Heartburn Clinic

An occasional drink is unlikely to do you harm and it may even do you good! However, too much alcohol can be damaging to your stomach and other parts of your body. Drinking alcohol can also make you put on weight. For these reasons you may benefit from drinking less than you have done before and, if an occasional drink causes stomach pain, it could do you good to quit for a while.
Alcohol has direct effects on the lining of your digestive tract from your mouth to your lower bowel. Too much alcohol in a short period of time will make you vomit or give you diarrhoea. However, too much alcohol over a long period of time can lead to gastritis (inflammation of the stomach), and ulcer and liver disease.

If you have an ulcer, or inflammation of your gullet (oesophagitis), you should cut out all alcohol until your condition has healed. It is also a good idea to minimise alcohol if you suffer from reflux, regurgitation or heartburn. Not only will alcohol aggravate the lining of your digestive tract, it also interferes with the function of the muscles that control digestion. A stomach full of drink is likely to lead to reflux and regurgitation, especially if you are overweight. If you need to lose weight, alcoholic drinks will spoil your efforts because they provide a lot of calories and very little nutrition.
If alcohol is the main cause of your digestive disorder, it suggests that you need to change your drinking habits. Once your disorder has resolved you should limit your intake of alcohol or consider avoiding alcohol altogether.

There are other health risks associated with excessive alcohol consumption including obesity and diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, liver and kidney disease, as well as damaging effects on the brain. Alcohol can affect the way you behave and your appearance.

Recommendations for maximum alcohol intake:
Men should drink no more than 24 units of alcohol during a week.
Women should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week.
(One unit of alcohol equals half a pint of beer of lager or a glass of wine or a measure of spirits).

These recommendations are for people in good health not for people with a medical condition such as a peptic ulcer or reflux oesophagitis. Remember that this is just a guide to the limits a healthy person can drink without putting their health at risk. It is not a daily target to reach nor is it safe to drink these amounts and drive, operate machinery or undertake other tasks that require concentration if they are to be performed safely. Your doctor may have given you advice about alcohol that is tailored to your individual needs.

Often drinking is just a habit, which is fairly easy to change. If you drink regularly, you may have become tolerant to alcohol so that one or two units seem to have little effect. You have to decide whether you need to cut down or whether you need to consider quitting.
You may find certain techniques help you to stay off alcohol. Support from others is helpful and now may be a good time to explain to friends that you are off alcohol because of your peptic ulcer or other medical condition.

The first step to changing your drinking habits is to examine what your habits are. Ask yourself how much you drink, why you drink and why you want to cut down. Keep in mind the benefits you want to gain from changing your habits and set yourself a goal.

Back to "Take Control"

	Copyright © 2010. All rights reserved.
	We subscribe to the principles of the Health On the Net Foundation