If you have ulcerative colitis or been recently diagnosed, you may be wondering about the effects of ulcerative colitis and alcohol. Like many things relating to ulcerative colitis, the impacts of drinking alcohol can vary in people.
Alcohol is not believed to cause ulcerative colitis, and it is not clear how alcohol can impact flare-ups. Like most foods/drinks, there are some people that can tolerate it better than others.
Alcohol impacts on ulcerative colitis
Drinking alcohol should be approached with caution if you have ulcerative colitis. Even if it does not directly trigger a flare up, alcohol can be damaging to your over all health. It is especially important with ulcerative colitis that you live a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet, to give your body the best chance to manage the disease.
Alcohol causes you to become dehydrated, which is not good if you have UC. People with UC can lose water and electrolytes with frequent bowel movements, which need to be replenished. In addition, alcohol can also trigger diarrhoea. It can also trigger inflammation in the gut and impact the absorption of nutrients. If too much alcohol is consumed these issues could cause fatigue which is already a problem with some people experiencing flare up symptoms.
Alcohol can also weaken the immune system if too much is consumed, leading to increased chance of colds and infections.
People with ulcerative colitis also often take lots of medication. Alcohol can impact lots of medications and in some cases trigger unwanted side effects and even reduce effectiveness in some drugs.
My experience drinking alcohol with ulcerative colitis
Before my surgery for ulcerative colitis, I used to occasionally drink alcohol. During my early twenties I drank very often after I was first diagnosed, but cut back more and more as the years went on.
Although I never noticed times when alcohol would cause a flare up, there were lots of examples where it made things worse. If i drank too much alcohol, I would feel very fatigued and de hydrated the next day. If I was experiencing any UC symptoms, I would already be feeling fatigued without adding alcohol to feel even more tired. During flare ups I also noticed that diarrhoea was worse when drinking alcohol. Drinking alcohol regularly made me feel tired, lethargic and sluggish. I also used to catch colds more often which was not great for my over all health.
As I got more used to living with the disease, I began to cut back on alcohol. I found I was able to still enjoy it, but in moderation it had much less impact on my over all health and ulcerative colitis symptoms.
I found sticking to 2-3 drinks, drinking plenty of water and eating food with alcohol limited the impacts on my overall health and flare up symptoms. I also made sure I didn’t combine drinking alcohol with late nights as fatigue was already an issue for me, I needed to prioritise sleep to limit tiredness from the alcohol.
Ulcerative colitis and alcohol – Should I drink with UC?
Alcohol should be approached with caution with people who have ulcerative colitis. Although there is no evidence alcohol causes UC or causes flare ups, it is damaging to your overall health and may make flare up symptoms worse. The impacts of alcohol, like many things, can vary from person to person with UC.
With this in mind, to best manage ulcerative colitis alcohol should be avoided in large amounts to maintain better health. I found drinking in moderation would limit impacts on my health. In my experience its best avoided when flaring. Our bodies already have their work cut out fighting UC, the last thing we need is a hangover, de hydration, fatigue or any other negative health impacts alcohol causes.