How does alcohol affect hemoglobin in human blood — does it increase or decrease it?

There is an opinion that the periodic consumption of alcohol helps to raise the level of hemoglobin in the blood. But how much does this correspond to reality?

Modern research, on the contrary, indicate that the hemoglobin level decreases after drinking alcohol. That is why, before taking a blood test to determine the level of hemoglobin, it is forbidden to drink any alcoholic beverages.

In this article you will learn how ethyl alcohol affects hemoglobin in human blood. Is it possible to drink alcohol at low or high levels? Is there a safe daily allowance?

Effect on erythrocytes and hemoglobin

Alcohol, after entering the bloodstream, first relaxes smooth muscles, including blood vessels. They are insignificant expanding , blood pressure decreases by a few millimeters of mercury.

But literally 40-50 minutes after drinking alcohol, the processes of rapid decomposition of ethyl alcohol derivatives start, and at the same time the blood flow accelerates. The vessels narrow after that , blood pressure rises – all this increases the volume of blood passing through the liver, and it is she who is responsible for the withdrawal of alcohol derivatives.

What happens to red blood cells in this case? Due to the fact that alcohol is a powerful oxidizer, it provokes the destruction of red blood cells . More precisely, they are soldered together, stick together. The level of hemoglobin in the blood remains identical, but the number of "active" red blood cells capable of carrying both oxygen and carbon dioxide decreases.

After that, the "soldered" red blood cells are excreted from the body, and along with this, hemoglobin decreases. The decrease in its concentration directly depends on how much alcohol was consumed.

Alcohol also leads to the dissolution of erythrocyte cells (which is why their adhesion is provoked). It also reduces the density of platelet and erythrocyte membranes, that is, it comprehensively reduces the concentration of shaped elements.

Accordingly, at elevated levels, it helps to normalize the concentration of hemoglobin, but one should not forget about the negative effect of ethyl alcohol on the liver, circulatory, nervous, and digestive systems. Doctors categorically do not recommend using alcoholic beverages to normalize elevated hemoglobin levels.

What happens if you drink alcohol with low hemoglobin? The probability of anemia in this case increases significantly . At the same time, blood liquefaction occurs (due to the alcohol's ability to attract water to itself), the load on the heart and liver increases, and a conditional oxygen starvation of the brain .

Which drinks should I give preference to?

The only "healthy" drink to increase hemoglobin in this regard is beer. But this effect is achieved not due to the presence of ethyl alcohol, but due to the composition of beer, which includes:

1. B-group vitamins;
2. Vitamin D;
3. Yeast.

B-group vitamins increase the availability of iron for assimilation, vitamin D is responsible for the formation of bone marrow (namely, there is a process of synthesis of shaped blood bodies, including erythrocytes), yeast stimulates metabolism, normalizes intestinal microflora. Thus, beer really raises hemoglobin .

But again, one should not forget that alcoholic beverages do much more harm than good.

How much beer is recommended to consume in order to minimize harm to the body and get the maximum benefit from it? No more than 200 milliliters at a time, no more than 3 times a week. In diseases of the cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract, this is completely contraindicated.

 

Contraindications

During pregnancy, any alcoholic beverages are strictly contraindicated. Women "in a position" are forbidden even to use medicines and syrups in which alcohol and/ or its derivatives are used as a preservative.

Also alcohol consumption, including beer and other low-alcohol beverages, contraindicated in:

1. Chronic prostate diseases;
2. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in the acute stage;
3. Diseases of the cardiovascular system ;
4. Hypertension;
5. Atherosclerosis;
6. Vegetative-vascular dystonia;
7. Diseases of the urethra (in particular, with urolithiasis, as the risk of provoking the movement of concretions increases);
8. Neuralgic disorders;
9. Liver failure (as well as hepatitis, cirrhosis, with pathologically enlarged liver).

And what about non-alcoholic beer? The content of useful substances in it is minimal, since now it is produced by membrane filtration. That is, ordinary beer is passed through a special filter, which delays the molecules of ethyl alcohol. But at the same time, it removes vitamins – the size of their molecules is comparable to ethyl.

How to speed up the withdrawal of alcohol from the body?

The faster the ethyl alcohol derivatives are removed from the blood, the lower the decrease in hemoglobin levels will be. Doctors recommend in this regard:

1. Take activated charcoal (based on 1 tablet per 4 kilograms of body weight);
2. Take a multivitamin (in particular, which contains vitamin A and E – they slow down the oxidation of red blood cells);
3. Drink as much as possible, to prevent dehydration of the body (and at the same time to normalize the balance of potassium and sodium).

It is also recommended to eat something fatty. Fat, when ingested into the stomach, creates a dense shell, covering the mucous epithelium, and slows down the absorption of alcohol – this reduces the load on the cardiovascular system, liver, but alcohol will be excreted about 20-40% slower (depends on how much fatty food was eaten).

Speed up the withdrawal of alcohol will help and special preparations for regulating the water-salt balance . An example is Rehydrone, but it should be taken immediately before the feast, as well as immediately after it, in order to prevent a sharp decrease in potassium levels (against which sodium increases, since they inhibit each other).

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Conclusion

In total, the consumption of alcoholic beverages really reduces the concentration of hemoglobin in the blood. But this does not mean that if there is an excess of it in the body, you should drink alcoholic beverages – because of the content of ethyl alcohol in them, the harm to health will be much higher than the benefit.

How is the effect of hemoglobin reduction achieved? Due to the adhesion of red blood cells, in which the membranes partially dissolve under the influence of alcohol. Further consequences are the removal of shaped bodies through the liver.

The only drink that slightly raises hemoglobin is beer (its dark varieties). Non-alcoholic beer does not have this property, so it should not be preferred.