Beer belly, liquid courage, Asian flush: Here's what alcohol does to the body

Chaotic parties, games that bring out people's competitive sides, feel-na-feel karaoke sessions, and sometimes even drunk dialing an ex. The holidays are in full swing alright!

With people drinking more than the usual, we thought it's the best time to ask doctors what exactly alcohol does to the body. Clue: It's more than just hangovers.

Liquid courage

It's not known as liquid courage for nothing. Dr. Remedios Majito-Francisco, MD, a general medicine specialist at the RHMF Medical Clinic, said drinking “lowers our inhibition, makes us courageous enough to say things to someone or being honest—like a truth serum—with what we've been keeping to ourselves for quite a while.”

Joselito C. Pascual, MD, MSc, FPSCOT, FRSAP, the Chief of the Section of Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medical Services of the Makati Medical Center and the Chief of the Division of Addiction and Recovery Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital, explains alcohol suppresses “the brain’s inhibitory center, resulting to losing one’s inhibition and making one become more confident, talkative, expressive, and courageous.”

Alcohol also increases the release of the body’s happy hormones, serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins.

“[These are] chemicals in our brain that can improve mood, boosting further one’s self-confidence, leading to unusual behavior such as impulsivity,” Pascual said.

So in case you receive a dozen missed calls from your ex at the wee hours of Saturday morning. Don't answer. It's just the alcohol. 

Asian flush

Commonly known as the blushing of one’s face while drinking, Asian flush actually has an scientific explanation behind it.

According to Pascual, “About 40% of the East Asian population is hereditary deficient in Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), an important enzyme that metabolizes acetaldehyde or a toxic by-product of alcohol.”

If acetaldehyde is not metabolized properly, it causes flushing. With Asians being deficient with the enzyme that helps process it, then, well, we are met with the Asian flush phenomenon. 

But heads up: Aside from facial blushing, the Asian flush may also include an increased heart rate and blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, and headache.

Craving fried food

Appetites are larger during a drinking session, especially for fried and greasy food.

Christian Jay G. Vasquez, Registered Nutritionist and Dietitian, said craving savory and fatty food while drinking is linked to “food reward,” which consists of “liking” and “wanting.”

Vasquez cited that studies showed that “alcohol specifically increased the intake and explicit liking of high-fat savory foods.

The nutritionist added that in a study titled, “Moderate alcohol consumption stimulates food intake and food reward of savoury foods," it “concluded that moderate alcohol consumption increased subsequent food intake, specifically of high-fat savory foods, and that this effect was related to a higher food reward experienced for savory foods.”

According to Pascual, studies show alcohol holds back the effects of satiety hormones, or the state in which a person feels full after eating. Namely, these are Leptin, a hormone that suppresses appetite; and glucagon-like peptide-1 or GLP-1, the hormone that tells the brain that you are full and should stop eating.

Pascual said, “Alcohol can also increase the primary stress hormone cortisol, causing cravings for calorie-rich foods that are saturated with fat, sugar, and salt.”

Alcohol may also increase serotonin, or one of the body’s “happy hormones,” which “can result to cravings for food and increase in appetite.”

But it's all good. While culture is part of it — Filipinos love fried and greasy food in general — Majito-Francisco said having fried food can actually be beneficial. “It slows the absorption of alcohol in our body, and so it's a perfect combination.”

Blurry vision and trouble moving

Alcohol is a way to unwind, but it also slows down one’s sight and movements as it affects the part of the brain involved in normal vision and body movements.

“[Alcohol] can impair the brain's ability to process visual information effectively causing blurred vision and impaired movement,” Pascual said.

More than the physical movements, Majito-Francisco reminds that “more than enough of [alcohol] is like a depressant, so it makes us more relaxed.”

Allow us to echo the age-old reminder not to drink and drive. And since it makes us more relaxed, allow us to make a suggestion: Take a taxi (or a TNVS) and that late-night conversation your driver can give you.  

Beer belly

The beer belly is not a myth.

Pascual said this is because “The calories per gram contained in alcoholic drinks, contains almost as many calories as pure fat in addition to high sugar content in most drinks."

"This could mean a person would be consuming empty calories, which could lead to weight gain—including a beer belly—and long-term health at risk," he adds.

According to Vasquez alcohol is also connected to weight gain, “due to its calorie content and its ‘addictive effect,’ which can lead to short-term over-consumption of energy from foods.”

It is important to note that weight gain due to beer or alcohol does not just involve the belly, but the overall body.

Pascual adds drinking actually stops the body from burning fat. It is high in calories, and can make one feel hungry and crave for salty and greasy food.

Metabolism and digestion

Alcohol slows down almost everything in the body’s system, and so digestion and metabolism are affected.

“After food and alcohol binging, we sleep and rest, and so we retain all the calories in our body since we can’t exercise the next day,” Majito-Francisco said.

Pascual said drinking hinders “the breakdown of important nutrients needed by our body by decreasing secretion of digestive enzymes from the pancreas.”

He added alcohol impairs the absorption of important nutrients “by damaging stomach cell linings and intestines impairing the transport of some nutrients resulting to nutritional deficiencies.”

According to Vasquez, alcohol does not stay in the body as it is quickly metabolized and processed by the body into carbon dioxide and water, but alcohol is also metabolized by the body into acetaldehyde, which may cause damage to the liver and other tissues exposed to it.

He says drinking alcohol may also alter bowel motility, and lead to bacterial overgrowth in the body.

Still, alcohol may stay in the body due to various factors, Pascual said.

The older the person, the longer alcohol stays in the body, thanks to slower metabolism. Alcohol also stays in women’s systems longer as they have a higher percentage of body fat and lower percentage of body water compared to men.

And remember the greasy food that slows the body's alcohol absorption? That also means it slows the emptying of the stomach into the small intestines, where it is rapidly absorbed. As such, those with more body fat generally have higher alcohol levels on their body.

Serious health risks

Drinking alcohol affects the body in many ways.

Majito-Francisco points to alcohol's benefits: It can make an individual happy, and help the person become more social. Taking a certain amount of alcohol per day  — two glasses of wine, two bottles of beer, and two shots of brandy or whisky — can also lower the body’s cholesterol level. 

But "taking more than what I mentioned, [can be considered] toxic," she said. "The liver is the first organ that will react, then the pancreas and kidneys. A domino effect on the other organs as well [may also happen] if [there is] too much alcohol intake for the next five years," Majito-Francisco warns.

Meanwhile, Pascual said drinking extensively for long periods may result in serious health risks and concerns like hypertension, heart disease, stroke, insulin resistance, liver disease, cancers, mental and neurologic conditions, and addiction problems, and may also be a cause of death.  

“Worldwide, alcohol is the most commonly used psychoactive substance and is one of the leading causes of deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALY) attributable to a substance,” he added.

So be forewarned. We don't want to attend to serious health problems during a time of merrymaking. 

— LA, GMA Integrated News