VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: Aleksandra Żyłowska-Mharrab, dietitian, food technologist, educator
Alcohol withdrawal for some people is a necessity that results from addiction and lack of control over alcohol consumption. Regeneration of the body after stopping alcohol in some aspects begins with the first day of sobriety, in others only after more than a month. However, it always brings enormous he alth benefits in the long run. How does the body regenerate after giving up alcohol? When can you expect to improve your he alth?
Alcohol is a psychoactive substance, a depressant, a pro-inflammatory substance that increases the risk of at least 60 diseases. At the same time, for a very large group of people, drinking alcohol is an everyday reality. Some people choose not to drink for he alth reasons. In the USA, "dry January" is more and more popular, in Poland, August is promoted as a month of sobriety. The recovery of organs after withdrawal from alcohol varies by type. For example, the liver regenerates at a different rate and the brain at a different rate. Find out when exactly your body is recovering from this drug.
Harmful effects of alcohol on humans
Alcohol has a negative effect on:
- nervous system,
- mental state,
- circulatory system,
- resistance
- and sleep quality.
The liver is the organ that is most heavily burdened by drinking alcohol. Directly after drinking, alcohol is responsible for mood changes, uncontrolled behavior, violence, risky behavior, alcohol poisoning, car accidents and others.
Why does alcohol negatively affect behavior and he alth? Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that has a strong effect on the nervous system. It is a depressant that, after a wave of good mood and relaxation, causes a strong deterioration of well-being.
Alcohol interferes with the areas in the brain responsible for making rational decisions, controlling impulsivity, and memory. Alcohol increases the risk of many diseases because it is poisonous to the body, it is toxic and pro-inflammatory.
Over time, excessive alcohol consumption can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems thatinclude:
- high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke,
- liver disease and digestive problems,
- diseases of the pancreas and problems with glucose management,
- breast cancer, oral cancer, throat cancer, esophageal cancer, laryngeal cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer and rectal cancer,
- weakening of the immune system, increasing the chances of getting sick,
- learning and memory problems, including dementia and poor academic performance,
- mental he alth problems, including depression and anxiety,
- social problems, including family, work and unemployment problems,
- alcohol addiction.
Regeneration of the liver after stopping alcohol
The liver is the primary organ involved in the metabolism of alcohol. The breakdown products of ethyl alcohol - acetaldehyde and acetic acid - disturb the balance of oxidation and reduction processes in the liver cells, which leads to oxidative stress, inflammation and multiple damage, and consequently to alcoholic inflammation, steatosis, cirrhosis or liver cancer.
In developed countries, alcohol is the leading cause of liver disease, and 70% of people with liver disease are more or less dependent on alcohol.
The liver is the organ that shows the greatest regenerative capacity. It is hard to believe, buteven if 75% of this organ is destroyed, under the right conditions, the liver is able to restore to its original size .
The cleansing and restoration of liver cells begins a few days after stopping alcohol. However, the effectiveness of regeneration and the time it takes for the liver to regenerate depends on the amount of alcohol drunk previously and the duration of regular drinking.
People who get drunk once a week have a month without alcohol to restore proper liver function. Regular, chronic alcohol abuse requires 3 months to a year of abstinence to reverse the lesions associated with alcoholic fatty liver and hepatitis.
Harmful changes cannot be undone at every stage of liver disease. Liver cells can regenerate if there is a single injury and if only some cells are damaged. If liver damage continues over the years, cirrhosis develops. Liver transplant is the only treatment option for cirrhosis.
Brain regeneration after stopping alcohol
Alcohol is a brain toxin that causes the death of brain tissues and disrupts the connection of nerve cells. Brain recovery from alcohol withdrawal is possible, but not in all areas. In research,which analyze what is happening in the brain during abstinence, usually permanent abstinence and withdrawal from alcohol for at least 6 months.
After this time, people with a history of alcohol dependence show an increase in the volume of the hippocampus - the brain region responsible for memory and decision-making regions. This means that when you stop taking alcohol, your brain cells are rebuilt. There is also an improvement in short-term and long-term memory and verbal abilities.
According to studies involving abstinence alcohol dependent peoplethere is noregeneration of brain functions such as:
- visual-spatial abilities,
- divisibility of attention,
- focusing on one activity for a long time,
- impulsivity,
- recognizing other people's emotions
- and planning.
They require additional therapy or medications.
Research from 2022 shows that brain regeneration does not begin immediately after you stop drinking alcohol. Study participants developed new white matter lesions of the brain up to 6 weeks after the onset of abstinence.
The greatest changes concerned the great commissure, which connects the right and left hemispheres, and the hypha, which connects the hippocampus (crucial for memory) with the prefrontal cortex (responsible for making decisions) and the nucleus accumbens (element of the reward center).
Alcohol withdrawal and sleep
Alcohol accelerates falling asleep, but this is its only advantage in the context of better sleep. Alcohol interferes with the natural rhythm of sleep phases, reduces its quality and contributes to chronic fatigue. In the brains of people who fall asleep after drinking alcohol, delta waves appear quickly, responsible for deep sleep, but at the same time they are intertwined with alpha waves, which are typical for daily activity.
So in practice the person is sleeping but not resting. Between 25% and 72% of alcohol abusers experience sleep problems, which include more frequent wakes, poorer sleep quality, shortened deep sleep phase, and waking up prematurely.
Unfortunately, it takes a long time to regenerate and return to normal sleep in people who have given up alcohol. According to abstainers, good rest and good sleep occurs much later than the improvement in biochemical results and a drop in blood pressure. The biggest problem after stopping alcohol is falling asleep, but keeping it asleep is easier - unlike drinking alcohol.
After stopping alcohol, sleep problems usually begin to improve in the period from 2 to 6months after stopping drinking. Research shows that some people suffer from REM sleep disorders even after a year of abstinence.
Alcohol withdrawal and anxiety and fears
A very large group of people who abuse alcohol use alcohol to reduce tension and stress. Indeed, in the first stage, alcohol gives a feeling of relaxation and removal from problems. However, this is only a temporary help.
Alcohol causes a decrease in the levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain, which causes or increases anxiety, anxiety and panic attacks. Depressed mood and severe anxiety are experienced by most drinkers for several hours or even the entire day following alcohol abuse.
Various mental he alth disorders can have long-term consequences of alcohol abuse. Research shows that people with alcoholism have difficulty recovering from traumatic events.
This is possibly due to the effects of alcohol abuse, which can alter brain activity. Long-term drinkers may be predisposed to developing anxiety disorders.
The bad news is that increased anxiety is also a symptom of alcohol withdrawal. Alcohol abuse strongly influences the production of nearly all neurotransmitters, and levels begin to fluctuate rapidly when you stop drinking alcohol. Alcohol especially affects gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which inhibits brain activity, and glutamate, which stimulates it.
When drinking alcohol regularly, glutamate is less stimulating to the brain and GABA inhibits it better. That is why alcohol causes a feeling of relaxation and relaxation after drinking alcohol, and reduces inhibitions.
These changes are reversed after alcohol withdrawal. It takes a long time to return to the proper secretion and functioning of neurotransmitters, often a year or longer, and at the same time may require psychological support.
Regeneration of the digestive tract after stopping alcohol
Acetaldehyde - a metabolite of ethyl alcohol - damages all elements of the digestive tract. Frequent drinking of alcohol damages the mucous membranes of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum, contributing to ulcers and cancer.
Alcohol also weakens the muscles surrounding your stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. This affects the motor activity and shortens the time it takes for the food to pass through the small intestine, causing diarrhea.
Most importantly, chronic alcohol consumption disrupts the functioning of the intestinal barrier - it reduces the integrity of tight intestinal epithelial cells, allows it to penetrate into the bloodstreamundigested food debris, toxins and bacteria, which is one of the factors responsible for the so-called leaking intestine.
Alcohol also disrupts the intestinal chemical and enzymatic barriers and destroys the intestinal microbiome, killing probiotic bacteria and creating conditions for the growth of pathogenic bacteria.
Regeneration of the digestive tract after stopping alcohol occurs quickly. Already 3 weeks without drinking alcohol is enough to repair the tight connections of intestinal epithelial cells and restore the functions of chemical and enzymatic barriers.
It takes longer for the gut microbiome to recover, but after 3 weeks there is a favorable change and growth of commensal bacteria.
Regeneration of the heart and circulatory system after stopping alcohol
The pro-inflammatory and toxic effect of alcohol causes cardiovascular disorders on many levels. Alcohol causes numerous cardiomyopathies, heart contraction disorders, arrhythmia, tachycardia, hypertension, increases the level of "bad" cholesterol in the blood and increases the risk of atherosclerosis. The cardiovascular system regenerates very quickly after stopping alcohol.
Scientific research shows that after 4 weeks of abstinence, normalization of the heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, a decrease in LDL and a regression of myocardial damage are observed.
Increased immunity after stopping alcohol
People who abuse alcohol are more often ill, e.g. for pneumonia and other diseases of the upper respiratory tract, and their wounds heal more slowly. Alcohol suppresses the body's immune response in several ways:
- changes the structure of the gut microbiota, which affects the functioning of the immune system,
- disrupts communication between these organisms and the gut's immune system,
- damages epithelial cells, T lymphocytes and neutrophils in the digestive system, disrupting the intestinal barrier function and facilitating the leakage of microbes into the bloodstream, increasing inflammation throughout the body, damaging tissues and organs.
Particularly severe damage is the immune system of the lungs. In addition, drinking alcohol causes the production of pro-inflammatory interleukins and cytokines.
The regeneration of the immune system after stopping alcohol begins with a decrease in the level of inflammation in the body. As the microbiome rebuilds, the functioning of the immune system improves, and its duration depends on the level of damage and the duration of alcohol abuse. Be aware that the immune system takes months to recover.
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