Alcohol, the effects are intoxicating. But what are the health implications?

The body treats alcohol or ethanol like poison from the start. Alcohol alters the gut microbiome and puts a heavy burden on the liver. In the gut, alcohol creates an imbalance called dysbiosis where the delicate microbiome needed to digest food and process nutrients is altered.

The liver must go through multiple phases to remove ethanol creating an even more toxic molecule called acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is responsible for the hangover effect, which creates inflammation and damages DNA. The liver must turn acetaldehyde into a safer molecule called acetate before it can be broken down into water and carbon dioxide to be eliminated.

Processing alcohol is an expensive task for the liver, depleting essential nutrients needed for over 500 vital functions. When you add to the equation a microbiome struggling to produce adequate nutrients. This creates an environment ripe for disease.

So the question are all wondering...can alcohol be part of a balanced lifestyle?

While research showing the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption does exist. After exploring the biological effects of alcohol and the process the body must go through to eliminate the ethanol and acetaldehyde. It appears the alcohol content often neutralizes or negates the antioxidant benefits found in these beverages. This is because the antioxidants found in fermented alcoholic beverages like wine and beer are often needed to process and eliminate the alcohol from the body. The benefits found in the studies may have more to do with the way alcohol is used as a stress reliever or a social lubricant. Our stressful lives and cultural expectations can be temporarily reduced when inhibitions are lowered with alcohol.

While we can all find healthier ways to handle stressful situations. Most healthy bodies are able to process small quantities if alcohol on a short term basis. For example 1-2 glasses of wine or beer can be processed and handled in a healthy person. It is the daily or heavy consumption that comes at a substantial cost to the liver and microbiome leading to imbalance and disease.

If you consume alcohol, support your liver and microbiome by eating a clean whole foods diet with an array of essential nutrients. Reduce processed foods and avoid commercially available personal products and cleaners that put an additional burden on your liver and microbiome. Our bodies are designed to detoxify and balance. But too much of anything can lead to imbalance and disease.

I’ll be honest, I was a bit disappointed when I learned the health affects of alcohol. I grew up in the binge drinking era where movies like Cocktail were glamorized. I didn’t understand how toxic alcohol was until I picked up my first biochemistry book which contained a small section on the oxidation of alcohol in the body. Once I understood how alcohol damages the gut by altering the microbiome which is needed to process nutrients, along with the quantity of nutrients needed by the liver to process the ethanol. The damage I was witnessing in myself and others who drank “moderately” was clear. Our bodies were struggling on a daily basis with the influx of chemicals in our food, air, water and products. Adding alcohol fueled the fire making the flames grow even larger.

Now we know and we have the ability to make better choices to serve both our health and our clarity.

Homeostasis is our body’s ability to regulate its internal environment within narrow limits. Our bodies want and need to return to balance in order to heal and survive. This means the key to good health is maintaining homeostasis while avoiding long-term homeostatic imbalance. Anytime our delicate balance is altered, the body responds with a negative or positive feedback cycle. These cycles are expressed as acute symptoms like a fever when sick or chronic symptoms like high blood pressure. To avoid deeper issues, listen to your body closely each time symptoms arise. Our bodies are exceptionally intelligent and have an array of tools to keep us balanced. For example, when cold and flu symptoms are allowed to run their natural course without suppressant medications, a fever will kill invading organisms, while mucus from a cough and runny nose expel the dead organisms and cells. This process allows the body to purge, detoxify and heal on a cellular level. Learning how to respond to each symptom with appropriate measures, including hydration, bioavailable nutrients and the removal of toxins is essential to maintain balance and optimal homeostasis.

Illness and disease run their course through many different phases, however there are four notable stages the body will go through when healing and repairing from an illness or disease.

FIRST STAGE

Adaptation:

Balance is temporarily lost, but reestablished through the body’s back-up systems which may include the use of reserve functions. This stage comes with mild or intermittent symptoms like coughing, hiccups or digestive issues. The body otherwise retains full function.

How to respond:

Listen to your body’s needs. Hydrate, rest, fast or nourish and reduce stress. Allow symptoms to run their natural course, avoid suppression. After the symptoms pass, restore and maintain balance by increasing time in nature to reset your natural body rhythm.

SECOND STAGE

Inflammatory:

Many bodily systems are working to regain balance. This stage comes with prominent symptoms like acute illness or infections, swelling, diarrhea and fatigue as the body clears waste to heal. More than one bodily function may be operating on a back-up system requiring the use of additional enzymes and nutrients creating an increase in oxidative stress.

How to respond:

Support the body with rest, hydration and safety. Listen to the body’s cues, if hungry eat, if not hungry fast, if tired sleep. Allow symptoms to manifest and resolve without suppression. This means avoiding the use of over-the-counter products like anti-inflammatories, laxatives or fever reducers. Our bodies have an intelligent innate healing immune system. We must give our immune system the time and space needed to mount a healing response. Suppressing the healing response (symptoms) only drives the illness deeper into the body, which can manifest later as chronic conditions like joint pain or skin eruptions. Herbals and homeopathy can support the body’s efforts to express and expel the illness. After the illness has run its course, increase nourishment with a variety of fresh whole foods, including plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables. Restore and maintain balance by increasing time in nature to reset your natural body rhythm.

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THIRD STAGE

Compensation:

This is a chronic state of imbalance where daily functions are declining and back-up and elimination systems are no longer working efficiently. Symptoms include systemic pain, chronic skin eruptions, autoimmune and hormonal issues.

How to respond:

Prioritize rest, nourishment and hydration until balance has resumed. Remove toxic exposures including foods, products, environments and stress. Support the body’s recovery effort by allowing symptoms to manifest and resolve without suppression. This means avoiding the use of caffeine, anti-inflammatories, anti-histamines and pain relievers. The body is working hard to expel infections and toxins that have accumulated through suppression. This phase takes time. You can support the body with herbals, homeopathy and a strict whole foods nutrient dense diet. Reestablish natural balance by increasing time in nature to reset your body’s rhythm. It is not uncommon for this stage to also be linked to emotional suppression or trauma. Support healing through meditation, creative expression and counseling.

FOUTH STAGE

Deterioration:

This is a long-term chronic imbalance leading to the breakdown of structural systems, nervous system, organ function and tumor formation. This is the body’s “last ditch effort” to contain and isolate suppressed and accumulated physical and emotional waste it was not able to expel.

How to respond:

Limit daily functions to rest, nourishment, hydration and safety. Remove all toxins and irritants including foods, products, environments and stress. This stage generally manifests after years or decades of suppressing symptoms and emotions. Recovery is slow and requires compassion, stability and consistency. This stage requires a selection of whole nutrient dense foods. Herbals and homeopathy can increase the expulsion of accumulated toxins and infections while managing symptoms. Seek a practitioner who is skilled in this phase and the level of attention required to heal and recover.

As practitioners are we see miraculous healing at every stage, however understanding the correct response at each stage increases your chances of a full recovery.

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The four stages and how to respond is for educational purposes. This is not intended to be medical advise. Traditum Balance provides holistic health and wellness education, coaching and guidance. We do not provide medical services nor do we prescribe medications, diagnose, treat or cure disease. Please view our disclaimer page for more information.

The natural health field is in high gear as more folks take a step back and ask the question only a few of us were asking 20 years ago, “What is causing this?”. As an increasing percentage of the population struggles with debilitating pain and fatigue. The fog is lifting and a clearer view is emerging.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

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How did we get here?

There was a time, not that long ago, when humans felt connected to their mother earth through light, frequency and nourishment. But now, our organic earth which has supported us for millennia is being pushed aside for innovation in science and technology.

Too few are paying attention to the price our bodies and our minds are paying. Fresh nourishment and seasonal cycles once kept our bodies in balance. We had ample time to farm the land while alert and awake in the long summer light. Our bodies rested as we ate the fermented harvest in the winter darkness. We rose in the morning with the sun, no screeching alarm needed, and our nervous system cycled through a natural sympathetic and parasympathetic rise and fall throughout the day. This was also a time when illness was temporary, disease was found in the elderly and obesity was a clinical term few understood the meaning.

This natural era of connection and healing gave way to a medical system build on symptom suppression, without addressing the root causes. An approach that is leaving us in a dire situation. Symptoms are information, they are the body’s first line of communication. Each symptom relays an important signal - the body is struggling to maintain balance. An imbalance so inherent it is now ingrained in our culture. A culture of dopamine stacking, escapism built from a world of instant everything.

We are a culture dying to find the answer.

Why this, why now

After a 20 year journey through my own health challenges, I’ve learned a lot about healing and vitality. In the beginning I sat cold, afraid and alone at the bottom of a mountain, no training, no sherpa and no climbing gear. My only motivation, a refusal to live a life with constant digestive issues, pain and fatigue. I was on a mission to answer one question, “What is causing this?”.

Early in my journey I found a sprinkling of healers and wellness seekers walking a similar path. But the trail leading to my root causes was sparse. A few healers extended a helping hand, but the end of my root remained buried. So, I kept digging and continued climbing.

While the mountain was steep and the conditions treacherous, experiencing the climb gave me a clarity and fortitude those who have not embarked on this journey would find difficult to understand. The knowledge and experience I gained over the years comes from heart and passion, driven by a stubborn streak that would make a bull cringe.

Twenty years in and I am just getting started.

An emerging community of passionate healers

Two decades into my journey, I stand with a community of wellness trailblazers, folk who understand the synthetic course we are traveling is ripe for the picking. Trailblazers who have taken a step back from a culture that believes side effects and disability are a natural part of healthcare and aging. The tried and steady trailblazers know well, true vitality comes when natural healing joins the strength and wisdom of aging.

My healing journey lead to a passionate calling. To remain stationed on the mountain, hand extended, ready to guide the next weary traveler.

To the next trailblazer - the trail is steep, the obstacles are formidable, but a seasoned climber is waiting, a shovel in hand, ready to be your guide.

The mountain peak awaits and it is stunning!