If you consume alcohol in beverages -- wine or beer, for example -- you might wonder whether the alcohol affects the function of enzymes in your body. While alcohol does interact with some of your body enzymes, it has no effect whatsoever on most of them; most notably, it has no effect on your digestive enzymes.
Alcohol
In chemical terms, "alcohol" refers to a broad class of compounds. However, colloquially speaking, "alcohol" typically refers to ethanol, or grain alcohol, which forms when yeast breaks down the sugars in grapes, grains or various other sugary or starchy foods. When you consume ethanol, you typically feel relaxed and may lose your inhibitions due to its effect on your nervous system. Consumption of larger quantities of alcohol can affect your movement, and in very large quantities, it affects your base functions, such as respiration.
Enzymes
Enzymes are proteins that help regulate and speed up the chemical reactions in your body, explain Drs. Reginald Garrett and Charles Grisham in their book "Biochemistry." Every cell in your body depends on enzymes to function. Of the many enzymes your cells use, some are digestive enzymes and help your digestive tract break down the nutrients in your food. Others generate energy or help cells communicate.
Enzymes Affected by Alcohol
Alcohol affects a very limited number of enzymes. An article published in "Circulation" in 2000 by Dr. E. De Oliviera e Silva and colleagues notes that alcohol affects the function of an enzyme responsible for transport of certain fat and protein combinations -- called lipoproteins -- ultimately increasing production of high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, in the body. The enzyme ADH, or alcohol dehydrogenase, isn't technically affected by alcohol, but does react with it; ADH helps you break alcohol down for excretion.
Unaffected Enzymes
Alcohol does not affect most of the other enzymes in the body. Of particular importance, digestive enzymes -- which some alternative health practitioners claim the deficiencies of can cause a variety of health problems -- aren't affected by alcohol. If you're concerned as to whether your alcohol consumption is resulting in any negative health effects or if you want to know whether moderate alcohol consumption can improve your health, you should talk to your doctor.
References
- "Biochemistry"; Reginald Garrett, Ph.D., et al.; 2007
- "Circulation"; Alcohol Consumption Raises HDL Cholesterol Levels by Increasing the Transport Rate of Apolipoproteins A-I and A-II; E. De Oliviera e Silva, et al.; 2000
