Get ready for the "I told you so's" from your die hard teetotal friends....scientists have come up with another reason not to drink ( heavily at least).
There is a vast number of microorganisms (called the microbiome) in your body. It is becoming more and more evident that various factors including the food you eat, your lifestyle habits and medications you take, have a huge impact on the bacterial colonies that reside within your body. For example, a study in 2015 in the BMJ highlighted the fact that fibre might be very critical in keeping your gut flora healthy. Another recent study in Nature Microbiology showed that the taking of antibiotics may have a powerful effect on the microbiome, changing the flora in your body which may be passed down through generations, possible leading to disease.
Now, in a newly published study by Microbiome, scientists may have found a definite association between heavy drinking and its change of the 700 types of bacteria in your microbiome in your mouth.
The study looked at 1,044 adults and had them rinse out their mouth with mouth wash and fill in health and lifestyle questionnaires. After sequencing their bacterial colonies, the researchers found some clear differences in the oral microbiomes of drinkers versus non-drinkers. Drinkers had higher levels of three strains of bacteria linked to disease — including cancers of the head, neck, oesophagus and pancreas — and less of a type of bacteria that may protect the body from germs.
The more someone drank, the more pronounced these effects tended to be. These differences are likely due to the way bacteria interacts with compounds in alcohol as it’s metabolized.
So in summary, heavy drinking has a detrimental effect in the mouth! Everything in moderation you guys....