Additional Tips For Boosting Liver Health
In addition to reducing your alcohol intake, you can also take the following steps to help boost the health of your liver:
- Eat a healthy diet. Try to eat a diet rich in fresh produce, whole grains, and lean protein. Limit foods that are high in sugars, unhealthy fats, and refined carbohydrates.
- Break a sweat.Regular exercise can help reduce excess fat in your body, including fat in your liver.
- Manage weight. Having obesity can increase your risk of alcohol-related liver disease. If youre overweight or obese, work with your doctor to develop a weight loss plan thats right for you.
- Mind your medications. Some medications and supplements can stress your liver. Examples include acetaminophen , statins, and ephedra. Always take these as directed and avoid taking them with alcohol.
- Protect against hepatitis. Some ways to prevent getting viral hepatitis include getting vaccinated for hepatitis A and hepatitis B, using condoms and other barrier methods during sex, and not reusing needles or other injectable drug materials.
- Have regular checkups.Seeing your doctor regularly can help your doctor identify and treat any underlying health conditions early. Additionally, if you have early symptoms of alcohol-related liver disease, dont hesitate to make an appointment with your doctor.
Kidney Pain Kidney Stones And Kidney Infections: An Alcohol Link
What about the kidney pain some people claim to feel after a night of drinking? According to Dr. Bobart, theres no research to suggest a link between alcohol and kidney pain. But alcohol acts as a diuretic and can leave you dehydrated.
Similarly, theres minimal evidence to suggest that alcohol increases the risk of kidney stones or kidney infections. We do know that people who dont drink enough fluids have a greater chance of developing kidney stones. So, people who drink heavily and are often dehydrated may be at greater risk though the science of alcohols role in kidney stones is still unclear, he adds.
What is clear is that heavy drinking takes a toll on your organs, kidneys included. Many people drink more than they realize. In the U.S., heavy drinking is defined as:
- For women: More than seven drinks per week or more than three drinks in a single day.
- For men: More than 14 drinks per week, or more than four drinks in a single day.
I urge anyone who has any trouble with alcohol to seek medical help, says Dr. Bobart. Doing so is nothing to be ashamed of. We have a lot of avenues to help people, and there are resources out there to get people the help they need.
One Major Side Effect Drinking Alcohol Has On Your Kidneys Expert Says
Kidney damage is one of those thoughts that seems a little visceral: Just the thought of hurting your kidneys might make you feel a twinge of pain. A Cleveland Clinic kidney specialist is explaining how one habitthat is, drinkingcan cause long-term harm to your kidneys, in addition to what you might have already heard about its effects on your liver.
Dr. Shane Bobart, MD, is a nephrologist at a Florida campus of the Cleveland Clinic. Bobart explains, via the hospital system’s blog, that your liver isn’t the only organ that gets affected when you drink. Alcohol also does a number to the kidneys, which, according to the Clinic, are responsible for filtering waste out of your blood, regulating the balance of water and minerals in the body, and producing hormones.
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Those make for some seriously important tasks, right? Well, get this: The Cleveland Clinic explains that downing five or more drinks in a short period can cause toxins from alcohol to “build up in your blood so fast your kidneys can’t maintain the proper fluid balance.” This can cause what’s known as “acute kidney injury,” and it can lead to chronic kidney disease.
Binge-drinking isn’t the only danger: An alcohol habit over time can double your risk of developing kidney disease, as the Clinic credits the National Kidney Foundation with pointing out.
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Effects On Mental Health
Alcohol can also impact your mental health. As a known depressant, alcohol suppresses the functions of the brain, including mood stabilizers. This is why people often feel emotionally unstable or have mood swings while under the influence of alcohol. Studies show that alcoholism can contribute to or result in psychological disorders, such as major depression and anxiety. The disease model of addiction focuses on how the chemical outcomes of addiction in the brain such as developing a psychological disorder remove or impair a persons ability to stop using.
If you or someone you know is suffering because they are drinking too much, it is possible to get help and get treatment.
The Impact Of Alcohol & Drugs On The Excretory System
When you take drugs or drink alcohol, your digestive system helps to break down and metabolize these toxins. Then, the excretory system works to expel them. Commonly abused drugs can interfere with the normal functions of your digestive excretory system in specific ways.
- Cocaine can cause kidney damage and renal failure.
- Benzodiazepines can cause kidney damage through a breakdown of the muscles.
- MDMA, Molly, or ecstasy can trigger dehydration and hyperthermia, which can lead to kidney failure.
- Methamphetamine creates difficulties with kidney filtration, which can cause a buildup of toxins in the bloodstream.
- Opioids can cause muscle breakdown, kidney damage, and kidney failure.
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The Function Of The Kidneys
Theres nothing unhealthy about the moderate consumption of alcohol, says the National Kidney Foundation, and there are even health benefits to one or two drinks now and then. Drinking too much, however, causes a swath of medical problems and can trigger the development of kidney disease.
One of the main responsibilities of the kidneys is to sift out harmful substances from the blood, and alcohol is one such substance. Small amounts of alcohol can be easily filtered and disposed of, but too much alcohol affects how the kidneys work, impairing them to the point of not being able to properly purify the blood of the alcohol content. Alcohol is capable of undoing the kidneys ability to filter out toxins, and while this is not usually a problem with normal drinking, it becomes a serious problem when the drinking is abusive or excessive.
Additionally, since the kidneys are responsible for keeping the right amount of water in the body, compromised kidneys cannot stop alcohol from drying out the body beyond safe levels, affecting not only the kidneys themselves, but even basic cells and organs in other systems of the body.
Can You Reverse Kidney Damage From Alcohol
The clinic notes that acute kidney failure as the result of alcoholism can develop in a matter of days or even hours. If untreated or if alcohol consumption continues, it can be fatal. Full recovery is possible, but there is the risk that the kidneys will be damaged beyond normal functioning.
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Alcohols Effect On Kidneys
Your kidneys have an important role to fill. They filter waste from your blood, regulate the balance of water and minerals in your body and produce hormones.
When you drink heavily, your kidneys have to work harder to filter out the alcohol. And in rare cases, binge drinking five or more drinks at a time can cause a sudden drop in kidney function called acute kidney injury. This serious condition occurs when toxins from alcohol build up in your blood so fast your kidneys cant maintain the proper fluid balance. Though its reversible with treatment, it can increase the risk of developing chronic kidney disease.
Regular, heavy alcohol use can also be harmful to your kidneys over time. According to the National Kidney Foundation, regular heavy drinking can double the risk of chronic kidney disease. The risk is even higher in people who drink heavily and also smoke.
Causes Of Kidney Pain After Drinking Alcohol
Kidney pain after drinking alcohol may be immediate, or it can be a dull pain even if the drinking has stopped. Here are some common causes for pain of the kidneys after drinking alcohol.
- Your kidneys are overworking to filter out the alcohol
- You have a fragile renal pelvis and the excess amount of urine production leads to pain
- You have a pelviureteric junction obstruction
- You have kidney stones
- You have liver disease
Kidney pain can vary depending on the underlying cause. It may feel sharp, sudden, or excruciating, it may worsen at night, it may feel like a severe pain between the buttocks and lower ribs. The pain may radiate down, and it may be accompanied by fever, nausea, blood in urine, vomiting, and painful urination.
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Overcome Alcohol Addiction At Footprints Beachside Recovery
The sooner you ask for help, the sooner you can be back on track with a healthy life and healthy body. At Footprints Beachside Recovery, we offer an individualized approach with a knowledgeable team and a medical doctor. The holistic approach treats not only the body, but also the mind and spirit. Contact us right away to get the help you need.
References:
Can Alcohol Cause Kidney Failure
Drinking too much can cause a ton of health issues, one of them being compromised kidney function. Can alcohol cause kidney failure? Yes. This in turn can lead to liver disease or outright liver failure, the results of which can be fatal Your kidneys play an integral part in your overall health and you cannot live without them.
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Safe Levels Of Drinking Alcohol For Better Kidney Health
The recommended serving for alcohol is usually one drink, but the size of the drink can vary depending on the beverage. For example, one drink can be classified as 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor.
Having more than three drinks a day, or seven in a week, is problematic for your kidneys. Binge drinking refers to having more than five drinks in a two-hour period.
Pregnant women, seniors, persons taking certain medications, persons with smaller body build, or persons with certain medical conditions should avoid drinking alcohol as much as possible.
Health Issues Associated With Drinking Outside Of Renal System
Even a small amount of alcohol can impact your health in a negative way and is associated with an increased risk for death and other health problems. Short-term risks of excessive alcohol use include injuries, such as motor vehicle crash injuries, alcohol poisoning, risky sexual behaviors, miscarriage, and stillbirth.2
In the long-term, drinking can cause high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, digestive issues, cancer , weakening immune system, learning and memory issues, mental health problems, social problems, and alcohol use disorders .2
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Effects Of Alcohol Consumption On Ckd Incidence
Many studies have confirmed that unhealthy diet and lifestyle can cause various diseases, and heavy alcohol consumption is one of the important factors . As an influential factor of many chronic diseases, alcohol consumption has been increasingly studied in recent years. Many studies have shown that alcohol consumption is related to cardiovascular disease, urinary protein, and CKD . This review focused on 21 clinical studies of the relationship between alcohol consumption and CKD, including 13 cohort studies and 8 cross-sectional studies. The characteristics of the study design and other details of these studies are presented in .
All You Need To Know How Alcohol Affects Our Kidneys
There are far too many celebrities who have died of cirrhosis of the liver because they indulged in a glass too many of some kind of alcohol, too many times. So, it is unlikely that you are unaware of the downside of alcohol. However, do you know how alcohol can impair kidney function, which might even cause kidney failure? After all, kidneys are vital organs like the heart, lungs, liver, and eyes are. Unfortunately, alcohol is not simply so much fluid which the kidneys need to flush out.Beer flushes out kidney stones: Yes, there are many doctors who recommend drinking beer to flush out small renal calculi kidney stones in lay parlance but that does not mean you go on a drinking binge under the pretext that it is good for your kidney stones. In fact, there is a marked relation between heavy drinking, and the probability of getting kidney stones. So, first you should understand what kidney function entails.
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Alcohol Risks: A Body Out Of Balance
Heavy drinking also has an indirect effect on kidney health. The body is a big domino set, says Dr. Bobart. If you have one part of your body thats not in balance, it can cause problems in many other parts of the body.
Drinking heavily can increase the risk of high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes, for example. Both of those conditions are the mostcommon causes of chronic kidney disease in the United States.
Chronic alcohol use is also a major cause of liver disease. When your liver isnt functioning well, it can impair blood flow to your kidneys. Liver disease can have significant impacts on the kidneys, says Dr. Bobart.
Other Effects Of Ethanol On The Kidneys
Some studies found that ethanol has an influence on renal damage, such as apoptosis and epithelial mesenchymal transdifferentiation. Nesreen and Sayed discovered that alcohol consumption significantly increased renal caspase3, caspase8, and caspase9 activity, and ethanol toxicity can increase the ratios of Bax and Bcl-2 in kidney tissues compared to a control group . This indicates that long-term ethyl alcohol consumption can activate both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis in the kidneys . However, other studies found that long-term alcohol consumption aggravates renal fibrosis, which may be related to epithelial mesenchymal transdifferentiation and fibrosis induced by ethanol .
The possible mechanism of alcohol-induced renal injury.
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Effects On The Sex Organs
Heavy alcohol use can affect both the male and female reproductive systems. Heavy alcohol consumption, either frequent or infrequent, is linked to reduced testosterone levels. Heavy drinking can affect sperm maturation. In females, alcohol can disrupt the menstrual cycle. Alcohol use during pregnancy can be harmful to the baby. Prolonged overuse of alcohol can cease ovulation and trigger early menopause.
Alcohol And Kidney Pain: What Are The Effects Of Alcohol On Kidneys
Your kidneys are vital to keeping your body healthy and free of toxins. Your kidneys filter waste out of your body through the urine. They also help maintain a balance of fluid and electrolytes.
When you drink alcohol, the kidneys have to work extra hard. Therefore, one effect of alcohol on the kidneys is pain. Additionally, urinating often is another effect of alcohol on kidneys. You will typically urinate more because of the flushing of alcohol from the body. This flushing can lead to dehydration and kidney pain.
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Effects On The Immune System
As mentioned above, alcohol interferes with immune cells in the lungs. Thus, alcohol can suppress your ability to fight infections. But that is not the only way that heavy alcohol use impairs the immune system. It also kills vital immune cells in the intestines and halts the maturation of the immune system in underaged drinkers. Those suffering from or at risk for alcoholism have been proven to be at higher risk for diseases like tuberculosis, cancer, and even HIV.
What Are The Early Signs Of Liver Damage From Alcohol
One of your livers jobs is to break down potentially toxic substances. This includes alcohol. When you drink, different enzymes in your liver work to break down alcohol so that it can be removed from your body.
When you drink more than your liver can effectively process, alcohol and its byproducts can damage your liver. This initially takes the form of increased fat in your liver, but over time it can lead to inflammation and the accumulation of scar tissue.
The early stages of alcohol-related liver disease often have no symptoms. Because of this, you may not even know that youve experienced liver damage due to alcohol.
If symptoms are present, they may include:
- swelling of your liver, which may lead to discomfort in the upper right side of your abdomen
Alcohol-related liver disease actually encompasses three different liver conditions. Lets discuss each of these in a bit more detail.
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Alcoholism And Kidney Disease
The human body has dozens of vital organs, and the kidneys are among the most important. They regulate water intake and outtake, they balance the amount of minerals in the body, and they produce vital hormones, according to the Kidney Foundation of Canada. Threats to the normal functioning of the kidneys are serious medical problems, and alcoholism is a contributing factor to kidney disease.
If you or a loved one has pre-existing kidney issues or are concerned about alcohol consumption and kidney health, it may be time to seek professional help. Our admissions navigators are available 24/7 at Who Answers? Who answers the helpline calls. to discuss treatment options and give you the information you need to begin your road to recovery.