Alcohol dramatically speeds up the rate at which immunodeficiency virus (HIV) multiplies in human blood, blood researchers at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, have found. Furthermore, rather small amounts of alcohol (just three beers over a period of two days) cause a ten-fold increase in the rate of HIV multiplication. Making matters still worse, this relatively small amount of alcohol can also impair the body’s resistance to HIV, thus rendering HIV-infected persons more likely to develop AIDS in a short rather than a long time. The message is clear, to improve their chances of survival, HIV-infected persons should avoid alcohol completely.
{Journal of Infectious Diseases (167:789, 1993) quoted in ‘Health Gazette’ newsletter, Sept. 1993}
“Attention to the alcohol consumption in HIV patients is important for both physicians and patients,” says Dr. Jeffrey H. Samet, the lead author of a study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 2003. The study found that patients taking antiretroviral drugs who were moderate or problem drinkers had higher levels of HIV in their blood and lower CD4 counts, a sign of immune function. Also alcohol is a factor associated with poor adherence.
{“Study Links Alcohol Intake to HIV Progression,” Reuters.com - May 2003}
--- Alcohol and False Positives ---
Even when smaller amounts of alcohol are used there will be more false positives for those who are tested for AIDS.
{Dr. Alan Williams, American Red Cross Blood Bank, Biomedical Research and Development, The Jerome Holland Laboratory, Rockville, MD}
--- AIDS, Seniors, and Safe Sex ---
Although there is no age for exemption for safe sex practices, many seniors who are having sex are not getting the message. People 50 and over have steadily accounted for ten percent of the new AIDS cases each year for the past 20 years, but a few years ago the rate among seniors began to climb, says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About ten percent of Americans over 50 have at least one risk factor, having sex with multiple partners and not using condoms consistently. So few seniors have been tested, it is hard to know how many are infected, and many unknowingly pass it on to others.
{“Never Too Old,” Washington Post Health, July 17, 2001} Editor's comment: The use of alcohol is a risk factor for AIDS.
--- AIDS-related Studies and Reports ---
The use of alcohol weakens the immune system and AIDS patients are told to abstain from using alcohol. Of the one million people in the U.S. who are estimated to be infected with HIV, 50% are expected to develop AIDS in ten years, and 90% within 20 years. Regular consumption of alcohol, or a single drinking episode, has been shown to reduce the number of infection-fighting white blood cells, lowering immune response. Alcohol’s generally immunosuppressive effects could mean that drinking may increase vulnerability to HIV infection among people exposed to the virus, and that among those already HIV infected, may speed up the onset or worsen the pathology of AIDS-related illness. One study found that a single drinking episode depressed certain immune responses of white blood cells taken from healthy volunteers.
{Alcohol Alert, Jan. 1992 NIAAA}
Joan Priestly, a physician in Los Angeles, California, who treats AIDS patients, emphasizes life style changes for those with AIDS. One of her requirements for her patients is that they do not use any alcohol or recreational drugs because they rob the body of nutrients and lower immunity, the last thing you want if you are fighting a virus that destroys the immune system.
{"The Megavitamin Treatment of AIDS: Joan Priestly’s Program," Jack Challem, in Let’s Live magazine, Oct. 1992}
Alcohol’s immune-suppressive effect may be one mechanism for the association between alcohol intake and certain cancers and infections.
{‘Alcohol and Infection,’ ManGregor and Louria in Curr. Clin. Top. Infect. Diseases, 1997, and Balla, Lichner, and Pomerantz, et al. Human studies on alcohol and susceptibility to HIV infection, Alcohol 1994. In VitalCast.com}
More than one million Americans are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. “Right now, even with treatments that kill 99% of the virus in the infected person, HIV returns to high levels. AIDS is one of the few diseases where we have not made much progress,” says David Baltimore, Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
{“What Medicine will Conquer Next,”
Health on Parade, Parade magazine, Nov. 5, 1995}
Alcohol consumption may exacerbate HIV-induced changes in the immune system. Current knowledge strongly suggests that alcohol use can increase a person’s susceptibility to HIV infection and contribute to alterations in the immune system that may result in an accelerated progression of the infection.
{Alcohol Health & Research World, Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD, 1997}
An alcohol-free diet can make a difference in helping the body maintain a healthy immune system. Doctors prescribe programs free of alcohol and drugs for AIDS patients. This with other prescribed protocols produces a greater survival rate. The World Health Organization, in 1996, told us that there were six million who have AIDS, and seventeen million infected with HIV worldwide.
{Healthwell.com - Sept. 24, 2000}
Only 225,000 of the estimated 4.5 million infected Americans know they have the incurable and deadly virus that affects the liver - hepatitis C, says Surgeon General Dr. C. Everette Koop. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher tells us there are 30,000 new cases each year. If you have hepatitis, the CDC recommends abstinence from alcohol.
{Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition, Oct. 2002}
Cytokines are produced by liver cells and the immune system in response to infection or cell damage. Alcohol use increases cytokine levels.
{J. Stud. Alcohol, 1998 - “How Alcohol Damages the Liver,” hepcchallenge.org - Nov. 2002}
Even occasional consumption of alcohol may increase the likelihood of infection upon exposure to HIV.
{Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research and Clinical and Biological Research} NIAAA, alcoholism.about.com - 2003}
Heterosexual men and women who consume alcohol are less likely to use condoms, and alcohol use among homosexual men when combined with sexual activity results in high-risk behavior. Laboratory evidence shows clearly that alcohol impairs the ability of white blood cells to defend against the human immunodeficiency virus, says Enoch Gordis, MD, NIAAA Director. NIAAA, alcoholism.about.com - Mar. 2003}
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