Can Red Wine Cause Inflammation

Surprising Side Effects Wine Has On Your Gut Says Science

While it’s not always associated with the image of health, drinking wine, especially red wine, has been linked to a multitude of health benefits. The alcoholic beverage made of fermented grapes has become well-known for the positive impact that it has on heart health, and it can also lower cholesterol. A compound found in wine has also been linked to slowing the progression of endometriosis in women.

Of course, like any other alcoholic beverage, wine also has its downfalls when it comes to maintaining health, including an increased risk of depression, according to a study from Kings College London. But what role does the drink play specifically when it comes to the gut? In some cases, studies have shown that wine has a beneficial impact on the health of our guts, but there have also been studies showing that some wines can be harmful to digestion.

Here are the surprising side effects wine has on your gut that you may not have known about, and for even more healthy tips, be sure to check out our list of The 7 Healthiest Foods to Eat Right Now.

Wednesday 27 September 2017

We all know that drinking alcohol to excess isnt really part of a healthy lifestyle. Drinking more than the recommended guidelines can put you at risk of developing serious diseases, affect your brain health and make you prone to alcohol-related accidents.

You know about alcohol poisoning, hangovers and brain damage, but did you know about the other ways alcoholic drinks can affect your body?

It Can Reduce The Chance Of Obesity And Bad Cholesterol

While plenty of varieties of red and white wine can contain excess sugar, which undeniably leads to weight gain and an increased chance of obesity, if you choose your red wine correctly, you actually might be able to lessen that chance.

“Red wine drinkers had lower levels of obesity and heart disease, which may be due to the positive effects it has on gut bacteria,” Hanks says.

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It Can Irritate The Gi Tract

Whether it’s a faucet, a water bottle, or, well, a gut, nothing that can be described as leaky sounds like a really great time. But according to certified nutritionist Bonnie Flemington, drinking alcoholincluding winecan result in leaky gut syndrome and irritate the body’s gastrointestinal tract.

“It does this by creating imbalances in our gut bacteria as well as increasing the permeability of the intestinal lining ,” says Flemington.

She added that these complications can lead to symptoms including joint aches and pains.

The Effects Of Chronic Inflammation

When you have chronic inflammation, your body is in a constant state of high alert. Under this pressure, arteries and organs can break down, leading to the development of diseases.

These effects are wide-ranging3, and may include asthma, arthritis, ulcers, periodontitis, Crohns disease, sinusitis, and hepatitis. Eventually, diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, and other serious conditions may occur.

Inflammatory cells anywhere in the body can affect the rest of your system. This means that the gut inflammation caused by long-term, excessive alcohol consumption can promote inflammation throughout the body.

Treating this problem means walking a fine line. Since inflammatory cells help fight off infection, effective treatment must control the inflammation without eliminating it entirely.

To make matters worse, its not always possible to pinpoint the root cause of chronic inflammation. However, lifestyle does seem to be a factor. Sleep, diet, exercise, stress levels, and smoking or consuming alcohol all have an impact.

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Drinking Alcohol Raises Your Risk Of Mouth Throat Larynx And Oesophagus Cancer

Many people know that drinking alcohol can raise your risk of cancers like liver, breast and bowel cancer. But it can also increase your chances of developing cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx or oesophagus.

Ethanol, which is what alcohol is made of, isnt carcinogenic in itself, but when your body metabolises it, it turns into acetaldehyde, which the International Agency for Research on Cancer lists as a Group 1 carcinogen to humans.

Worst Drinking Habits For Inflammation Says Expert

There are plenty of occasions that call for your alcoholic drink of choice: happy hour after work, celebrating a friend’s success, toasting to the beginning of your marriage , and well, just because you want one. Occasional boozingparticularly a glass of red winedoesn’t impact your health negatively. However, frequent and excessive alcohol consumption can wreak havoc on our body’s most precious organs, including our heart and our digestive system. Some drinking habits can lead to chronic inflammation that’s not only uncomfortable but can have long-lasting effects. If you’re routinely doing any of these things, consider this your gentle nudge to cut back ASAP. Then, be sure to check out our list of the 112 Most Popular Sodas Ranked by How Toxic They Are.

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Can Alcohol Reduce The Risk Of Ra

Another strand of evidence suggests that drinking a moderate amount of alcohol could actually reduce the risk of developing RA in people who do not have the condition.

In a 2014 study , researchers looked at survey results and medical records from more than 200,000 people over multiple decades. They found a modest association between long term moderate alcohol drinking and reduced risk of RA. This means that people who drank alcohol in moderation had a lower risk of developing RA.

Researchers need to conduct further studies to explain, understand, and confirm the link between drinking alcohol and the risks of developing RA

Can Alcohol Abuse Cause Joint Pain

The ways that alcohol abuse can cause joint pain can be complex and be dependent on a variety of factors, such a persons health and the presence of any medical conditions. In many cases, a component or chemical in the alcohol can trigger a reaction in a person that causes pain. It can also weaken a persons health and make it harder for them to take care of themselves or manage their medical condition.

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Alcohol Abuse Can Aggravate A Preexisting Condition Or Disease That Causes Joint Pain

A variety of illnesses and diseases can cause joint pain that ranges from mild to severe. This pain may be accompanied by inflammation, swelling and tenderness. With certain illnesses and diseases, alcohol abuse may cause a persons condition to become more severe.

Joint pain caused by the following conditions may be exacerbated by alcohol abuse:

• celiac disease
• other types of arthritis
• rheumatoid arthritis

Individuals with these conditions may want to consider speaking to their doctor prior to consuming alcohol, this could be especially true if they take any pain relievers or other medications to manage their symptoms.

What Are The Healthiest Types Of Alcohol

If you do choose to indulge in a drink, the type of alcohol you consume matters just as much as the amount you are drinking.

When choosing a drink, I always encourage my patients to go for the least inherently inflammatory beverage based on its ingredients and how it was produced. Not all alcohol is created equal even if it’s labeled all-natural or organic. For example, some things like gluten are always going to be inflammatory for my patients regardless of where its sourced.

These are my top choices for your next drink.

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Congeners Make Your Hangover Worse

Scientific study of hangovers is still ongoing, but one thing we do know is that congeners in alcohol can contribute to making your hangover worse.

Congeners are chemicals that occur naturally during the distilling and fermentation processes of alcohol creation and are found in greater amounts in darker coloured drinks, like red wine, bourbon and brandy. Congeners irritate blood vessels and tissues in your brain, which can make your hangover worse.

Histamine Effects Of Drinking Wine

If you develop allergy-like symptoms after drinking wine, you may be histamine intolerant. Drinking a glass of wine can cause shortness of breath, sneezing, flushing, headaches and skin rashes if you are intolerant to histamine, according to the Auckland Allergy Clinic. Histamine is a chemical created in the human body that is also found in various foods and beverages. Most people can metabolize the histamine in wine, beer and other foods, but if youre intolerant, the histamine in wine will cause adverse reactions.

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Alcohol Abuse And Autoimmune Diseases

Symptoms of certain autoimmune diseases that cause joint pain, such as celiac disease, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis, could potentially be aggravated by alcohol.

Grain-based alcohols, such as those that are made with wheat, barley, and rye, may cause flare-ups of joint pain in people with these diseases. Beer, vodka and certain types of whiskey frequently contain these grains.

Shifting Benefits And Risks

The benefits and risks of moderate drinking change over a lifetime. In general, risks exceed benefits until middle age, when cardiovascular disease begins to account for an increasingly large share of the burden of disease and death.

• For a pregnant woman and her unborn child, a recovering alcoholic, a person with liver disease, and people taking one or more medications that interact with alcohol, moderate drinking offers little benefit and substantial risks.
• For a 30-year-old man, the increased risk of alcohol-related accidents outweighs the possible heart-related benefits of moderate alcohol consumption.
• For a 60-year-old man, a drink a day may offer protection against heart disease that is likely to outweigh potential harm .
• For a 60-year-old woman, the benefit/risk calculations are trickier. Ten times more women die each year from heart disease than from breast cancer . However, studies show that women are far more afraid of developing breast cancer than heart disease, something that must be factored into the equation.

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Wine May Calm Inflammation In Blood Vessels

By Amy Norton, Reuters Health

4 Min Read

NEW YORK – Adding to evidence that a little wine can do a heart good, a new study suggests that women who drink moderate amounts may have less inflammation in their blood vessels.

Spanish researchers found that after four weeks of drinking two glasses of wine per day, women showed lower levels of certain inflammatory substances in their blood. The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest a mechanism by which wine — particularly red wine — may protect the heart.

Numerous studies have found that wine drinkers tend to have lower rates of heart disease than teetotalers do. Research also suggests that higher levels of good HDL cholesterol may be one reason, though not a full explanation of the benefit.

Figuring out exactly how wine may protect the heart is important in order to prove that the link between wine and heart health is, in fact, a direct one, according to Dr. Emilio Sacanella, the lead researcher on the new study.

Studies that show wine drinkers to have better heart health do not prove that wine is the reason, explained Sacanella, of the University of Barcelona. Wine lovers may, for example, have generally better diets, higher exercise levels or other heart-healthy habits, he told Reuters Health.

Inflammation may also make these plaques more likely to rupture and create a blood clot that could then trigger a heart attack.

Does Alcohol Reduce Inflammation Or Pain

Some research suggests that moderate alcohol use may reduce certain biomarkers of inflammation and prevent the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. However, individuals with existing RA may find that the cons of drinking alcohol outweigh the pros. Another study found that low to moderate alcohol consumption may reduce fibromyalgia symptoms.

Drinking alcohol to achieve these effects could be an unwise decision on many levels. In some people, it may lead to alcohol abuse or addiction.

Using alcohol to reduce symptoms or the risk of a disease could be replaced by other, better lifestyle choices. Further, people who have previously struggled with alcohol abuse or who are addicted to alcohol could see already dangerous patterns of abuse accelerated by drinking in this way.

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Alcohol Abuse Can Make It More Difficult For A Person To Take Care Of Themselves

Alcohol abuse can also lead a person to ignore important aspects of self-care, such as a healthy diet, proper hydration, sleep, and medication management.

Eating poorly, becoming dehydrated, not getting enough sleep or skipping meds could potentially cause a persons condition to be exacerbated and the pain to become more pronounced. Specifically, these things affect joint health in the following ways:

• Staying hydrated: Good hydration is essential to keep the joints lubricated. It also helps to fight inflammation.
• Eating poorly: While drinking, many people are more prone to eat junk food, or food full of refined carbohydrates, sugar, and saturated fats. Its believed these substances can increase inflammation. On the other hand, a balanced diet that contains fruits and vegetables and omega-3 rich foods like certain fish could promote better joint health.
• Medication mismanagement: By skipping a dose or more of their medication, a persons pain could increase. Alcohols effects could cause a person to forget a dose. Some people purposely skip their medication so that they can drink and avoid the unpleasant side effects of the drugs interacting.
• Sleep: Sleep is vital to a persons well-being. Without good sleep, a persons immune system can drop. Further, during stage three of the sleep cycle the body repairs itself, mending damage to muscles and other tissue.

Resveratrol Aids In Weight Loss:

Obesity is a leading factor that causes osteoarthritis. Red wine helps in weight management.

Moderate intake of red wine can help in weight loss. Red wine polyphenols ameliorate the risk of obesity.

What does this mean? This means that red wine helps in maintaining as well as losing weight which is not only beneficial for managing arthritis but also other metabolic disorders.

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Possible Health Benefits Of Alcohol

What are some of the possible health benefits associated with moderate alcohol consumption?

Cardiovascular Disease

More than 100 prospective studies show an inverse association between light to moderate drinking and risk of heart attack, ischemic stroke, peripheral vascular disease, sudden cardiac death, and death from all cardiovascular causes. The effect is fairly consistent, corresponding to a 25-40% reduction in risk. However, increasing alcohol intake to more than 4 drinks a day can increase the risk of hypertension, abnormal heart rhythms, stroke, heart attack, and death.

Learn more about the results of some large prospective cohort studies of alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease.

* compared with non-drinkers

The connection between moderate drinking and lower risk of cardiovascular disease has been observed in men and women. It applies to people who do not have heart disease, and also to those at high risk for having a heart attack or stroke or dying of cardiovascular disease, including those with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and existing cardiovascular disease. The benefits also extend to older individuals.

Drinking Patterns Matter

A review of alcohol consumption in women from the Nurses Health Study I and II found that smaller amounts of alcohol spread out over four or more days per week had the lowest death rates from any cause, compared with women who drank the same amount of alcohol but in one or two days.

Beyond the Heart

Treating Bunions With Diet

Can what you eat really affect the state of your bunion? Well, as with any condition that presents with inflammation, there are foods that can help to reduce the swelling in the body. On the other hand, there are foods that will only contribute to your misery.

For most bunion sufferers, bunions exist in a state of constant inflammation, either jammed into fitted shoes with pointed toes and an ill fit. If the degree of the bunion deformity is extreme, almost any shoe will rub the bony nubs into a red and raw fit. For others, inflammatory arthritis is the direct cause. In either scenario, bursitis may accompany your bunion. Either way you slice it, you are dealing with inflammation in your foot. For that reason, you have nutritional decisions to take into account, and they can help to reduce the level of inflammation you are dealing with, regardless if whether said inflammation is the cause or the effect of your bunion.

After reviewing the suggestions below, you should discuss them with your doctor to formulate your best strategy for your specific condition.

Inflammation produces free radicals and antioxidants, such as Vitamin C, Selenium, Carotenes, and Bioflavonoids to help bring your bunion pain relief.

Heres a list of foods that top each category.

Foods known for their anti-inflammatory properties include:

• Onions and garlic
• Berries
• Cherries 2 tbsp per day
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids
• Canola Oil, flax seed and flax seed oil)
• Bromelain
• Citrus fruits
• Kiwis
• Broccoli
• Spinach

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Why You Need Or Want Caffeine Is Also Important

If getting moving in the morning requires multiple cups of something caffeinated , I would encourage you to look at your sleep habits, stress management, and how you’re expending your energy levels. If your caffeine habit is excessive, it’s time to look at your lifestyle habits and move toward greater balance between activity and rest.

Caffeine can also be dehydrating, so I encourage patients to stay ahead of their hydration. Drink at least 64 fluid ounces of clean, filtered water daily, or even more depending on your caffeine habit.

Think About Your Drink Of Choice

How your body responds to alcohol depends on several factors. Enjoying a glass of organic red wine will have a completely different impact than drinking a margarita or other sugary alcohol concoctions .

Some people also enjoy a glass of dry red wine as their dessert. For others, a glass becomes two, and before they know it, they’re devouring a second piece of pie. In other words, know how alcohol makes you behave, as it disinhibits your brain control centers and will lead you to overindulge in the other contributors to inflammation.

Like caffeine, alcohol can be dehydrating. Be especially mindful to drink sufficient water when you’re drinking. Certain situations like drinking while flying can be even more dehydrating, potentially exacerbating inflammation.

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