IF you celebrated New Year’s Eve with prosecco and shots, there’s a high chance you’ll spend the first day of the new year sitting on the loo.
Scientists don’t fully understand what causes hangovers, but every casual boozer knows its effects: puffy eyes, agonising headaches, sickness, and crippling anxiety, to name just a few.
And any regular drinker knows the agony of the dreaded hangover poo.
For some, that can mean diarrhoea and for other lucky people, constipation.
According to gastroenterologist Professor Vincent Ho from Western Sydney University, alcohol can mess around with the time it takes for food to move through our digestive system.
But exactly how this affects our bodies depends on what type of alcohol you’re guzzling.
“In general, alcoholic beverages such as whisky and vodka with high alcohol concentrations (above 15 per cent) slow down the movement of food in the stomach,” Professor Vincent wrote in an article for The Conversation.
That’s why you can sometimes feel quite full when drinking spirits.
For comparison, those with lower alcohol concentrations, like beer and wine, can speed up this transit time.
Accelerated passage of poo through the digestive system has been linked to diarrhoea.
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“Alcohol can also reduce the absorption of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in the first part of the small bowel [and] can lead to reduced absorption of xylose (a type of sugar),” the expert said.
“This means diarrhoea is more likely to occur in drinkers who also consume a lot of sugary foods such as sweets and sweetened juices.”
Chronic alcohol consumption can also have the same effect and potentially lead to inflammation and permanent changes to the gut microbiome.
Excessive alcohol consumption has also been linked to an increased risk of lactose intolerance, stomach and bowel cancer, as well as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
But short-term bouts of heavy drinking, like the occasional big night out, may have the complete opposite effect.
In a recent study into the effects of boozing among students at the University of Bristol, scientists found that binge drinking is more likely to lead to constipation than diarrhoea.
This may be down to the higher concentrations of alcohol delaying movement through the small intestines, causing more water to be absorbed from the stool and creating harder, drier poop.
But binge drinking doesn’t always lead to constipation.
Binge drinking in patients with IBS, for example, leads to diarrhoea, nausea and abdominal pain.
How to fix your alcohol poops
Like many things, prevention is better than cure. Avoiding certain booze could be the trick here.
“Some alcoholic beverages may affect your bowel motions more than others,” the professor said.
“If you notice a pattern of troubling poos after drinking certain drinks, it may be sensible to cut back on those beverages.”
Caffeine stimulates contractions in the bowel, so if you tend to get the runs after a night out, you might want to cut back on the cappuccinos.
Eating before drinking may also help slow down the absorption of alcohol and minimize its effects on the gut lining.
“Changes in bowel motions after drinking are usually short term and, for the most part, resolve themselves pretty efficiently,” the expert explained.
“But if symptoms such as diarrhoea persist beyond a couple of days after stopping alcohol, it may signify other concerning issues such as an underlying gut disorder like inflammatory bowel disease.
“If problems persist or if there are alarming symptoms such as blood in your stool, seek medical advice from a general practitioner.”
If constipation after drinking is the problem, then staying hydrated is important.
That doesn’t just mean downing a few glasses of water when you get home.
Professor Vincent also suggested that having water in between drinks also helps reduce dehydration and constipation.
“You should also eat before drinking alcohol, particularly protein and fibre-rich foods,” he added.
“Food in the stomach can slow the absorption of alcohol and may help protect against the negative effects of alcohol on the gut lining.”
Are you drinking too much?
The NHS recommendation is that adults consume no more than 14 units of alcohol per week.
Most people count their drinks as “one glass of wine” or “a pint of beer”, rather than units, however.
This test reveals if your drinking is a problem based both on how much you consume, and your behaviour around booze.
For reference, here are some unit examples:
- A single shot of spirit (for example, a vodka and lemonade): 1 unit
- Small glass of wine: 1.5 units
- Bottle of lager/beer/cider 5%: 1.7 units
- Can of lager/beer/cider 5.5%: 2.4 units
- Pint of low (3.6%) or high (5.2%) strength lager/beer/cider: 2 or 3 units
- Large glass of wine: 3 unit
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
