Why Does Alcohol Make You Bloated

Ok So I Have Now Developed A Bloated Face From Alcohol What Can I Do To Get Rid Of It

The good news is that by reducing or stopping your alcohol intake, the puffy alcohol face WILL GO DOWN!!

The questions about how long or to what degree, they are whole other questions and depend a lot on different aspects such as levels of drinking or period of time etc, general health, lots of variables.

Nioni 17 days alcohol free!

How To Prevent Alcohol Bloating

The best way to avoid the negative effects of alcohol is to quit drinking entirely. But if you’d still like to enjoy a night out or two without the negative side effects like alcohol bloating or weight gain, you can tailor your evening to make sure you’re staying healthy.

First, choose alcoholic options that contain fewer calories and sugars. Instead of going for sweet mixed drinks or beer, choose cleaner drinks like vodka and club soda, a gin martini with olives or tequila with lime. These will all contain about 100 calories per drink, as opposed to the 155 calories in beer.

Perhaps even more important is that you choose to drink lightly or moderately. According to the CDC, moderate alcohol consumption should be about one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. Try not to go beyond that on any given day, and keep your drinking nights down to once per week or every few weeks.

Finally, make sure you eat a full and well-balanced meal before you start drinking and drink water between drinks. This will help curb your alcohol-induced appetite later on, where your judgment will be impaired and you’ll be more likely to crave high-carb or high-fat foods.

Choose a meal high in protein, vegetables and healthy carbohydrates like whole grains to keep you full when you start drinking. After each drink, consume a glass of water to stay hydrated. This way, you’ll be less likely to wake up with bloating and a hangover.

How Can You Avoid Alcohol Bloating

If youre planning to consume more than one alcoholic beverage, you may want to consider some ways to help avoid bloat. The first step is to ensure youre hydrated and drink plenty of water before drinking alcohol. You will need to drink more than average since alcohol dehydrates you.

Carbonated drinks, such as soda, also dehydrate you. If you plan to drink later, avoid sodas earlier in the day. Beer is also carbonated, so limit it in favor of other alcohol choices. Youll also want to avoid mixing alcohol with soda, such as rum and coke, to help reduce bloating.

Avoiding smoking while youre drinking can also help with bloating. When you smoke, you breathe more air, which can lead to bloat. The toxins in your cigarettes can also irritate the stomach.

While youre at the party or hanging out with friends, pay attention to how you drink alcohol. Drinking slowly helps prevent you from swallowing extra air, which can cause bloat. Once you finish drinking for the evening, you may crave salty or fatty foods. Dont give into those cravings because the salt will cause you to retain excess water and suffer from bloating³.

Also Check: How To Get Rid Of Heartburn And Nausea

Is Alcohol Bloating Preventable

If youve been drinking alcohol, you should drink water to quickly get rid of bloating in your face and stomach.

In fact, drinking water before, during, and after drinking alcohol can help prevent its inflammatory effects on the body. If youre feeling bloated while drinking alcohol, switch over to drinking water.

How Is Alcohol Bloating Treated

If youve noticed youve gained weight or tend to bloat when you drink alcohol, you may want to consider cutting back on your alcohol consumption.

According to the 2020-2025 U.S. Dietary Guidelines, the recommended amount of alcohol for men is up to two drinks per day and for women is up to one drink per day. A drink is defined as:

• 12 ounces of beer
• 8 ounces of malt liquor
• 5 ounces of wine
• 1.5 ounces of liquor or spirits .

The body can only metabolize a certain amount of alcohol every hour. How much alcohol youre able to metabolize is dependent on your age, weight, sex, and other factors.

Keeping an eye on your drinking, along with eating healthfully and getting enough exercise, can help you prevent a beer belly.

Don’t Miss: Is Apple Cider Good For Constipation

Have You Ever Noticed Any Puffiness In Your Face Or Body After A Night Of Drinking

Well, this is alcohol bloating. Bloating or swelling after drinking alcohol is a common side effect. This is where the term beer belly comes from. Alcohol stomach bloating is a typical sign that a person drinks heavily. While swelling after a long night of alcohol consumption can cause some temporary swelling, alcohols dense and heavy calories can lead to a build-up of stubborn fat around the midsection. But why does alcohol make you bloated?

How To Get Rid Of Alcohol Bloat

Alcohol bloating can be treated with antibiotics by targeting the H. pylori infection, a bacteria that commonly grows in the digestive tract, stomach, or duodenum. If youre seeking medication, you should always go to your primary physician for any medication.

A doctor may also prescribe medications to protect the stomach lining and improve gut health. Usually, stomach acid can damage the stomach lining. Stomach acid often comes up as a result of alcohol-induced acid reflux and heartburn.

Antacids like Alka-Seltzer, H2 blockers like Pepcid AC, and proton pump inhibitors like Protonix and Nexium can also help reduce the harm caused by the build-up of stomach acid and reduce bloating. Lifestyle changes may also need to be made to promote weight loss, including cutting down on alcohol consumption.

Recommended Reading: How To Reset Your Gut Microbiome

How Do I Know It Is Time To Get Help For My Alcohol Addiction

The Mayo Clinic advises those who struggle with alcohol overuse to seek help if they are experiencing one or more of the following symptoms:

• Shaking hands or body tremors
• Excessive sweating
• Agitation, jumpiness, restlessness, or anxiety
• Financial issues related to drinking
• Inability to limit alcohol amounts
• Unsuccessful attempts to cut back or stop drinking
• Strong cravings, urges to drink
• Poor performance at work, school, home and/or in the community
• Lack of interest in friends or activities that dont include alcohol
• Using alcohol in unsafe situations such as driving or swimming
• Increased tolerance to alcohol such that usual amounts dont create the desired effect
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms

Seek Alcohol Addiction Treatment At Gateway Foundation

Gateway Foundation is a leading provider of evidence-based treatments to help overcome alcohol dependency. We are proud to offer medication-assisted treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based sobriety and many more innovative treatments to take a personalized approach and help our patients find relief from alcohol addiction. Our team of caring and compassionate experts dedicate themselves to helping each and every one of our patients through their life-long recovery journey.

To learn more about addiction medicine and alcohol dependency treatments we offer, contact us online today or call Gateway Foundation at 877.381.6538 and get the support you need to lead a healthy, sober life.

Don’t Miss: Can You Die From Heartburn

How Effective Is Alcohol Recovery And Rehab

Unfortunately, only about ten percent of those with alcohol addiction seek treatment. However, for those who do, there is good news. Regardless of the severity of the alcohol addiction, most people who enter a treatment program benefit from it. One-third of them require no further treatment to remain clean, sober, and productive. Others show a significant reduction in alcohol use and alcohol-related problems.

How To Prevent Constipation While Drinking

Constipation doesnt have to be inevitable when you drink. Try these tips next time.

• Drink water. Aim for drinking a glass of water each time you drink an alcoholic beverage. You can also drink an electrolyte-containing beverage to replace lost electrolytes. However, avoid drinking those that have a lot of sugar.
• Avoid caffeine. Steer away from drinks that are mixed with caffeine-containing beverages, as caffeine is a natural diuretic.
• Be kind to your liver. Avoid drinking to excess . You can also consider herbs to detox like milk thistle, dandelion tea, or garlic. While these havent been fully scientifically proven to promote liver health, some people experience improvements with these herbs.
• Keep moving.Exercise is a well-known gut stimulant and can reduce the effects of constipation.
• Take a probiotic. Probiotics are supplements that can introduce healthy bacteria into the gut. For some people, they can encourage healthy digestion.

Ideally, these measures will help prevent the potentially constipating effects of alcohol.

You May Like: Can Probiotics Affect Your Period

Why Does Fat Accumulate In The Belly

When you take in more calories than you burn, the excess calories are stored as fat. Where your body stores that fat is determined in part by your age, sex, and hormones.

Boys and girls start out with similar fat storage patterns, but puberty changes that. Women have more subcutaneous fat than men, so those extra fat calories tend to be deposited in their arms, thighs, and buttocks, as well as their bellies. Because men have less subcutaneous fat, they store more in their bellies.

Beer bellies tend to be more prominent in older people because as you get older, your calorie needs go down, you often become less active, and gaining weight gets easier.

As hormone levels decline in men and women as they age, theyâre more likely to store fat around the middle. Menopausal women who take hormone replacement therapy tend to have less of a shift toward more belly fat than those who do not.

Studies suggest that smokers may also deposit more fat in their bellies, Jensen says.

Soak Your Feet In Cold Water

Soaking your feet in cold water can also provide some quick relief to swollen feet. Blood vessels contract when theyre cold, which can help reduce swelling. You can also try soaking in Epsom salt. The theory is similar to how sodium draws water into your blood when its in your body. The salt is absorbed into the skin and draws water out of the body. It also boosts the magnesium in your body, which can act as an anti-inflammatory. However, its a good idea to moisturize after an Epsom salt bath. Drawing water out of your skin can leave it dry and irritated.

Recommended Reading: What To Do If Your Puppy Has Diarrhea

Tips To Avoid Alcohol Bloating

Have you ever noticed bloating in your body, especially in your stomach, after a big night out? Alcohol-related stomach bloating is one of the most common results of heavy drinking that can even lead to a few days of discomfort and digestive issues.

If you want to avoid alcohol bloating next time you decide to whet your whistle, make sure you follow the five tips presented in this article. You will also learn more about the reasons alcohol makes you bloated, how long alcohol bloating generally lasts, and how to find some alcohol bloating relief if it is already too late to prevent it.

Stomach Bloating After Drinking Final Words

That brings us to the end of our look into stomach bloating when drinking alcohol.

There are several different causes and in most cases, there isnt one specific reason that is responsible and more a combination of a few.

Weve covered some of the common causes of how alcohol can cause stomach bloating however there are many more which is beyond the scope of this article.

If in doubt, always discuss with your physician to be on the safe side.

Read Also: Do Probiotics Make You Poop

What To Do When Alcohol Causes Swollen Feet

• What You Should Do

Have you ever gotten home from a night out, kicked off your strangely tight shoes, and found that your feet look puffy and swollen? Its a fairly common symptom that could stem from a variety of causes. If it happens after drinking, the alcohol could be causing it.

In many cases, this is a benign symptom that goes away on its own.

If youre uncomfortable, it can also be remedied by a few simple methods. However, swelling in your feet can also be an indication of some serious medical problems.

Learn more about this symptom, how it can be stopped, and what else it might indicate about your body.

Say Goodbye To Bloating

Sometimes, no matter what you do, you just cant keep the bloat from plaguing you. There are many ways you can combat bloating, including:

• Trying gas relief capsules. Anti-gas medication can move extra air out of your digestive tract.
• Taking a warm bath. There are two benefits to this method: The heat of the bath can relieve your sore abdomen, and the general relaxation a bath provides can help your gastrointestinal tract function better.
• Replacing sodas with water. You may love the jolt of caffeine you get from soda, but if your belly is suffering, its a good idea to switch to good old water for a while.
• Going for a walk. Physical activity gets your bowels moving and allows you to work the gas out of your body.
• Using peppermint capsules. Peppermint relaxes the intestinal muscles, allowing gas to work its way out of the system.
• Massaging your abdomen. When you massage in the path of your large intestine, you can get your bowels moving and relieve some of the bloating pressure. However, dont continue massaging if it is causing you any pain.
• Eating more fiber. If you choose to increase your fiber intake, do so over the course of several days. When you eat too much fiber in a day, that can actually cause even more bloating.

Recommended Reading: Why Does Chocolate Give Me Heartburn

How Long Should Alcohol Bloat Last

The time it takes for your bloating to subside depends on many factors. But in general, bloating caused by drinking shouldnt last more than a few days.

If your bloating persists for weeks or months, it may be a sign of a more severe condition.

Alcohol can worsen the symptoms of many conditions. But one of the most common ailments affected by alcohol is called irritable bowel syndrome or IBS.

How To Treat Your Gastritis Symptoms

The first step in treating gastritis is removing the irritant which means that alcoholic gastritis is primarily treated by stopping alcohol use.

According to The National Library of Medicine, medical treatment for serious cases gastritis include:

• Antibiotics to control certain types of GI bacteria that may contribute to the irritation and damage.
• Proton pump inhibitors and other acid reduction medicines.
• Antacids to neutralize acid that is produced.
• Probiotics to encourage helpful gastric bacteria.

Each individual has different factors contributing to whether acute gastritis will develop into a chronic condition. Working with a doctor is the best way to determine the individualized treatment needed to help the person manage alcoholic gastritis. However, the ability to do so hinges specifically on the persons ability to stop drinking alcohol. Without removing this main cause, the gastritis is likely to continue even with the most effective medical intervention.

Recommended Reading: Do Muscle Relaxers Cause Constipation

Dehydration: Your Worst Enemy

As we mentioned previously, dehydration can cause you to retain water, which then triggers bloating.So what, exactly, causes dehydration? You can become dehydrated when you:

• Get too much sun or a lot of exposure to heat.
• Drink too much alcohol.
• Eat salty snacks.

When you’re in the sun too long, your body starts retaining water as a safety measure. Think of it as a form of self-defense, since your body doesnt know when it will have its next intake of fluid. Yet even as your body is conserving water, the retention is what may also cause you to feel bloated.

Its important to note that serious illness can result from being dehydrated. You should get help right away if you have one or more of these symptoms after being in the sun too long or you havent been staying hydrated:

• Dry mouth, lips, and eyes
• Urinating no more than four times a day

Here are a few tips on healthy hydration.

Why Do My Feet Swell When I Drink Alcohol

Different food items and environmental causes can lead to swelling feet. One of these causes is alcohol. Drinking alcohol can cause your body to retain water. Why? There are a few biological reasons for this.

When you drink alcohol, you are consuming water, ethanol , and things like sugars and fats, depending on whats mixed into your drink. Your body can store sugar, fat, and water, but it has no way to deal with alcohol other than to filter it out. When alcohol gets into your bloodstream, your body essentially treats it like poison and prioritizes processing it.

Your body works to process alcohol first so that other things like the water and sugar may go to storage, causing water retention. Fluids start to collect in your body tissue, and gravity makes water collect in your feet and sometimes your hands. After you stop drinking and your body can filter it out of your system, you may start to see the swelling go down.

You May Like: What Heals A Leaky Gut Naturally

Can Beer Cause Shortness Of Breath I Drank A Lite Beer And Had Breathing Difficulty 3 Hours Later

Dear Dr. Mahler:I am writing to ask can beer cause shortness of breath? Last weekend I had a lite beer with my daughter and found that I had difficulty breathing about 3 4 hours later. That night, I awoke feeling it was hard to breathe, and needed to use my albuterol inhaler for relief. I dont remember the name of the beer, and this never happened before. I didnt have cold symptoms at the time and dont have allergies to things outdoors.I am 65 and have moderate COPD according to my pulmonary doctor. I take Bevespi twice a day and ProAir as a rescue inhaler.Thanks for answering.Linda from Medford, ORprimary ingredients1.2.3. 4.

Glasses of beer

Caramel Coloring FD& C Blue 1 dye FD& C Red 40 dye