10 Crazy Things Booze Does To Your Body
7. Booze Makes Your Gut Leak Into Your Blood
No, really.
When alcohol is broken down in your body, it produces a toxin called acetaldehyde. This actually damages the lining of the gut, making it much easier for things to pass through it into the bloodstream.
This means that parts of the bacteria that live in your gut called endotoxins are suddenly able to escape and whizz around your circulatory system. In case you didn't realise, this means that those little poo germs reach every single part of you body, including your brain.
This means that your body suddenly believes it is under attack from a bacterial infection, which of course it is, but the bacteria isn't coming from some open wound, it's coming from your drastically weakened gut wall.
The effects of this don't just clear up with your hangover either. The damage can last for up to two months, meaning that even if you only binge once a week, you are not allowing sufficient time for your body to heal and opening yourself up to the dangers of more permanent damage.
Plus, you know, ew.