The Right Choice For You
The impact alcohol has on RA symptoms is highly variable from one person to the next. If you and your doctor decide it’s safe for you to drink, moderation is key to avoiding negative impacts on not only your RA but your overall health.
According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism , moderate drinking is defined as no more than one drink daily for women and two drinks daily for men.
A serving differs based on the type of alcohol you are drinking.
Red Wine Is A Natural Antimicrobial Agent
The polyphenols in red wine have broad-spectrum activity against bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringes, Bacillus sp., Klebsiella sp.
S. aureus is the leading causWine septic arthritis, and red wine has an anti-microbial action against S. aureus, thus making it an effective natural remedy for septic arthritis.
What does this mean? The polyphenolic compounds in red wine specifically inhibit S.aureus, the major causative agent of septic arthritis. Red wine can be an alternative to antibiotics used to treat the same.
Other Ways Alcohol Affects Arthritis
There are some other things to know about the effects of alcohol on arthritis:
- Drinking can be problematic because alcohol is a diuretic. This means your body loses water as you drink, and this can lead to problems with ligaments and tissue. Your joints require fluids to move smoothly, so if you are dehydrated you may feel the results in your joints, and it can make the symptoms of arthritis more noticeable or worse.
- In terms of rheumatoid arthritis, there is research showing that people who have at least one drink three times or more a week are four times less likely to have RA than nondrinkers, but with more than that, you may be putting yourself at risk for other conditions and diseases.
- Its important to consider the medications you may be taking to treat the inflammation and joint pain. If someone takes disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs , theyre advised not to drink alcohol because of the increased risk of liver toxicity.
- Its not just prescription drugs that may cause problems. If you take over-the-counter NSAIDs like Aleve or Motrin and you drink alcohol, you may be at a higher risk of ulcers and bleeding. Combining alcohol with acetaminophen, which can be used to treat the pain of arthritis, increases the risk of liver disease.
- Sources
Maxwell, James Gowers, Isobel Moore, David Wilson, Anthony. Alcohol consumption is inversely associated with risk and severity of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology, July 22, 2010. Accessed June 4, 2020.
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Can I Drink Alcohol With Oa
Do you enjoy a glass of wine once in a while? Wondering if it affects your osteoarthritis?
You can certainly have that occasional glass of wine over dinner. However, if you have OA its best to drink in moderation, as the effects of alcohol on OA patients are still under research in the scientific word.
Lets review what has been discovered so far about osteoarthritis and alcohol.
Wine Or Beerwhich Is Worse For Osteoarthritis
Weiya Zhang, PhD, associate professor and reader in musculoskeletal epidemiology, faculty of medicine and health sciences, University of Nottingham, UK. His study appeared in Arthritis Research & Therapy.
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If you like to end the day with a cocktail or enjoy a glass of wine or a beer with your evening meal, you probably dont think about what that libation is doing to your joints. But your choice of drink can be a factor in whether osteoarthritis comes to plague you or not. Could the contents of your cocktail glass really be setting you up for bad hips or knees? According to a team of investigators from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, wine might be a hero and beer a villain.
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How Beer Increases Osteoarthritis Risk
Beer drinking increases the risk of osteoarthritis of the knees and hips. Researchers do not know exactly why beer drinking increases the risk of osteoarthritis occurring however they offer some ideas about factors which may be involved.
Beer intake is associated with elevated levels of uric acid in the bloodstream. Uric acid causes painful crystals to form when gout is present. The researchers proposed that the elevated levels of uric acid may be involved in osteoarthritis development too. Beer is also rich in purines, a known risk factor for gout.
Additionally, having a beer belly puts stress on the hip and knee joints. This, in combination with increased weight, may lead to an elevated risk of osteoarthritis associated with beer consumption.
If you choose to drink alcoholic beverages, opt for red wine for osteoarthritis. Red wine offers cardio protective benefits in addition to bone preserving ones. Keep in mind that this research study evaluated the participants lifetime use of beverages. If you choose to drink alcohol, consume it in small quantities.
The Effects Of Chronic Inflammation
When you have chronic inflammation, your body is in a constant state of high alert. Under this pressure, arteries and organs can break down, leading to the development of diseases.
These effects are wide-ranging3, and may include asthma, arthritis, ulcers, periodontitis, Crohns disease, sinusitis, and hepatitis. Eventually, diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, and other serious conditions may occur.
Inflammatory cells anywhere in the body can affect the rest of your system. This means that the gut inflammation caused by long-term, excessive alcohol consumption can promote inflammation throughout the body.
Treating this problem means walking a fine line. Since inflammatory cells help fight off infection, effective treatment must control the inflammation without eliminating it entirely.
To make matters worse, its not always possible to pinpoint the root cause of chronic inflammation. However, lifestyle does seem to be a factor. Sleep, diet, exercise, stress levels, and smoking or consuming alcohol all have an impact.
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Other Ways Alcohol Can Affect Arthritis Management
Without doing further damage to your joints or promoting medication side effects, alcohol may interfere with other ways of lessening arthritis pain. For example, your doctor will want you to get the best nights sleep possible, since most people with rheumatoid arthritis experience problems with sleep. University of Pennsylvania researchers found that RA patients with low-quality sleep are in more pain, more depressed, and function less well than those who sleep better. Alcohol may make you drowsy, but it messes with sleep quality, says Dr. Manno.
In addition, because alcohol has lots of calories, and many cocktails are loaded with added sugar, drinking can make it more difficult to achieve other goals that ease pain and improve function: building muscle mass, reducing body fat, and losing weight.
Scandinavian Journal Of Rheumatology Study
This study looked at the effect of alcohol on radiological progression in the hands, wrists, and feet.
In radiological progression, periodic X-rays are used to determine how much joint erosion or joint space narrowing has occurred over time. It helps doctors to monitor the condition of people with RA.
The study found that moderate alcohol consumption led to an increase in radiological progression in women and a decrease in radiological progression in men.
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Alcohol Abuse And Fibromyalgia
Though research has found that low to moderate amounts of alcohol use may ease pain and other symptoms of fibromyalgia, an excess could alcohol reverses any benefit. For individuals with an existing alcohol use disorder, the risks of drinking any amount of alcohol could outweigh any benefits it offers.
Alcohol & Gout Studies
Its long been recognized that alcohol consumption is a high risk factor for gout. And this has been backed up by several studies looking at the effect of alcohol consumption on gout.
One 2004 study, using data from 14,809 participants in the USA, looked at the relationship between alcohol and uric acid.
The study authors concluded that:
These data suggest that the effect of individual alcoholic beverages on serum uric acid levels varies substantially: beer confers a larger increase than liquor, whereas moderate wine drinking does not increase serum uric acid levels.
This study suggests that although drinking beer and spirits is definitely linked to a higher risk of developing gout, moderate wine drinking may not increase the risk.
It should be noted, though, that this study only considered the impact of alcohol on incident gout, i.e., first time gout, not recurrent gout episodes. In other words, on the risk of someone having their first gout attack.
But what about patients who already have gout? How does, for example, moderate amounts of wine affect them?
Well, one recent study looked at just that: the effect of alcohol consumption on recurrent gout. This 2006 study of 197 gout patients concluded that:
And, in terms of the effect of specific alcohol types on gout, they found that:
When the effect of specific alcoholic beverage was assessed separately, the risk of recurrent gout attack increased as the number of drinks of each specific alcoholic beverage increased.
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Potential Risks Of Wine
Wines potent antioxidant activity may offer great health benefits, but drinking too much of any alcohol can cause health risks. Talk to your doctor to make sure alcohol is safe to include in your diet and consume it in moderation.
Health risks associated with drinking wine include:
Liver Disease
Long-term alcohol consumption can cause liver inflammation, scarring, and organ failure.
Heart Disease
While wines antioxidants can promote heart health, heavy drinking over time can increase your blood pressure and damage the heart muscle.
Unwanted Weight Gain
Wine contains a lot of calories per serving. Even moderate drinking affects your daily caloric intake, which at high levels can cause weight gain.
Continued
Is One Type Of Alcohol Better Than Another
If youre wondering what alcohol causes inflammation, the unfortunate answer is all of them.
As for which alcohol causes the least amount of inflammation, wine appears to be better by comparison. For example, a review of 53 studies10 found that both hard liquor and beer consumption were significantly associated with the risk of gout. Wine consumption was less common among patients with this condition.
Much has also been made of the anti-inflammatory properties11 of polyphenols like resveratrol, found in red wine. Resveratrol may inhibit the inflammatory factors that can trigger heart disease. The presence of alcohol, however, means that unless you consume wine in moderation, it can still make inflammation worse, not better. And resveratrol is actually found in higher concentrations in many fresh fruits.
Of course, it can be challenging to quit or cut back on alcohol. At Ria Health, we understand this. Weve created a convenient, easier way to reduce or stop drinking through telemedicine. Members get access to prescription medications to reduce cravings, recovery coaching, and digital tools to track their progress. Through our smartphone app, we provide support anytime, anywhere, every step of the way.
If youre ready to fight back against the damaging effects of alcohol, were here to help. Read more about how it works, or to learn more today.
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Back Pain After Drinking Alcohol Are The Two Related
A quick search on Google shows many articles and forum discussions about back pain after drinking alcohol. However, after doing a review of the scientific studies on the topic, Ferreira PH, et. al.1 noted there werent any available scientific studies showing a correlation between the two. However, they noted that well-designed specific alcohol/low-back pain-centered studies are lacking. Perhaps this topic will be studied more in the future. In lieu of concrete scientific evidence, lets take a look at some things we do know about the correlation between alcohol and back pain.
Rules For Drinking Alcohol Safely With Arthritis
If youre not on a medication thats potentially toxic to the liver and your doctor sees no other signs that alcohol is interfering with your health, theres no reason you cant sometimes enjoy the relaxation, sociability, and potential health benefits of a little alcohol, says Dr. Bolster. If you want a drink, thats fine, but always in moderation.
Follow these guidelines to avoid experiencing negative side effects of drinking alcohol on your arthritis.
1. If you dont already drink, dont start just because of a possible heart-health benefit.
2. Have an honest conversation with your rheumatologist. Since dosage is so important in assessing possible risks, your rheumatologist needs the truth about what youre drinking and exactly how much. If you want to have a glass of wine, Id rather talk about it and you can have that wine and really enjoy it instead of having misconceptions about the risk, says Dr. Manno.
3. Be vigilant about liver tests. If you take methotrexate or another medication metabolized by the liver, regular checks of liver enzymes are recommended. This is doubly important if you drink alcohol. Keeping an eye on your blood work is a great way to find out early if youre having a liver issue. If there is a change, the first thing Ill ask about is alcohol and you may need to cut back or stop, says Manno.
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Alcohol Can Contribute To Liver Damage
First off, having PsA increases your risk for nonalcoholic fatty-liver disease , or fatty liver. NAFLD can eventually cause cirrhosis, which is scarring.Second, many PsA medications are processed through the liver if you have NAFLD, too, this double hit can lead to more liver damage, Dr. Ansari-Ali says. Adding alcohol to the mix is a potential triple whammy. You could have NAFLD and normal liver function on blood tests, but over time, alcohol consumption can scar the liver permanently, especially in combination with various medications, says Dr. Smith.
Spearmint Tea Can Reduce Symptoms
A clinical trial conducted by researchers from a Canadian university found that drinking spearmint tea reduced discomfort and levels of debility among people who had a diagnosis of osteoarthritis in the knee.
Two groups of participants drank spearmint tea twice daily for 16 weeks. One tea contained high amounts of a natural substance called rosmarinic acid. A significant reduction in pain occurred among participants who drank the tea which was high in rosmarinic acid. It did not occur in the people who drank the regular, commercially available, spearmint tea, however both groups experienced less stiffness and disability. Quality of life improved for the group which consumed the rosmarinic rich tea.
Rosmarinic acid is found within many herbs. It is found in basil, holy basil, lemon balm, peppermint, thyme, marjoram, rosemary and sage. Include a wide array of these tasty herbs in your diet and reap the healing effects they offer.
In addition to improving symptoms of osteoarthritis, your digestive health may improve. These herbs add variety and flavor to your diet. They are rich in antioxidants which fight cancer and aging.
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Summary: How Excessive Drinking Impairs Your Health
Altogether, excessive alcohol consumption:
- Increases the production of harmful bacteria and endotoxins in the gut, which promotes inflammation
- Weakens the intestinal barrier, allowing harmful bacteria and endotoxins to pass from the gut into the bloodstream, spreading to the organs
- Inhibits the bodys immune response by suppressing key molecules and cells, and impairing the functions and interactions of key organs
Together, these effects lead to chronic inflammation, which can ultimately cause organ damage and disease. Alcohol-induced gut inflammation is linked to gastrointestinal cancers, inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease, inflammation of the brain, and more.
Inflammation of the gut might even influence the psychological aspects of alcohol addiction. These include depression, anxiety, alcohol cravings, and poor selective attention.
Other Types Of Arthritis
Psoriasis is an inflammatory immune-mediated disease. Individuals who have psoriasis can develop psoriatic arthritis . This is an inflammatory arthritis that is associated with psoriasis.
Research shows that high levels of alcohol intake may contribute to systemic inflammation and could trigger a psoriatic eruption. This is due to the fact that alcohol is known to influence the immune system. Because the immune system is triggered in different ways, consistent alcohol can lead to increased inflammatory cell responses. Although high levels of alcohol can contribute to the inflammation and psoriasis eruption, more research needs to be conducted to confirm the proper recommendations of alcoholic intake amount for individuals who have psoriasis and PsA.
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Is Red Wine Good Or Bad For Arthritis
Even if the research in its primary stage suggests promising results, red wine is not considered as a treatment of choice for treating rheumatoid arthritis. This is because the alcohol present in wine may interact with other medicine which the patient is consuming either for arthritis or for any other disease.
The other reason is possibility of accidents and fall. Patient may get intoxicated after drinking large quantity of red wine and this may lead to fall and bone fracture. As such the bones have turned brittle in patients who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis.
Considering the above factors it is necessary for the patient to consult his doctor and find out whether red wine is beneficial for him.
Red Wine Improves Metabolic Health
Consumption of red wine in moderate amounts improves overall metabolism of the body. It lowers blood glucose levels.
It regulates body weight if taken in low amounts and maintains the glycemic index of the body.
Metabolic disorders can be managed by intake of red wine. Studies have shown that supplementation of red wine might be a useful nutritional approach to treating type 2 diabetes.
What does this mean? This suggests that red wine has overall health benefits. By regulating the metabolism of the body, it lowers the risk of developing arthritis.
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