For years, you’ve enjoyed sipping on a nightly cocktail. Not only did you enjoy the ritual, but you confidently imbibed knowing that health experts extolled the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption.
TCM views alcohol as a potent substance that significantly affects the balance of the body’s organ systems. Let’s start with the effects of how heavy alcohol consumption affects it.
As in Western medicine, heavy drinking stresses the liver. The TCM Liver is responsible for the free flow of Qi and Blood and the storage of Blood.
Drinking heavily impairs the liver’s ability to regulate Qi. Consequently, Liver Qi stagnation ensues. This swamp-like flow of energy results in irritability, mood swings, and tension. Long-term heavy consumption can also cause Liver Heat or Fire. This explains why some heavy drinkers display anger and red eyes, as well as headaches and other symptoms.
Overconsumption burdens Liver’s ability to store Blood, causing Liver Blood deficiency. With this pattern, symptoms such as dizziness, dry eyes, fatigue and brittle nails may manifest.
Alcohol is considered damp and hot in nature. Damp Heat is the archenemy of the Spleen. Damp Heat causes Spleen Qi deficiency. If your Spleen doesn’t have the Qi power to transform nutrients, you’ll experience bloating, diarrhea, fatigue, poor appetite, and weakened immune function.
Moreover, alcohol can cause Stomach Heat, which leads to symptoms like acid reflux, nausea, vomiting, and excessive thirst.
The Heart responsibility is housing the body’s Shen (consciousness and spirit) and it’s easy to see how heavy drinking can cause insomnia and anxiety. This is because booze possesses hot and damp properties that can promote the TCM pattern of Heart Fire. The irrational behavior that some alcoholics display is the result of Heart Fire disturbing Shen.
Heavy alcohol consumption can harm the Kidney channel, which is the foundation of Yin and Yang in the body. In addition, the Kidneys also house the body’s Jing (Essence). Think of Jing as your body’s longevity bank account. Drink heavily and you’ll deplete your longevity savings account. On the Yin/Yang Qi spectrum, excessive alcohol consumption especially depletes Yin, leading to Kidney Yin deficiency. This lack of cooling Qi in the Kidney meridian causes symptoms like lower back pain, tinnitus, night sweats, and premature aging.
Alcohol in small amounts invigorates Blood circulation, promotes Qi flow, and even aids digestion when consumed during meals. In TCM, alcohol is a warming substance that can disperse cold and help unblock stagnant Qi, particularly in cold weather or for individuals with a cold constitution.
From a TCM perspective, different types of alcohol have varying properties. For example, rice wine is warming and promotes digestion and circulation. If you have a Cold constitution or have a Damp-Heat invasion, rice wine is theoretically less harmful than beer.
Beer, on the other hand, is damp in nature and more cooling. While it may be blissful to your taste buds to sip cold beer on a hot day, your Spleen organ system despises beer. It creates Dampness in the body, leading to bloating, weight gain, and sluggish digestion.
If you want to drink in moderation, TCM generally favors warm and dry alcohols, like rice wine, over cold and damp types, like beer.
