Alcohol’s Effects on Your Bowel Movements

You’re enjoying a night out with friends, cocktail in hand when suddenly the joy of the evening takes a sharp turn. You find yourself sprinting to the bathroom. Sound familiar? Alcohol can make us feel good in the moment, but it often leaves our digestive system in a state of turmoil. 

Let’s follow alcohol’s journey through our digestive system from the second it touches our lips through the egress of our intestines, which sometimes ends in an expedited or delayed release. Whether we’re looking to avoid the dreaded “alcohol poops” or aiming to improve our gut health, understanding how alcohol affects our digestive system can help keep our bathroom sprints at bay. Let’s dive into a less talked about side of alcohol — its effects on our bowel movements.

Understanding the Interaction: Alcohol Metabolism and Your Digestive System

Alcohol, unlike the food and drinks we consume, is absorbed in the bloodstream, causing intoxication when our blood alcohol concentration rises. Although it’s absorbed into our bloodstream, each part of the digestive process is still involved in absorbing, processing, and breaking down alcohol (metabolization). Let’s follow the path of the digestive process to see how alcohol affects each stage.

1. Mouth and Throat

‍Although we associate our stomach and intestines with digestion, the process begins as soon as food or drink enters our mouth. When we drink alcohol, small amounts are absorbed through the lining of our mouth and throat. 

As the rest travels through the rest of the digestive tract, the alcohol that is absorbed into the blood begins to break down into a toxic compound known as acetaldehyde. 

Since alcohol is absorbed into our bloodstream, acetaldehyde not only damages our cells within our digestive system but also other parts of our body — explaining the many health conditions associated with drinking. But this is just the first step — let’s keep going!

2. Esophagus

‍The esophagus is like a muscular tube that connects our throat to our stomach. It contracts to help food move to the stomach. As the toxins in alcohol flow down our esophagus, it can irritate and damage the lining — impacting proper digestion. 

It also relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter (a valve that separates the stomach from the esophagus) which makes it easier for stomach acid to flow back up, causing acid reflux and impaired movement of food and liquid to our stomach.

3. Stomach

‍Once alcohol reaches our stomach, about 20% is absorbed through our stomach lining. This means that any food we have in our stomach can slow down alcohol absorption. That’s why we commonly hear the recommendation to avoid drinking on an empty stomach. 

Like in other parts of the digestive tract, the toxins in alcohol irritate cells in our stomach lining, causing inflammation. Alcohol also increases stomach acid production, further increasing gut irritation and inflammation.

Our gut microbiome is full of healthy bacteria, which aids digestion and prevents overgrowth of harmful bacteria. However, alcohol destroys harmful bacteria, affecting not only digestion, but opening the door to certain bowel diseases such as IBD (inflammatory bowel disease).

4. Intestines

‍The majority of alcohol absorption happens in our small intestine due to the large surface area (roughly the size of a tennis court!). When our intestines are occupied with absorbing alcohol, focus is shifted away from their normal functions which include breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, extracting water, and moving the waste along to be eliminated.

Alcohol’s effects on our intestines impact intestinal motility (movement) and nutrient absorption, which is apparent in our post-drinking poops.

5. Liver

‍Our liver is tasked with breaking down a majority of the toxins in alcohol. It helps break down acetaldehyde into a less active compound, acetate, then water and carbon dioxide to be eliminated. 

However, we can only metabolize alcohol at a certain rate (roughly 1 standard drink per hour). When we drink more or faster than our liver can metabolize it, acetaldehyde builds up in our bloodstream, giving it more time to cause damage to our cells and organs.

Now that we understand how alcohol is metabolized and impacts each step of the digestive process, let’s zoom in on its effects on our bowel movements.

Alcohol’s Effects on Your Bowel Movements

Since alcohol affects every step of our digestive process, it can affect our “number two” in different ways. Here are some common experiences: 

1. Liquid Lament

Alcohol can lead to watery stools for several reasons. As we’ve discussed, alcohol impacts the function of our intestines. As it agitates our intestines, the muscles in our colon contract more frequently, pushing out our waste faster than normal. Since the process is sped up, our intestines don’t have time to digest properly, leading to diarrhea. 

Additionally, our large intestine typically expels water from our stool, which gives us solid poops that are easy to eliminate. When the function of our large intestine is impaired, water doesn’t get pulled out and again leaves us with watery stools. But alcohol can also have the opposite effect!

2. The “Slow-Go”

While some of us may find ourselves running to the toilet after drinking, others may find themselves sitting for longer than usual, due to constipation. 

Alcohol suppresses the secretion of vasopressin, which is the hormone that regulates water retention. This causes us to urinate more frequently, leading to dehydration. When we’re dehydrated, our intestines try to preserve water by absorbing fluids within our intestines. This leads to dry and hard stools that are difficult to pass.

Remember when we disclosed that alcohol can speed up motility in our intestines? Well, drinks with a higher alcohol content can actually slow down motility, leading to constipation. 

3. Excessive Trips to the Toilet 

As if that’s not enough, alcohol doesn’t just affect our poops, but also how often we go. Diarrhea and constipation can lead to excessive trips to the toilet.

Expedited digestion not only leads to watery stool, but can cause us to go more frequently. On the other hand, constipation can make it difficult for us to pass stool, causing several trips to the toilet in order for us to get it out.

4. Long-term Tummy Turmoil

Alcohol not only affects our stool right after drinking and the day after, while our body works to eliminate alcohol, but it can also cause damage to our digestive tract. It damages cells within our GI system and disrupts our gut microbiome. 

When there’s an overgrowth of harmful bacteria in our gut, we may experience negative effects such as constipation, bloating, and discomfort. Since our stomach lining is damaged, it’s also more permeable, allowing harmful bacteria to travel to different parts of our body in what’s known as leaky gut syndrome. 

Constant exposure to toxins can also lead to chronic digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

As we can see, “alcohol poops” vary widely. So what leads to these different experiences?

What Influences Alcohol’s Effects on Your Bowel Movements?

To better avoid gut-wrenching bowel movements after drinking, let’s first dive into the factors that can influence it. It may go without saying that the amount of alcohol we drink matters. More alcohol means greater disruptions to our digestive system. But actually, the type of alcohol also plays a role. Research shows that alcoholic beverages with lower alcohol content more commonly cause watery stools whereas higher alcohol drinks more frequently cause constipation.

Individual differences impact the way we respond to alcohol. Genetic factors such as activity of the enzymes that break down alcohol (ADH and ALDH) can affect absorption and therefore breakdown and digestion. Other factors such as gut microbiome composition and pre-existing digestive conditions can put us at greater risk of bowel disruptions and developing bowel diseases.

Last but not least, food and water can also play a role. Having food in our stomach prior to drinking can slow down absorption and moderate alcohol’s effects. While eating before drinking alcohol is generally a good idea, specific foods such as spicy foods, caffeine, and refined sugars can exacerbate GI discomfort. Along with the food we eat, staying hydrated helps combat the dehydrating effects of alcohol and its effects on our bowel movements.

Managing and Preventing “Alcohol Poops”

“Alcohol poops” are unpleasant, to say the least. Now that we’ve dissected how alcohol impacts our digestive system and affects our number two, we can more effectively prevent and manage post-drinking bowel battles. Here are some effective strategies: 

• Choose alternatives. Opt for non-alcoholic beverages to avoid alcohol’s harmful effects on our digestive tract. Better yet, choose digestion-friendly options such as kombucha, aloe vera juice, and kefir.
• Follow moderation guidelines. If choosing to drink, stick to moderate drinking guidelines which is 2 drinks or less in a day for men and 1 drink or less in a day for women.
• Avoid mixing alcohol and caffeine. Mixing alcohol and caffeine can be a recipe for disaster. Caffeine can further irritate our stomach and speed up our digestion, amplifying the negative effects of alcohol on our bowel movements. 
• Stay hydrated. Drinking plenty of water helps things move smoothly through the digestive tract and helps prevent constipation.
• Eat beforehand. Having food in our stomach helps slow down alcohol absorption and puts a barrier between the alcohol and our stomach lining. Eat a balanced meal with complex carbs, fiber, and protein for a smoother go the next day.
• Maintain gut health. Managing our overall gut health through eating a healthy diet, managing stress, getting adequate sleep, and supplementing with pre- and probiotics helps mitigate some of the damage from alcohol. 
• Seek support. If we’re concerned about our drinking habits or notice that alcohol is taking a toll on our gut health, we can reach out for support from others. Early intervention is the most effective way to prevent further damage from alcohol. Reach out to family and friends, join peer support groups, and explore treatment options.

“Alcohol poops” are just one way that alcohol’s detrimental effects on our health are visible. Quitting or cutting back on alcohol will be beneficial not only for our bowel health but also for our overall well-being. And don’t forget, Reframe is here to support you along the way!

Balancing Booze and Bowel Bliss

Some of us may have been aware that alcohol makes us pee more often, but alcohol can also affect our bowel movements, and not in a good way. It can cause effects on opposite sides of the spectrum from diarrhea to constipation. This is because of the toxic effects of alcohol on our digestive system. Not only can drinking cause short-term changes to our stool, but it can also lead to bowel diseases in the long term. Quitting or cutting back on alcohol helps us avoid throwing our bowel movements out of whack!