Does your gut affect your urge to drink?

The impulse to drink is complicated and tied to a multitude of things. While you may have cultivated your taste for alcohol because of your lifestyle and the amount of time you spend with friends, there is an important genetic component to these habits.

A new study conducted by researchers from Madrid found some links between the urge to drink alcohol and gut health. According to researchers, by examining these findings, people could gain a better understanding of why they feel the impulse to drink, and health professionals could develop new forms of treatment for alcohol disorders, conditions that have historically been difficult to overcome.

Photo by RUNSTUDIO/Getty Images

RELATED: Study finds sweet spot in amount of weekly exercise

Researchers studied 507 young participants who provided fecal samples for analysis and completed a questionnaire about their drinking habits. Those samples were then compared to a group of non-drinkers, with the researchers finding some differences in their stomachs, with drinkers showing an abundance of bacteria called Actinobacteria

The researchers then turned to animals to see if the bacteria in their guts caused them to drink alcohol. The researchers transplanted the fecal bacteria from alcohol-dependent animals to those that didn’t drink and found that the latter group developed cravings after the procedure.

“The study represents a significant advance in our understanding of the role of the gut microbiota in motivated behavior, particularly in behavior related to voluntary alcohol consumption,” said Elena GinĂ©, a researcher in UCM’s Department of Cellular Biology.

Experts have a few theories as to why this might be happening. Alcohol could increase the presence of bacteria that drive animals and humans to drink, or it could decrease other bacteria and alter the microbiome of the host’s organism, thereby inducing alcohol cravings.

RELATED: Strokes and high blood pressure linked to this everyday activity

While the study is still in its infancy, it raises some interesting questions. Most importantly, if more studies were conducted and this theory proved correct, some alternative methods of treating alcohol disorders could emerge that would impact the lives of millions of people around the world.

Post a comment:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *