Understanding Alcohol's Impact: Social and Biological Effects
From science to social life, here's why I added alcohol back to my diet.
Alcohol is a huge part of human culture, even more than is reasonably justified. In the last quarter of 2023 I made the decision to reintroduce alcohol back into my diet. For the first 3.5 years of my “carnivore journey” alcohol was very limited — maybe one drink per month. Herein I’ll explain the rationale for my decision as well as health, beyond nutrition, and social considerations.
Before getting into the nuance of this subject, let’s review some biological / nutritional sources. Andrew Huberman has an expectedly lengthy and thorough podcast episode on alcohol where we can begin our discussion.
1-2 drinks / week reduce gray matter in the brain (ref., ref.) and 12-24 drinks per week are associated with severe neurodegeneration. Obviously there’s a huge difference between 2 drinks / week and 2 drinks / day, so, let’s continue.
Huberman describes a “contour of effects” where some people feel more energized and are “the life of the party” even as they consume more alcohol — this is a particularly high risk factor for alcoholism. However, some people start to feel sleepy after 1 or 2 drinks.
With most consumers of alcohol, there is an initial emotionally hyperactive state (mild euphoria, “feeling cheeky”, “Level 2”). After that the prefrontal cortex (logic, planning, decision making) starts to shut down. This is part of the “dis-inhibiting” effect of alcohol — people start to talk louder, make more impulsive decisions, fidget or dance, stand up and sit down, and memory consolidation is impaired (forget what we did).
These effects compound in a non-helpful way due to a phenomenon I call “drunk logic.” Drunk logic goes something like this: “We all want to stay at Level 2, where we love the world. But, if 2 drinks makes me feel this good, 3 drinks must make me feel great! And then, 4 drinks must be even better!”
The picture gets even more bleak when we consider that 1-2 drinks per night results in more cortisol (stress hormone) in our brain even when people are not drinking. It’s also no secret that alcohol disrupts the gut microbiome (ref.), increases breast cancer risk (ref.), and is obviously detrimental to fetal development.
Alcohol is also notably disruptive to our sleep architecture (ref., ref., ref.). Essentially, alcohol sedates us which is not the same as a restful progression and cycling of sleep stages; in addition to increasing sleep latency (time to fall asleep), sleep apnea, and frequency of waking up while asleep. Specifically, REM sleep (and emotional regulation) are prioritized by the brain over SWS (physical recovery), which is exacerbated by alcohol and further detrimental if we’re trying to optimize our physical recovery.
The effects of alcohol on our hormones is also not very favorable. A review of rats and post-menopausal women consuming 1 - 2 drinks / day for 4 weeks showed a pro-estrogenic effect from consuming the congeners used to make alcohol (ref.). This effect was statistically significant for bourboun drinkers (at 2 drinks / day) and for red-wine drinkers (at 1 drink / day).
It’s important to note that the study Huberman references regarding alcohol increasing the conversion of testosterone to estrogen (ref.) had rats consuming 36% of their calories from alcohol — let that sink in for a minute. Huberman also notes that 0.5oz of alcohol (or half of one drink) can induce a hormetic effect — what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
However, there are notable other problematic effects of the stress alcohol causes on the body (that same hormetic effect) both acutely and / or chronically regarding testosterone and sperm production (ref., ref., ref.). Though one study did find that < 8 drinks / week did not have detrimental effects on testosterone production in Korean men (ref).
Peter Attia notes that it’s “impossible to account for all confounding (lifestyle) factors” regarding alcohol consumption and points to a Chinese analysis that showed:
all levels of alcohol consumption are associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease and hypertension.
there is a non-linear effect with greater consumption (meaning those with the highest levels of consumption have an exponential risk).
Peter points out the inverse of this also being important, that even “modest decreases” in consumption will have an exponential effect in decreasing cardiovascular risk.
Chris Masterjohn notes that while alcohol is devoid of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) it is a macronutrient (used as calories) which means it’s metabolized differently than pharmaceuticals or other drugs of abuse. Recall though, that there is still a dopaminergic effect of alcohol.
Both Masterjohn and Huberman reference 0.3 - 0.5 drinks (ounces of pure alcohol) / day is enough to induce a net positive hormetic effect. However, Masterjohn suggests that 1 drink / day is the extent of the “net benefit” before deleterious effects begin to accumulate.
Robb Wolf of course brings nuance to this discussion as well, emphasizing trying to steer life and social or business affairs away from the night life and if that’s unavoidable (or undesirable) making smart-er choices — such as light liquor and consuming electrolytes before and after alcohol — even if they aren’t the smart-est scientifically speaking.
Is there more to health than nutrition?
Yes.
“Longevity” has become a trite buzzword akin to “breath work”, “trauma”, and “mindfulness.” For anyone interested, I’ll simply ask them to review the literature on the importance of purpose and social connections in one’s health and longevity.
Much to my point and circumstances then, what is the point of immaculate health if I’m isolated, lonely, and miserable?
To illustrate, let me point to some other well known animal-based / carnivore influencers. Again, this isn’t to “pick on them” or to stir up more needless drama; it’s to illustrate differences and why discussion is necessary.
Case 1: Paul Saladino
I’ve certainly been guilty of being both a zealot for and a critic against Paul at different stages and for different reasons in my journey. Regarding this post in particular, I’d actually defend him because the points he mentions can all be scaled to different magnitudes. A busy family isn’t an excuse to cop out of better decisions simply because they aren’t “the best.”
However, the barrage of commenters rightly point to just that, where is Paul’s family? I’m not here to judge anyone, only make an observation — in this case about what is missing. For a flicker in time, Paul mentioned a girlfriend, but it’s been naught before or since. The same is not true for the gentlemen below nor others like Jamie Seeman or Gabrielle Lyon. That’s strange for someone in their mid-40s who advocates for “radical health”, initially named their podcast “Fundamentla Health”, and once emphasized “nuance.”
Cases 2 and 3: Shawn Baker and Anthony Chaffee
Shawn is in his mid-50s and Anthony in his early-40s. They both have tw/een children and have been doing a strict carnivore diet for 7 or 8 years. Are you keeping up with the math? They married their respective spouses and spawned their children while not on a strict carnivore diet.
This theme could be used to illustrate a number of different scenarios, but for me it’s alcohol. My profession is inherently isolating. My hobbies tend to be proverbial, though not always literal, “sausage fests” — climbing, grappling, weightlifting.
I’m also a very introverted person, unless I’m very comfortable in the environment (e.g. grappling mats). So, it’s difficult for me to get out and socialize which is a well known contributor to overall health and well being.
The short version is that I want to use alcohol as a dis-inhibitor and social conduit. I don’t want an excuse to go on benders. I want to shake things up and break out of a routine that is no longer serving my needs; or rather adjust my lifestyle / routine to meet a new need or renewed focus (on social and romantic relationships).
Further, I want to emphasize that there is a huge difference between drinking at home alone versus “out on the town.” It is a matter of attention and attraction. What is the “main event?” Is it the booze or the people?
Huberman and Chris Willix also talked about alcohol and summarized the above Huberman Lab podcast. Therein, Huberman mentions trying to utilize “other health promoting activities” as social connectors — sauna, cold plunge, etc. However, this is quite a privilege and relative to large cities who have such resources or facilities. Lest we fall into the various stereotypes and saturated “sausage fests” I’ve already mentioned.
Frequent readers will note that I have a growing disdain for the term “moderation” or implications of “balance.” Rather, I advocate for (educated) choices and acceptance of their implied consequences. If we, then, make a conscious choice that the social benefits of low to moderate alcohol consumption is a net positive, and that the “focus of the daily / weekly outing” is in fact the people and not the booze, then the next sensible question is, “how much is enough?”
Recall that the hormetic range is 0.3 - 0.5 drinks / day. That’s about 3 drinks / week. Recall that there have been studies that show that 1 drink / day has a marginal effect in some areas and a significant effect in others. On average, then, we’re looking at 3 - 6 drinks / week.
From the Huberman Lab Podcast, the alcohol types from best to worst in terms of hangover symptoms are:
Beer
Gin
Vodka
Whiskey
Brandy
We also want to recall that the estrogenic effects of alcohol don’t map well on to the hangover list. Beer may give you less of a hangover, but is more estrogenic. On the other hand, brandy and wine will give you the worst hangovers and also have a high estrogenic effect. Our data sheet then looks something like: 3 - 6 drinks / week of gin, vodka, or whiskey.
Huberman and Robb Wolf also noted some helpful tips to further mitigate the deleterious effects of alcohol — remember, we know there is risk and we are making an intentional decision.
Hydrate well with electroltyes before and after alcohol consumption.
Ensure healthy gut microbiome.
Cold exposure the day after, but don’t swim when drunk!
Summary:
I hope this has been a fair and educational review of alcohol. It is a neurotoxin. It is a macronutrient. It does effect our brain chemistry and structure. It does effect our hormone production and sleep.
Alcohol is also implicated in vastly different fashions depending on various cultures around the world. In no small part this is surely contributed to by racial differences in tolerance and polymorphisms regarding metabolism of alcohol.
The point I’m emphasizing for my own wellness journey has less to do with longevity and more to do with, for lack of a better term, “capacity.” Rather than neurotically focusing on extending our time, assuming that will allow us to accomplish more or feel more fulfilled; what if the answer is “less and better?”
What can you to do fit “more” into the time you do have and ensure that what you’ve done with what you’ve been given isn’t just an aggregate “more”, but is unequivocally “better” than if you had chosen and acted otherwise?
Cheers.