Most people know that drinking too much alcohol regularly can harm the body over time. But a new study shows that even just one night of heavy drinking—what doctors call a “binge”—can cause real damage to your gut, even in healthy adults.
For women, a binge usually means having four drinks in about two hours. For men, it’s five drinks in the same amount of time.
This new research was done by a team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and published in the journal Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. The scientists wanted to understand exactly how binge drinking harms the digestive system, and why that harm can lead to more serious health problems later.
Our gut lining acts like a wall that keeps harmful bacteria and toxins inside the intestines where they belong. It protects the rest of the body by stopping these unwanted invaders from leaking into the bloodstream.
But when this barrier is weakened, a condition called “leaky gut” can happen. This lets bacteria and their toxic byproducts escape into the blood, where they can cause widespread inflammation.
The research team, led by Dr. Scott Minchenberg, looked at what happens to the gut when a person drinks a lot of alcohol in a short amount of time. They found that even a short burst of high alcohol intake can cause injury to the gut lining. It sends out signals that call in special immune cells that are usually used to fight infections.
One group of these immune cells, called neutrophils, was especially active. These cells can release sticky, web-like structures called NETs (neutrophil extracellular traps).
While NETs are supposed to trap harmful germs, they also damage healthy gut tissue. When this happens in the upper part of the small intestine, the protective barrier becomes weak, and bacteria and their toxins can leak into the bloodstream.
To see if they could stop this from happening, the researchers used an enzyme that breaks down NETs. When they did this, the damage in the gut lining was much lower. Fewer immune cells rushed to the area, and there was less bacterial leakage. This means the enzyme helped prevent gut damage caused by binge drinking.
Dr. Gyongyi Szabo, the senior author of the study, explained that although we already know heavy drinking can hurt the gut and expose the liver to bacterial toxins, there was little information on what happens in the early stages—right after someone drinks heavily. This study shows that even one binge can trigger inflammation and break down the gut barrier.
The results suggest that these early changes in the gut could be the first step in the long process that leads to alcohol-related diseases in the liver and other organs. The findings also suggest new ways to protect the gut—like using enzymes to stop NETs—before serious damage is done.
In summary, this study gives a clear warning: one night of heavy drinking can do more harm than most people realize. It also gives researchers new clues for how to prevent that harm and protect the gut, especially in people who drink alcohol.
If you care about alcoholism, please read studies that your age may decide whether alcohol is good or bad for you, and people over 40 need to prevent dangerous alcohol/drug interactions.
For more information about alcohol, please see recent studies about moderate alcohol drinking linked to high blood pressure, and results showing this drug combo shows promise for treating alcoholism.
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