Beer And Flu: Is It Safe To Drink?

Drinking alcohol when you're sick is generally not recommended. Alcohol can negatively impact your recovery in several ways, from prolonging your illness to causing serious health complications. Here are some reasons why it's best to avoid drinking beer or other alcoholic beverages when you have the flu.

Beer and medication don't mix

Drinking beer when you have the flu is generally not recommended, especially if you are taking any medication. Alcohol can interact negatively with many medicines and may worsen your symptoms. Mixing alcohol with medication can cause a number of adverse reactions, including:

• Liver damage
• Internal bleeding
• Heart and respiratory problems
• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Vomiting
• Headaches
• Dehydration

Additionally, alcoholic drinks can prevent medicines from working effectively, which may prolong your illness. Some medications that treat allergies, pain, colds, and flu contain acetaminophen (Tylenol) or antihistamines, and when these compounds interact with alcohol, they can cause serious liver damage. Therefore, it is crucial to consult your doctor or healthcare provider if you are unsure whether it is safe to consume alcohol while taking a particular medication.

Furthermore, drinking alcohol when you are sick can weaken your immune system, making it harder for your body to recover. Alcohol can also disrupt your sleep, leading to feelings of anxiety and daytime drowsiness, which can make you feel worse when you are already unwell. While moderate consumption of wine has been linked to a decreased incidence of the common cold in some studies, you would need to consume a large amount of beer to obtain the virus-fighting benefits of humulone, a chemical compound found in hops.

Alcohol can cause dehydration

Drinking alcohol can cause dehydration, especially when consumed in large quantities. Dehydration occurs when the body does not have enough fluids to function effectively. Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it increases urine production and causes the body to remove fluids more quickly. This can lead to a fluid deficit, resulting in dehydration.

When you drink alcohol, it passes through the stomach lining and small intestine into the bloodstream. On an empty stomach, alcohol can be absorbed into the bloodstream within minutes, bypassing the slower absorption process through the stomach and small intestine. This rapid absorption can contribute to dehydration.

Alcohol also suppresses the release of the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin, which normally acts to reduce urine production and promote fluid retention. By inhibiting vasopressin, alcohol exacerbates the diuretic effect and further increases the risk of dehydration.

The risk of dehydration is higher in older adults and individuals with chronic conditions. Additionally, drinking alcohol can negatively impact kidney function, reducing the kidneys' ability to filter blood and maintain fluid and electrolyte balance.

To counteract alcohol-induced dehydration, it is important to consume alcohol in moderation, drink slowly, and alternate alcoholic beverages with water or other hydrating drinks. Eating hydrating foods and avoiding sugary and caffeinated beverages can also help maintain hydration.

While the belief that alcohol causes dehydration is widespread, some scientific studies, including one from as early as 1942, suggest that this assumption may be exaggerated. These studies indicate that while the first alcoholic drink may lead to increased urine output compared to drinking water, subsequent drinks do not result in a significant increase in urine production. However, it is still important to drink water along with alcohol to support the body and promote proper organ function.

Alcohol disrupts your sleep

Alcohol can negatively impact your sleep, even in moderate amounts. Drinking alcohol before bed can lead to frequent wakings and low-quality sleep. Here's how:

Altered Sleep Architecture

Alcohol affects the normal sleep cycle, which consists of three non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages and the rapid eye movement (REM) stage. Alcohol increases the duration of the deep sleep N3 stage and suppresses the REM stage in the first half of the night. However, in the latter half of the night, once the body has metabolized the alcohol, you experience more frequent wakings and fragmented sleep. This disruption to the REM stage can lead to feelings of anxiety and daytime drowsiness, which can worsen any existing illness.

Interference with Sleep Disorders

Alcohol can aggravate snoring and sleep apnea, a disorder characterised by pauses in breathing during sleep. Alcohol causes the tongue and throat muscles to relax and increases airway resistance in the nasal passages, leading to more frequent and longer breathing pauses. It also affects people with central sleep apnea, where the brain stops sending signals involved in breathing.

Circadian Rhythm Disruptions

Alcohol interferes with circadian rhythms, the biological patterns that operate on a 24-hour clock. It decreases the body's sensitivity to cues like daylight and darkness, which are crucial for the sleep-wake cycle. This disruption can make you feel alert when you want to sleep and sleepy when you want to be awake.

Increased Urination

Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it increases urine output. This can lead to more frequent trips to the bathroom, disrupting your sleep.

Alcohol can damage your liver

While there is little evidence on the impact of drinking alcohol when you have the flu, it is known that alcohol can damage your liver. Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) is caused by drinking too much alcohol and there are several stages of severity. Even a few days of heavy drinking can lead to alcoholic fatty liver disease, the first stage of ARLD. This can be reversed if you stop drinking alcohol for a few weeks to a few months, and your liver should return to normal. However, prolonged alcohol misuse over many years can reduce the liver's ability to regenerate, resulting in serious and permanent liver damage.

The liver is one of the most complex organs in the body, serving a wide variety of functions, including filtering toxins from the blood, aiding digestion, regulating blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and helping to fight infection and disease. Each time the liver filters alcohol, some liver cells die. Over time, scarring and cirrhosis can occur, and cirrhosis is the final phase of alcoholic liver disease. ARLD is very common in the UK, with increasing levels of alcohol misuse leading to a rise in the number of people with the condition over the last few decades.

Symptoms of ARLD typically only appear once the liver has been severely damaged. These can include yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice), swelling in the ankles and tummy, confusion or drowsiness, vomiting blood, and passing blood in your stools. ARLD is often diagnosed during tests for other conditions or at a late stage of liver damage. If you regularly drink alcohol to excess, it is important to inform your doctor so they can check if your liver is damaged.

The best way to prevent ARLD is to stop drinking alcohol or stick to the recommended limits. Reducing or quitting alcohol will have important short-term and long-term benefits for your liver and overall health.

Alcohol weakens your immune system

Drinking alcohol, especially in large quantities, weakens your immune system, making you more susceptible to infections and diseases. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) states that alcohol damages the immune system by disrupting the balance of gut bacteria, which is essential for immune system function.

How Alcohol Impacts the Body

Alcohol alters the makeup of the gut microbiome, affecting the ability of microorganisms to support the immune system. It also damages the immune cells lining the intestines, which are the first line of defence against bacteria and viruses. This damage makes it easier for pathogens to enter the bloodstream.

Excessive alcohol consumption is linked to an increased risk of pneumonia and other pulmonary diseases. It can also lead to a range of other health issues, including high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, and an elevated risk of certain cancers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), excessive drinking is defined as:

• Heavy drinking: eight or more drinks a week for women, and 15 or more drinks a week for men.
• Binge drinking: four or more drinks in two to three hours for women; five or more drinks in the same time period for men.
• Drinking while pregnant or under the legal drinking age of 21.

Alcohol and the Common Cold

There is limited evidence regarding the impact of alcohol on the common cold. One study suggests that drinking 3-4 drinks per day reduced symptomatic illness after a cold virus infection, but it did not decrease the overall number of infections. Another study indicates that moderate wine consumption may lower the likelihood of catching a cold. However, these studies have their limitations, and the overall consensus is that alcohol consumption weakens the immune system.

Recommendations

If you are feeling unwell, it is best to refrain from drinking alcohol. Your immune system is already working overtime to help you heal, and adding alcohol to the mix will only slow down your recovery. Alcohol can also negatively interact with medications, leading to complications and potentially interfering with their effectiveness. Furthermore, alcohol can increase dehydration, which is already a risk when you are sick.

If you choose to consume alcohol, moderation is key. According to the United States Dietary Guidelines for Americans, moderate alcohol consumption is defined as one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.

Frequently asked questions