June Russell's Health Facts

Alcohol - Stress

[Metabolic/Physiologic Effects]   [Stress-related behaviors]  
[Coping with Stress]   [Other Findings]  

Metabolic and Physiological Effects of Alcohol Use
and Relationship to Stress

Oxidative stress proliferates free radicals: this can occur from alcohol use.
{“The ultimate anti-aging program, Gary Null, 1999}

Alcohol temporarily blunts the effects of stress hormones: it typically leaves you feeling worse than ever because it depresses the brain and nervous system. One study looked at people who consumed one drink a day. After three months abstinence, their scores on standard depression inventories improved.
(The Brain, "You can control your emotional wellness," USA WEEKEND, Jan. 3, 1999, Jim Thorton, health reporter}

Alcohol exposure can result in abnormal levels of a key stress hormone, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). An impaired stress response is believed to affect several body systems, including the ability of the immune system to fight infection and of the brain cells to learn and remember, according to the researchers in a study of lab animals. For this reason most of us should avoid alcohol because it is a toxin.
{“Alcohol damages ability to respond to stress,” www.mercola.com - May 2001}

Even relatively short periods of stress can cause changes that leave the brain cells hypersensitive for weeks, according to Israeli scientists. There are similar symptoms between patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and people poisoned by agricultural chemicals. Other research shows the actual brain circuitry changes after stress.
("Studies: Even short stress periods alter brain cells for weeks," AP, the Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia, Jan. 18, 2002}  Editor's comment: One of the stressor foods is alcohol, as it damages the ability to respond to stress, and exposure to alcohol can result in abnormal levels of a key stress hormone. According to the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (Aug. 2001), the increased production of stress hormones is likely to lead not only to depression, but also to high blood pressure, obesity and osteoporosis, again all negatively influenced by alcohol.

Chronic stress can interfere with the normal function of your body’s immune system.
{American Psychological Association news release, Nov. 3, 2002, on healthscout.com} Alcohol use (and lack of sleep which can be caused by alcohol consumption) puts extra stress on the body.

Stress-related and Stress-induced Behaviors

When under stress, women exhibit more depression and anxiety disorders. Men exhibit more alcoholism, antisocial behavior and criminality.
{Public TV, "The Secret of Life, with David Suzuki, Nov. 1993}

Stress promotes the intake of addictive drugs by causing the release of hormones called glucocorticoids (released from the adrenal glands), according to neuroscientist Pier Vincenzo Oiazza of the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research. Glucocorticoids can cause a release of dopamine which is released in response to pleasurable events. However, when a person then takes a drug of abuse, such as alcohol, the effect of the drug is more pleasurable than it would have otherwise been. Individuals can be high glucocorticoid producers because of genes or chronic stress, says Piazza, and even includes stress in infancy or prenatally.
{“Stress has hormonal link to alcohol, Drug Abuse,” SCIENCE, Washington Post Health, Sep. 3, 2001}

Individuals who are under stress are also more prone to behaviors, such as consuming alcohol, that can make them vulnerable to disease.
{Epidemiology, May 2001, on mercola.com, Jan. 2002}

Coping with Stress

Many people use alcohol to relax, but short-term drinking can cause hangovers, increased urination and thirst, and insomnia. Chronic (or regular) drinking can cause other heart problems like alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
{“Six steps for handling stress,” Lauri Aesoph, ND, HealthWorld Online, June 2001}

To promote resiliency and recovery from stress, go easy on the alcohol and caffeine, say mental health experts. Both of these can contribute to jumpiness in general. We are all on overdrive and hyper-vigilant during times of stress, says Ann Norwood, associate chair of psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda.
{“Building resilience,” Sally Squires, Washington Post Health, Sep. 18, 2001}

Casual drinking can put extra stress on the body, countering the claims that moderate alcohol consumption can be healthy. Researchers at Penn State University said that drinking small amounts of alcohol before work or exercise makes the body work harder to perform. “Practically speaking, after drinking, it takes more energy to do the same job,” said researcher Dr. Mary E. Nicholson. People with high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems may be particularly at risk.
{“Healthy drinking debunked,” Join Together; HN3078@handsnet.org, May 2001}

If people with heart disease learn how to manage stress they can lower their risk of subsequent cardiac events by over 70 percent.
{"Gauging Stress Management's Many Benefits," mercola.com - Feb. 2002}   Editor's comment: The use of alcohol is a stress on the body, so if alcohol were avoided, this would be one stress that could be eliminated, and would be helpful for your heart as well.

Drinking alcohol is one of the worst ways to cope with stress, says Robert A. Hicks, PhD, professor of psychology at San Jose State University in California. "It is sedating and has a quieting effect, but is very disrupting to sleep." Dr. Rona Fields, PhD, a psychologist in Washington, DC, who has studied the effects of terrorism for 30 years in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. She advises that you not turn to alcohol when stressed because you will pay for a few hours of calm with lost sleep and even more stress. Also, she warns that using alcohol as a crutch will set yourself up for future problems.
{"Fight terror," Prevention magazine, Feb. 2002}

Alcohol can disrupt sleep and make stress worse.
{"When you're stressed out," Food and Fitness Advisor newsletter, Feb. 2002}

Negative stress management techniques include drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and eating too much, says Dr. Pamela Peeke of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.
{"Americans more stressed out, managing poorly," Reuters Health, searslabs.com/news - July 2002}

Avoid self-medication when handling stress, says the National Institute of Mental Health, since it may reduce your efficiency, thus creating a net effect of more stress.
{“Plain talk about ... handling stress,” NIH, on thebody.com, Nov. 2002}

Other Findings

When you're under stress, your legal blood limit for alcohol is 0.00. Besides making you drowsy and fuzzing up your thinking, one drink may dehydrate you. Another problem: when even a little alcohol enters your body, your brain automatically starts working on ways to get rid of it instead of trying to fight off stress. The upshot? Though one beer may not make you drunk enough to forget your stress, it could be enough to make your body forget about trying to deal with it.
{"The anti-stress diet," WebMDHealth, Jan. 2002}

"In general, the degree of immuno-suppression is proportional to the level of stress," says Joseph Pizzorno, ND, founding president of Bastyr university, the first accredited university in natural medicine in the country.
{"How to save yourself from anger and depression," Women's Health Letter," Nan Kathryn Fuchs, PhD, 2002}   Editor's comment: The use of alcohol is a stress to your body.

The Food and Mood Project, a British research team surveyed the diet and mental health with of 200 participants. Using a questionnaire, the survey tracked the subject’s mood changes. The number one stressor was sugar, followed closely by caffeine, alcohol and chocolate.
{Health Sciences Institute, BBC News, 9/1/02 “How Food Benefits Mood,” Oct. 2002}

Anything that increases oxidation stress, such as smoking and H. pylori infection, necessitates use of higher amounts of antioxidants.
{“Antioxidants and cancer prevention,” Nutrition Hints, #1008, Betty Kamen and Dr. Michael Rosenbaum, Nov. 2002}   Author’s comment: Alcohol use increases oxidation stress.

Stress increases the risk for developing breast cancer, and emotional stress affects several immune functions and the secretion of stress hormone. It should be noted that genetic predisposition to breast cancer is not as significant as lifestyle and other factors.
{“Breast cancer and stress,” Betty Kamen, PhD, and Dr. Michael Rosenbaum, MD, “Nutrition Hints,” Jan. 2003}

Stress related hormones (such as cortisol and norepinephrine) produce profound cardiovascular changes. Blood vessels narrow, increasing their resistance to blood flow, and the heart rate rises and blood pressure skyrockets. Digestion and elimination are hindered while skeletal muscles tense making ready for action, and platelet production increases and capillaries clamp down. All this ‘gearing up’ finds no physical release because we are maladapting to a psychological stressor, comparable to trying to drive your car with your right foot on the accelerator while the left foot is jamming on the brake. Add it up — the stressors of everyday world events are compounded by our own personal stressors. Something has to give.
{“Reflections on a Day We’ll Never Forget,” Stephen Sinatra, MD, e-mail, Sep. 18, 2003}   Editor's comment: the use of alcohol increases this stress and results in being less able to deal with it. A study at the Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, reports that long-term alcohol use - occurring over a long period of time - can harm the body’s ability to respond to stressors like illness or injury.
{“Alcohol: weakening your body’s defenses,” alcoholism.about.com, Apr. 2003}

A very important component overlooked in cardiovascular disease is "stress." In fact, studies have shown that most persons under 50 who have their first heart attack do not even have the following common risk factors; tobacco use, obesity, diabetes and elevated cholesterol levels. It is amazing the number of people who are under constant stress or "stressed out." The most common danger from stress is the serious damage done to your immune system, but it will also affect your digestive system, the liver and of course, and your cardiovascular system. There are links between stress and the very common leaky gut syndrome. Stress causes your system to "gobble up" nutrients at a far greater rate.
{“Stress ... is it killing you?” XTEND-YOUR-LIFE Newsletter, by Warren Matthews, Sep. 3, 2004}  Editor's comment: The use of alcohol is a stress to your body, a factor in leaky gut syndrome and lowered immunity.