The Truth About Alcohol’s Impact on Your Health

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Everyone, welcome to the Dr. Josh Axe Show. I am your host, Dr. Axe, and each and every week on the show, we dive deep into the science and principles behind how to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually, and take your health and your life to the next level. On today's episode, I'm going to be talking about alcohol. I'll be answering the question, is it good? Is it bad? Is it ugly?

I'll also be answering those questions around red wine. Is that okay because of its resveratrol content? And I'll go through exactly how much alcohol may be beneficial versus how much is detrimental. Also, I'll go over how to overcome How does alcohol become a hangover? And what are the nutrients that are depleted when you drink alcohol?

And how do you rehydrate and support your body if you are going to have any form of alcohol whatsoever? Also, we'll be talking about the Bible and what it says about alcohol. Hey, before I dive in though, don't forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don't miss a single thing. I'm constantly putting out new content here on this channel that I think you're going to love.

Also, thanks so much for being on mission with me. Because people need to know the truth about alcohol, how harmful it is, and how, if it's done the right way, may have some benefits. When we look at the studies on Europe and other areas of the world, there's some interesting data there. Okay, so let's go ahead and dive in and talk about alcohol.

The first thing to note is how much people are drinking on average. Now, when we look at the United States today, on average, US adults have about 4 drinks per week. The average male does about 6 drinks, the average woman about 3 drinks. And it's common for younger people to be heavier drinkers than adults.

I do wanna say as well, just from a personal note, I remember growing up, my mom was very, very cautious and very, I guess, had anxiety about myself and my family members drinking any alcohol because I had several uncles and family members. Who were alcoholics. And so, I think my mom was very conscious seeing that growing up and wanting us to not have alcohol.

In fact, I never saw my parents have a single drink. Well, let me take this back. One time, my dad, I remember I was probably 12 years old, he was sitting down with my uncle and he decided to have a beer. And it was the only time I saw him drink. I remember my mom giving him a look. That was not so friendly. Okay. And I never saw my dad drink outside of that ever.

So again, growing up, I was very conscious about alcohol. And then over time, as I started to read more and more of the Bible and understand sort of the ancient ways that alcohol was used or abused, and I started looking at the science today, I've developed a different view about alcohol in terms of how to use it and how not to use it.

And I think generally we're also seeing today a lot more people decide to be sober and have no alcohol growing up. I think when I was younger, when I was in college, and when I look in the '90s and early 2000s, it was very, very rare and not trendy at all for people not to drink alcohol.

Today, I think there's more of a movement among young people to where you can go out and have fun and drink no alcohol whatsoever. And so anyways, I think there's a big cultural component to alcohol here. But mostly on today's episode, I'm going to dive into the nutrition science and information about alcohol and also talk a little bit about some biblical perspective here.

And if you do drink alcohol, what vitamins and minerals and herbs you need in order to recover more quickly. Well, here's what you need to know about alcohol. It is a central nervous system depressant that impacts almost every part of the body.

When you drink alcohol, primarily it affects your brain's, what are known as your GABA receptors, and those inhibit your brain's activity and provide a calming effect. And that's why If you just have a few drinks, one of the things you'll notice, or if you just start sipping one drink, you'll notice you start to get relaxed, you'll get more calm, you'll laugh a little bit more.

That's the effects of GABA on, on those, on the GABA brain receptors. Now, it also impacts neurotransmitters like dopamine, which are associated with pleasure and reward, which explains why alcohol can temporarily make you feel good. Now, in the short term, alcohol might reduce anxiety and create a sense of relaxation.

However, long term, Excessive drinking can lead to significant changes in your brain structure and function, particularly in areas like your hippocampus, which is crucial for learning and memory. So remember, short-term, it may cause relaxation and reduce anxiety. Long-term, it can actually increase anxiety and also damage your learning and memory centers of the brain.

Now, alcohol dulls the parts of your brain that also control how your body works. Hence, this is why people— they have people walk the line after drinking too much alcohol. It impacts that part of the brain and nervous system that are responsible for your equilibrium and proprioception, being able to balance yourself in that way.

Also, alcohol influences your mood and can cause you to feel more down or depressed after drinking or more aggressive as well. And as the concentration of alcohol in your bloodstream increases, of course, we know that your behavior and your bodily functions can change as well. We all know that there are side effects of drinking too much alcohol.

So, I want to walk you through how alcohol affects different organs within your body, and then we'll get into more about longevity and nutrients here in a moment. But first off, moderate drinkers who drink, let's say, around 14 to 21 drinks per week, so that's between 2 to 3 drinks per day on average, have a 240% higher risk of right-sided hippocampal shrinkage compared to non-drinkers.

So, it's actually shrinking areas of your brain pretty dramatically. For just even moderate drinkers. We also see that alcohol affects the stomach. You absorb about 20% of alcohol in your bloodstream through your stomach and the rest through your small intestine. And drinking a small amount of alcohol stimulates your appetite and increases bile flow and stomach juice.

So it's important to know if you have a few sips of something like wine, it can actually be good for you. Okay? It's almost like drinking apple cider vinegar. It's stimulating some stomach acid. You're getting— The flavor of sour, which is activating the liver specifically. So there are some benefits of having a few sips of wine, a few tablespoons.

However, when you drink more than that, alcohol can cause you to increase your appetite because part of what's happening is it creates malnutrition in your body. And we'll get through those nutritional deficiencies in just a moment and how alcohol actually greatly interferes with your absorption of nutrients. Another area of the body that alcohol impacts is your bloodstream and your blood vessels.

In fact, when you drink alcohol, When it enters your system, your blood vessels dilate and open up. This causes you to have a feeling of warmth, and you'll notice that especially with certain drinks more than others. Let's say whiskey or bourbon, very warming forms of alcohol, and you're going to notice that sort of warmth in your stomach and within your system.

However, long-term, it can actually cause you to not be able to regulate your body temperature as well. And also, temporarily, when you first drink it, it can lower your blood pressure, whereas long-term, if you're a heavy drinker, it increases your blood pressure. So, what happens with alcohol, it's very much this, you get a reward when you're drinking it.

However, you pay the price later across the board in almost every area of your body. Alcohol also affects the kidneys. Of course, you urinate more frequently. And, one of the biggest side effects of drinking alcohol is it dehydrates you. And so, if you have hangover symptoms, one of the biggest symptoms related to that is dehydration.

And so, this is why drinking lots of water, even if you're going to have a single glass of Now, the number one organ that's impacted when you drink alcohol, of course, is your liver. When you drink alcohol, your liver oxidizes 95% of it. This means your liver converts alcohol into water and carbon monoxide. And your liver can only handle so much alcohol at a time.

Specifically, your liver can only oxidize 1 unit of alcohol an hour. So it takes time for it to detoxify. This is why one of the number one side effects of someone becoming a heavy drinker, or number one conditions that's associated with drinking alcohol, is liver cirrhosis. Okay, so it causes your liver to essentially, um, rot away.

It causes it to deteriorate and also impacts a lot of other functions that the liver's responsible for. You know, your liver's responsible for balancing hormones and getting rid of things like extra estrogen. It's responsible for digesting fats and absorbing all fat-based vitamins and minerals and nutrients. And so the liver is, of course, very, very important.

And this is why alcohol can be so devastating to people and their overall health, because your liver is one of the most important organs for running your entire body. Of course, your detoxification channels as the primary. In addition, I want to mention alcohol impacts your sleep. Alcohol disrupts the normal sleep cycle, making it harder to reach deep sleep stages.

It can cause insomnia, restless sleep, of course, early wake-ups. And there's evidence that alcohol disrupts the release of melatonin in your brain. Of course, we know melatonin is critical for getting a So, the reality is even if you drink alcohol and you sleep through the night, typically you don't get as much deep sleep or REM sleep. And so, you're not as rested the next day.

And of course, it also raises your body temperature, which is one reason why people tend to wake up after drinking alcohol is their body temperature gets too high. In fact, that's the number one reason why most people can't sleep at night is their body temperature. Gets too high. You know, alcohol, as I mentioned, part of it due to the way it impacts the liver, it also impacts the hormones.

In fact, listen to this. Alcohol can disrupt hormone production according to medical studies. In men, they found that increased alcohol intake altered normal sperm structure and also impaired sexual and reproductive function. It caused male breast enlargement and reduced testosterone levels. So, for men, here's what happens. It lowers testosterone.

And because it's— you remember I said this earlier, your liver is responsible for getting rid of xeno and phyto and excess estrogen. Well, when your liver is burdened and stressed with alcohol, your body now cannot get rid of the excess estrogen.

So, for men, it's going to cause them to have more breast enlargement, not only a beer belly but breast enlargement if they overconsume alcohol because now The body can't get rid of the excess estrogen. So, that's why that happens along with the reduced testosterone. So, for men, it is very, very negative side effects of excess alcohol consumption.

For women, it causes cessation of menstruation with excess alcohol consumption, early menopause, increased aging, so less longevity. So, you actually age faster if you overconsume alcohol, irregular menstrual cycles, and menstrual cycles without ovulation as we talked about here.

So, a lot of that when it's, it's throwing off the estrogen-progesterone balance, primarily, primarily via— now you've got excess xeno- and phytoestrogens within your system, which also is associated with breast cancer and many other health problems. So infertility, cancer, and hormone balances we see with excess alcohol consumption in women.

Now I want to go through the very specific nutrients that are depleted when it comes to alcohol, and I do want to say this as well: when I'm going through these studies This tends to be excess alcohol consumption, heavy drinkers.

I think there is evidence that if you had, let's say, 1 or 2 drinks a week and it's a very clean form of alcohol like red wine, that may actually have some health benefits for you. But generally speaking, any form of excess alcohol— and I think, I think generally the rule of thumb is more than a single drink. If you have more than a single drink, it starts to be negative to your health. Body.

And I think if you're drinking really any more than once a week, I think it starts to have negative impacts on your body as well. And let me say, there is some research that is opposing. I think there is some research that shows that really the, the less alcohol the better. Drinking zero alcohol is the best.

But there's some that shows, especially out of Europe, that no, having a little bit in social settings, like one single drink a week, something like that, could actually be beneficial for your body if it's something like wine. Okay, so, so there are some conflicting, uh, studies on, on alcohol and the amount you should consume, and I'll get into that later in the episode.

But I want to go through the nutrients right now that are most depleted when you consume alcohol. Number 1 are B vitamins, uh, as an entire category. Okay, B vitamins run your liver. Your liver needs B vitamins in order to detoxify. So when you drink alcohol, your liver is using up a lot of B vitamins in order to create nutrients like glutathione, which then help detoxify alcohol from your body.

So again, alcohol is going to deplete vitamin B1. This is crucial for a lot of functions within your body, but in particular thyroid function. Also vitamin B9, this is folate. This is essential for DNA synthesis and repair. This is— folate is very important for fetal development.

So if you're a woman or you plan on getting pregnant in the future, you don't want to create folate or vitamin B9 deficiencies. And by the way, B9 of course is also very important for the methylfolate cycle for methylation. And this is important for creating neurotransmitters and hormones for mood and for cellular energy.

And so, if you want more ATP, improving longevity, improving your energy, you also need folate as well. And so, alcohol depletes your body of folate, which is important for fertility and cellular energy. And of course, vitamin B12 as well is very important for cellular energy, very important for cellular function.

And alcohol actually affects the absorption of vitamin B12 by damaging the stomach lining and reducing the production of something called intrinsic factor, which is where— which is what your body needs to create vitamin B12 on its own. Other nutrients depleted by excess alcohol consumption. Magnesium is a big one.

Alcohol increases the excretion of magnesium through urine and decreases its absorption in the intestines. And so magnesium is one of those electrolytes which are depleted along with especially potassium that affects your body negatively, and then zinc. Zinc's depleted. That's crucial for immune function.

This is why if people drink alcohol, they tend to get sick more easily because the immune system is negatively affected. Also, fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin A are depleted when you consume alcohol because, again, remember this, your liver now is responsible for creating bile and breaking down and digesting fat.

Well, when the liver's overburdened, it cannot produce the proper nutrients to absorb and break down fat. So, you're not getting and absorbing as many fat-soluble vitamins, especially vitamin A. And then, vitamin C is also depleted because alcohol creates oxidative stress on the body. Vitamin C is used in order to decrease that oxidative stress.

And vitamin C is connected with, of course, immune health and longevity and cellular health as well. Calcium is also depleted. Another big one is potassium as well.

So you see here the electrolytes, especially magnesium, calcium, potassium, and this is where you are going to feel the next day tired, fatigued, oftentimes get a headache if you drink too much because you are dehydrated from losing those electrolytes. So those are the biggest nutrients that are depleted when you are consuming alcohol.

Now, I want to hit on a few others in addition to what I just went through. Another one is water. Again, remember, hydration is water plus electrolytes. Electrolytes. So water is depleted, um, and alcohol consumption actually can alter water absorption in the intestine. So you can actually drink a lot and you actually absorb less, uh, into your bloodstream and into your organs and your cells.

And so you definitely need— and part of that is due to sodium brings nutrients in the cell. We are getting rid of sodium. So that's why you really should get electrolytes and a lot of water if you are drinking. Also, here's another big thing.

Overconsuming alcohol doesn't just deplete your body of micronutrients like vitamins and minerals, it also depletes your body of macronutrients like proteins, amino acids, and peptides. Alcohol affects the absorption of peptides into your bloodstream, or amino acids like glutamine, leucine, and glycine.

We know glutamine is important for gut health and for, and for immune health and for muscle preserving muscle mass. Leucine is important for building muscle, and glycine is important for building collagen and for liver function and longevity. So, those 3 amino acids in studies have been depleted.

In addition, phenylalanine, alanine, methionine, and valine are depleted, which are also important for building muscle and detoxification and creating glutathione. So, when you're drinking alcohol, your body is getting depleted of major antioxidants like glutathione and losing amino acids. So, your body is able to be as fit.

Uh, it's going to decrease athletic performance, muscle building, metabolism. All of those areas are affected. And again, as I mentioned, a lot of the B vitamins are depleted— B1, B2 as well. So all of these nutrients that support methylation, all of the fat-soluble vitamins— vitamin A, D, E, and K— are all reduced in absorption.

And again, minerals like calcium, zinc, iron is also affected, magnesium and selenium, which is important for thyroid function. So you can see here that alcohol depletes your body of numerous macronutrients and micronutrients as well. Now, if you are going to drink alcohol, here's what I recommend and what the medical literature shows can reduce hangover symptoms.

And let me say this, you should never have a hangover, okay? The goal should be to never have a hangover. I think generally, uh, there's really Never a time where drinking more than one single drink would have a health benefit. Now, again, there is some studies showing drinking a single drink, like a glass of red wine, you know, on occasion could actually have some health benefits.

But any more than that is going to be detrimental to your health. Now, listen, if you do and you're at a wedding or a party and you do decide to drink too much, I do want to share with you some things you can do here in order to decrease hangover symptoms. And the biggest one is take a B complex vitamin. Okay? A B complex that has B1, B2, B6, B9, B12.

That's going to reduce fatigue, support energy levels, alleviate hangover, uh, and alleviate headaches that are associated with hangovers. And so again, taking a B complex vitamin is the first thing you want to do. In addition, taking vitamin C can be beneficial, and magnesium as well, probably about 300 to 600 milligrams of magnesium.

And then I would take an electrolyte drink, something that has sufficient amounts of potassium, magnesium, and sodium, probably something that has About a 1-to-1 ratio is going to be ideal for that electrolyte balance. And then drinking a lot of water.

I would drink about 30— it just depends on how much you drink, but for each glass, you should drink probably 2 glasses of— big glasses of water or about 20 to 32 ounces of water with 1 pack of electrolytes if you're going to have 1 or 2 drinks there as well. Now, listen, I'm not saying you should have 3 packs of electrolytes if you drink 6. I don't think that's necessarily the case.

And I, again, don't recommend 6, but if you're going to have a drink, then I do recommend some electrolytes and some water to help increase hydration. Now, in addition, some things that can help your liver recover from alcohol consumption is— are nutrients that support the production of glutathione, like N-acetylcysteine. That's a big one that's going to support the body there.

In addition, milk thistle is an herb that contains a compound called silymarin, and that compound supports liver production. And actually, in studies, it's actually been shown to support liver regeneration. A really amazing herb. That's good for liver detoxification.

And then there's also a nutrient called DHM, that's dihydromyricetin, and that is a flavonoid that's found in actually in the Japanese raisin tree, which has been shown to reduce alcohol toxicity and improve hangover symptoms.

And a few other nutrients here: taurine is an amino acid that supports liver detoxification, and then an extract called prickly pear extract, which is full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. And studies have shown that prickly extract also improves liver detoxification.

Now, you could probably go out and find a supplement that has many of these nutrients combined, but in general, there are 3 that are going to be the most helpful. It's going to be a B-complex vitamin. It's going to be a liver cleanse supplement that has something like milk thistle in it. And it's going to be an electrolyte drink.

If you have those 3 with lots of water, that's going to help keep you hydrated and reduce any hangover symptoms. And listen, even doing one single drink is going to cause minor depletions, and so doing those still is a good idea. Now, I also want to mention here some more of these side effects of excess alcohol consumption, and one of them is how it impacts the gut microbiome.

One of the biggest impacts of drinking alcohol, after the way it impacts the liver, is how it impacts the small intestine, and it can cause something called dysbiosis, which is bacterial imbalance within the small and large intestine in the, of the gut.

It also increases intestinal permeability, which is something called leaky gut, which allows bacteria and toxins to enter the bloodstream, which then causes systemic inflammations in organs like your liver. So we know this is connected to long-term autoimmune disease and, uh, weakened immune function when you're drinking too much alcohol, uh, and inflammation generally.

You're going to have more inflammation, which can also lead to anxiety, depression, mood disorders if you consume excess Alcohol. And I also want to say this too, there's an epigenetic component here to where it not only affects you, it affects future generations. In fact, listen to this. Well, let me first talk about what epigenetics are.

Epigenetics refers to changes in gene expression that do not involve alterations to the underlying DNA. So remember, epigenetics are like switches that can be turned on or off. There are some good, some bad. But again, you can turn some of the bad ones with alcohol consumption. Let's say, for instance, that you had a family member who had a history of heart disease or cancer.

Well, you might have those genes. You never have to turn them on if you're eating healthy, living a good lifestyle, though. They could never be turned on. So you never get cancer, you never get heart disease. However, they can be turned on, which can increase your risk of coming down with those conditions by poor lifestyle, including consuming excess alcohol.

And research has shown that alcohol can cause epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation. And histone modification. We talked about that methylation. It's going to— that's going to decrease things like creating cellular energy and thyroid function and impact your neurotransmitters and good mood hormones like serotonin and dopamine and others.

And so, all those things are impacted if you consume excess alcohol. But not only does it affect you, it impacts your kids and future generations. Now, I mentioned this with methylation, but also it affects not only methylfolate but DNA methylation. Alcohol can lead to abnormal DNA methylation patterns, which can silence or activate certain genes.

In pregnant women, alcohol exposure can cause these epigenetic changes in the developing fetus, potentially leading to developmental disorders such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, which we know— and this is why Yeah. It's a big cultural topic today of why women are told not to drink alcohol when they're pregnant. Now, the reality is, if that's in the United States, it's very common.

Now, if you go to places like Europe, Russia, other areas of the world, you'll see women still drinking alcohol even when they're pregnant. And I think if a woman is having, again, a single drink or a little wine once a week, something like that, it really shouldn't impair or Cause that sort of issue if the woman's also leading a healthy lifestyle.

However, if a woman is a chronic drinker, again, this infects— impacts the fetus. I mean, studies are coming out now showing that if a mother eats a food while pregnant, the kids are much more likely to like that same food because they actually adapt that palate while in the womb. I mean, it really is amazing to see how the health of the mother— Impacts the child.

I do want to mention, I'm going to hit on this, that the health of the father and their sperm actually impacts the kids as well. And so I'm going to get on that in our— in another study here in a second. So here's another thing that's just mind-blowing about alcohol: it has transgenerational effects.

Studies in animals have shown that alcohol consumption by parents can lead to epigenetic changes that are passed on to their offspring. These changes can affect the development Behavior and health of future generations, increasing the risk of conditions such as cognitive deficits and metabolic disorders.

So, if you drink excess alcohol, again, remember, I'm not talking about here you're having a glass of red wine a week, okay? I'm not talking about that. But, excess alcohol that's now impacting the liver, impacting your genes, what that's going to do is that is going to increase risk of metabolic disorders, like diabetes or being obese or brain and neurological deficits.

All of those can be impacted by consuming excess alcohol. And I wanna say this, it's not just maternal, it's not just the mother's alcohol consumption that affects the offspring. Recent research indicates that alcohol use by fathers can also cause epigenetic changes in sperm, potentially impacting embryo development, health outcomes, for future generations. Okay?

Now, this is very biblical as well. One of the things the Bible references is that when you do something, it will impact you for 3 to 4 generations. So remember, it's not just impacting you. If you are drinking excess alcohol, it will impact your kids and future generations as well. Now, let me talk to you about what the government recommends in terms of drinking limits for optimal health.

And what I recommend for drinking for optimal limits and what the scientific literature states. But the government recommends for women, no more than 1 drink in a single day and no more than 7 drinks per week for optimal health. For men, no more than 2 drinks in a single day and no more than 14 drinks per week. Okay? But again, I think that there is an element here of you are an individual. Okay?

So, there's a level of bio-individuality when it comes to drinking alcohol.

Yeah.

Person, and so you tolerate a little bit more, or you might be a smaller person, you may tolerate less. You may also have— listen, there are certain genes you can have. I know a lot of people have certain DNA and genetics who are of Asian descent who actually don't process and absorb alcohol.

I could have done a lot more on the show about that, but just, it's a small number of the population who don't metabolize alcohol very well or ethanol very well, and to where it takes them a very long time to excrete it. Excrete it from their body, so they could get drunk off of a couple sips of alcohol.

My point there is, is we all have our own bio-individuality and how we process and utilize alcohol, and the health of our own, really, liver is the most important part of all of this as well. But I think generally my recommendation is no more, for most people, than a couple drinks per week.

I think that if you have one drink on the weekends and it's in a social setting and you're eating food while doing I think for most people, and I think a lot of studies show this, is that that could be okay and even beneficial for your long-term health. But really doing more than that, doing drinks every single day will likely burden your liver.

Now, there is some research that states that really any amount of alcohol over a single drink may have negative health effects on the body. In fact, one study found, particularly looking at women, that when you consume more than 1 to 2 drinks per week, It's the equivalent of smoking 1 to 2 cigarettes. They have an 8 to 10% increased risk of breast cancer.

Now, beyond 1 to 2 drinks, let's say someone has 3 to 5 drinks per week. This can cause health issues related to high blood pressure and decreased sleep quality. Also, even moderate drinking can also contribute to anxiety and stress levels. And we see those people that drink more than 5 drinks per week have a higher risk of liver damage.

Heart disease, stroke, dementia, and certain cancers, and also weakened immune system and are more susceptible to disease. Also pancreatitis. Alcohol can cause the pancreas to produce toxic substances that lead to this inflammation of the pancreas, and even things like hearing loss. So we see that over 5 drinks per week, there are many, many conditions that people become predisposed to.

With excess alcohol consumption. And we see that there are numerous organs that are impacted negatively via alcohol consumption, everything from the heart to the digestive system, to the liver, to the brain, to lungs, to your muscles, to your cells, to your pancreas, to your bones. They're all negatively impacted if you're overconsuming alcohol.

Now, I want to touch on a meta-analysis on alcohol and longevity because there were many years ago, there are were several studies that came out that showed that drinking red wine, partly due to its resveratrol— it's a poly— it's an antioxidant found in, uh, grape skins and blueberries and certain other fruits— uh, could actually increase lifespan. And I want to touch on a meta-analysis.

This is a— this was a very, very large-scale study done. This is— this was a study that combined 87 other studies to look at the long-term impact on alcohol and all-cause mortality. Here's what they found.

This meta-analysis found that light alcohol consumption, okay, up to 1 drink per day, or it's probably between 1 drink a week to probably 5 to 7 drinks per week, but no more than 1 a day, was associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality compared to non-drinkers. However, heavy drinking was associated with an increased risk of death.

The study highlighted that the benefits of alcohol are seen primarily with moderate to low consumption and are most pronounced with wine, likely due to the presence of polyphenols and other beneficial compounds.

Most drinks in the beneficial group, such as the Blue Zones, were part of social interactions, and the alcohol, particularly wine, was drank with a meal and it slowed the absorption of alcohol.

So what we're seeing here with alcohol is this, is that when it's consumed in a place where there's also low stress and they're eating healthy meals and it's part of a social interaction and somebody's drinking minimally one glass or less of something like a red wine, there are health benefits and it actually could increase longevity.

But anything outside of That typically is going to be detrimental to somebody's health and their organ systems. Again, my recommendation is generally this: drink either no alcohol or 1 to 2 max drinks per week. When I look at the scientific literature, I think that's what we see the most of. And also, I think this is very in line with the Bible. The Bible offers a very balanced view of alcohol.

It does not outright condemn alcohol, but advises against excess. Numerous times, for example, Paul advises Timothy to take a little bit of new wine for his stomach and frequent ailments, showing that alcohol in very small doses might be beneficial in moderation. We see this in studies today with certain other sour beverages.

If you're sipping on a little bit, and I would imagine if he's drinking a little bit of new wine, maybe that's a fourth of a cup to a half a cup. He's sipping on a little bit before his meals, taking it as more of what we would call, or in Europe they tend to call it digestive.

You're having a little bit of the bitter, a little bit of the sour before a meal, supporting the stomach juices in a small way. And I think that's probably how Timothy was consuming that, as more of a form of a little bit of medicine with certain meals. And I think we see in the scientific literature and understanding the physiology how that could actually benefit the body.

But really beyond that, it probably is going to start to be bad for the body. Now, in the Bible, I want to hit on a few other things as well in here in terms of what it says about alcohol. The Bible also contains warnings, of course, about drunkenness, such as in Ephesians 5:18, where it advises not to get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.

Now, debauchery basically means physical pleasures like, like, like, um, sex outside of marriage or excess alcohol and drunkenness or things like that. Um, also Proverbs 21 says— 21 says— mentions that wine is a mocker and a beer brawler, a caution against losing control. We know that it can affect discipline. And better judgment. I also want to mention here about Jesus.

We also know, of course, one of His greatest miracles, His first miracle we see referenced in the Bible, is Him turning water into wine for a wedding feast in Cana. So we see that as well. And we also see them drinking wine at the Last Supper as part of communion.

We know in the church, in the early church, when communion was enacted, it was done with actual red wine and actual probably sourdough bread was consumed as part of taking communion. There as well. So I think the Bible's view on alcohol is nothing in excess. And I would say typically one drink or less, um, is typically not in excess for most people.

And so I think that that's fair, a fairly fair and healthy assumption. But beyond that is going to have negative effects. And I think that's what we're seeing that mostly the scientific literature also references there. And by the way, some people may disagree with me on that. I know there are some Christians who believe there should be no alcohol at all.

However, I think the And the scientific evidence is showing very, very small amounts on occasion, and it's done in a social setting. Connecting with others, eating during a meal is the way to drink alcohol. And again, I want to just share this for myself. I think that I'm very conscious about drinking alcohol. I probably have one to two glasses a month, likely total.

And so I'm not a I don't drink much alcohol, but on occasion, you know, Chelsea and I may have a glass of wine. Once a month, or I may go out with friends, you know, once a month to dinner and do a guys' night. We may have one drink, something like that. But that's my general alcohol consumption.

And I think that's generally what I recommend as well for most people is none or very small amounts in that social setting. Now, I also want to talk about some healthier alternatives to alcohol. Okay. Mocktails. Okay. These are drinks that you can do instead. You know, just a few ideas here. One is, and a lot of these can have additional health benefits and hydrate your body.

One I love is doing is watermelon juice with lime. Okay, you can buy watermelon juice and squeeze some lime in. That's a great non-alcoholic version of a, I think, of a, you know, of what could be a popular drink. I think just drinking fermented grape juice like kombucha, you know, kombucha has very, very small amounts, typically about 0.5 to maybe even up to 0.3 to 3% alcohol. Alcohol.

But you can buy kombucha. I know the, um, uh, what's the brand that I like? Synergy, um, the GT brand. There are several brands, but I think kombucha is a great alternative. You know, you can also do things like a mule where you're doing coconut water and lime juice and ginger beer as something there as well, and a ginger drink.

So, so those are some ideas there for mocktails that I think you might enjoy there. And then herbal teas. You know, I think there are herbs that are relaxing to the body. Kava is one in particular. You can drink kava and it has a sort of calming neurological effect on the body. So, I think drinking kava, in fact, there's a brand called True Kava that I think is a great alcohol alternative.

This is something that I'll drink fairly often is this True Kava drink. And, kava has been used for thousands of years and also helps reduce neurological stress. And so, if you also know you have stress in your life, life. Kava is a great alternative to alcohol. And so that's probably my top in terms of what you can do.

And of course, herbal teas can be good as well, like chamomile and ginseng tea for natural energy and vitality as well. And then sparkling drinks with fruit, refreshers, sparkling water, I think are other good substitutes and options.

So remember this, my personal recommendations that I believe are in line with the scientific literature is really try and limit yourself to drinking once per week and no more than 1 to 2 drinks per week. When you're drinking, try and make sure the alcohol is clean, higher quality. And again, wine is always going to have greater health benefits for most people.

And remember, if you are going to drink even a single drink, do some electrolytes, do a B-complex vitamin, sometimes probiotics, and then, you know, a liver cleanser, some milk thistle. Those are the things that are going to be probably the most beneficial in terms of nutrients that can benefit your body and increase your water consumption as well.

And, I think if you can do that, you can minimize the negative effects of alcohol and you can optimize your overall health. And, I want to mention this last thing is the Bible talks about only in moderation as we see in these areas such as the Blue Zones where people are eating for longevity.

Asking yourself the question, if you are overdrinking alcohol, why do you feel like you have to drink so much alcohol? Do you feel like you could only have a good time if you drink alcohol? I remember when I was back in college, I think that was the culture of if you're going to have fun, you need to drink a lot of alcohol. There was that sort of stigma around it.

And I think I realized as I changed a group of friends of that, no, I can have just as much fun not drinking any alcohol at all or just having a single drink. And so, I think that if you believe that you're going to have more fun if you drink a lot of alcohol, I think it's a limiting belief. Belief, uh, and maybe there's a lack of purpose in your life.

Maybe you're running around with the wrong group. If you are spending time around people that are constantly drinking lots and lots of alcohol— in fact, there's a proverb and a psalm about this: do not hang out with drunkards, and don't hang out with people that are drinking in excess. But it might be time to find a new friend group.

Find a new friend group, people that are more purpose-driven, that have more meaning and significance in their life, that want to do things. And so they're deciding not to drink alcohol because that's going to interfere with them doing more good in the world and using their gifts to bless their family, to make an impact in society, to use their God-given gifts to live the best life possible.

And so remember, why are you drinking in the first place? Or why shouldn't you drink? And if you're not hanging around with the right group, a group that's drinking a lot of alcohol, find a new group of friends. Find new people to hang out with that have more purpose and meaning in their life.

You know, I think there's a lot of people out there that are looking for They're looking to feel something. Okay, I think that a lot of people are spiritually and emotionally numb to life. This is why we sit on our phones and sit there and scroll like we're on a slot machine.

We have meaningful relationship, unmeaningful relationships, work that's not—we don't feel like we're doing anything significant with our lives. So a lot of people are just walking around through life, just feeling numb. And I think people drink in order to feel something. Something. But understand that it's just another form of really numbing yourself.

And what I would encourage you to do is to dig into your life, in, in, in the gifts God's given you, into building a relationship with God, into finding your purpose. Like, what is that gift you have that only you can do? Dive deeper into those things, and I think you'll see you'll be filled with something. In fact, the Bible says this: don't be filled with wine, which leads To making mistakes.

Instead, be filled with the Spirit, be filled with spiritual things, be filled with God's Spirit, be filled with purpose and meaning and a life of significance. And so again, I see this so often that the biggest reason why people are drinking alcohol is to numb their pain rather than finding other things to fill themselves with that's truly going to lead to a more significant and meaningful life.

Okay. So, I hope you've enjoyed this episode here of the Dr. Josh Axe Show. We've dove into a lot in terms of the vitamins, the nutrients, but also the science and the social and the spiritual side of alcohol and what you should do and what you need to know. But again, I hope you've enjoyed this episode.

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