What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain & Health

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Science, Health & Fitness, Life Sciences

4.8 • 26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 August 2022

⏱️ 119 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, I discuss the physiological effects that drinking alcohol has on the brain and body at different levels of consumption and over time. I also describe genetic differences that predispose certain individuals to alcoholism, binge and habit-drinking. I explain alcohol metabolism in simple terms and how it effectively acts as a poison, leading to cellular stress and damage. I then explain that it impacts neuronal function and changes our thinking and behavior – hallmarks of inebriation. I also discuss how alcohol consumption of different amounts impacts inflammation, stress, neurodegeneration, and cancer risk and negatively impacts the gut microbiome, brain thickness, hormone balance, mood and feelings of motivation. Additionally, I discuss the biology of hangovers and describe science-based strategies to mitigate the severity of a hangover. Since alcohol is one of the most widely consumed recreational substances, this episode ought to be of relevance to everyone. Indeed, even low-to-moderate alcohol consumption negatively impacts the brain and body in direct ways. The goal of this episode is to help people make informed decisions about their alcohol consumption that are in keeping with their mental and physical health goals. For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Thesis: https://takethesis.com/huberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Effects of Alcohol Consumption (00:02:25) Momentous Supplements (00:03:19) Low to Moderate Alcohol Consumption & Neurodegeneration (00:06:52) AG1 (Athletic Greens), InsideTracker, Thesis (00:10:46) Historical Context & Uses of Alcohol (00:13:28) Alcohol Metabolism, “Empty Calories” (00:18:23) Inebriation: Top-Down Inhibition, Impulsivity & Memory Formation (00:24:23) Long-Lasting Effects & Impulsivity, Neuroplasticity & Reversibility (00:27:55) Food & Alcohol Absorption (00:30:07) Alcohol & Serotonin, SSRIs & Depression, Risk for Alcoholism, Blackouts (00:37:39) Predisposition for Alcoholism; Chronic Consumption, Cortisol & Stress (00:44:53) AG1 (Athletic Greens) (00:46:07) Genetic Predisposition for Alcoholism, Consuming Alcohol Too Young (00:52:27) Gut-Liver-Brain Axis: Alcohol, Gut Microbiome, Inflammation & Leaky Gut (00:59:46) Tool: Improving/Replenishing Gut Microbiome (01:02:44) Reducing Alcohol Consumption & Stress (01:04:25) Hangover: Alcohol & Sleep, Anxiety, Headache (01:12:11) Hangover Recovery, Adrenaline & Deliberate Cold Exposure (01:17:16) Hangover Recovery, Dehydration & Electrolytes (01:20:45) Types of Alcohol & Hangover Severity, Congeners (01:25:25) Alcohol Tolerance, Dopamine & Serotonin, Pleasure-Pain Balance (01:33:36) Are There Any Positive Effects of Alcohol?, Resveratrol (01:35:42) Alcohol & Brain Thickness (01:37:11) Alcohol & Cancer Risk: DNA Methylation, Breast Cancer Risk (01:44:31) Mitigating Cancer Risk, Folate, B Vitamins (01:46:54) Alcohol & Pregnancy, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (01:50:58) Hormones: Testosterone & Estrogen Balance (01:55:09) Negative Effects of Alcohol Consumption (01:58:35) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous Supplements, Instagram, Twitter, Neural Network Newsletter, Huberman Lab Clips Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
0:08.8	I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and
0:12.4	Ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today we're discussing alcohol. One of the most commonly consumed substances on the planet Earth.
0:20.2	She mentioned that both humans and non-human animals consume alcohol
0:23.9	either for recreational purposes because they like the feeling that it gives them or for medicinal purposes or for other purposes that we'll discuss.
0:33.4	We are of course going to discuss the effects of alcohol on our biology,
0:37.7	ranging from its effects on individual cells, on organs and organ systems in our brain and body.
0:43.5	We are also going to discuss the effects of the effects of alcohol.
0:47.1	That is what being inebriated really does to our thinking and our behavior and how it does it.
0:52.0	And we are going to address what seems to be one of the more common questions out there, which is whether or not
0:57.0	low to moderate amounts of drinking are better for our health than zero alcohol consumption at all.
1:02.8	And of course we will talk about severe alcohol intake, binge drinking.
1:08.2	We will also talk about hangover and what science says about ways to reduce the effects of hangover,
1:14.3	either by doing things that are inoculatory meaning before you drink or while you drink as well as things to do if you happen to have a
1:21.7	hangover, we will discuss some of the genetic differences for alcohol and alcoholism.
1:26.6	And we will discuss alcohol consumption in young people and how that can be especially detrimental for reasons that I think are going to be quite surprising to most of you.
1:36.3	My goal is that by the end of today's episode, you will have a thorough understanding of what alcohol does to your brain and body and that you will be able to make informed
1:43.1	decisions as to whether or not you should be consuming zero absolutely no alcohol, small to moderate amounts of alcohol.
1:50.5	And again, we'll define exactly what that means, small to moderate amounts.
1:55.9	And if you or somebody else that you know is consuming excessive amounts of alcohol that are clearly detrimental to your health, some of the better routes and resources that you can use in order to remove that dependence and or consumption.
2:09.2	I'd like to preface all of that by saying that today's discussion is really geared toward giving you information.
2:16.0	It is not about judging alcohol intake or lack of alcohol intake. I just want you to be able to make the most informed decision about alcohol possible.
	...

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