Summertime and holidays are so many opportunities to have an aperitif, or a glass or two. But under the effect of heat, the body tolerates alcohol less. Complex molecular mechanisms involved in physiological regulation systems are disturbed by the ingestion of alcohol. The cumulative effect of these disturbances and the body’s natural responses to high temperatures can have deleterious consequences.
L’alcohol called again ethanol or ethyl alcohol, once ingested in the digestive tractgoes into the blood then is metabolized, mainly in the liverwhere it is transformed into acetaldehyde. psychoactive substanceI’alcohol is known for its different effects on the body. It promotes the release of dopamine (activation of the reward system) providing a feeling of well-being and disinhibition (euphoria) and can in a second phase have sedative properties. The effects on the the nervous system are easy to see but molecular mechanisms complexes involving cell membranesthe neurotransmittersneuropeptides and ion channels intervening in the cellular exchanges, are altered during a poisoning acute.
In the summer period, and in response to a high outside temperature, the body temperature regulation processes generate a vasodilatation skin and an increase in sweat contributing to a dehydration. These natural adaptations of the body to heat will be amplified by the side effects set in during a ingestion significant amount of alcohol.
The vasodilating effect of alcohol
Because it acts on the receptors involved in the processes of contraction and relaxation of muscle cells smooth blood vessels, alcohol has an effect vasodilator whose importance varies with the environment in which the consumer is located. The higher the temperature of the medium, the greater the vasodilation.
This mechanism leads to an increase in the temperature of the skin, manifested by a sensation of heat which, coupled with the sun, can be dangerous. A feeling of malaise may occur and sensitivity to heatstroke is increased.
The diuretic effect of alcohol
Alcohol increases a state of dehydration. This phenomenon results from its diuretic properties. Although the mechanisms are poorly understood, alcohol is an inhibitor of vasopressin (anti-diuretic hormone produced by thehypothalamus which promotes the reabsorption of water at the renal level and which is involved in the sensation of thirst). In case of’alcohol intoxicationthe urine are more dilute, more frequent and the quantity of water evacuated is greater than that ingested in the alcoholic drink. This results in a cumulative state of dehydration with that associated with sweating in a hot environment.
Interested in what you just read?
Subscribe to the newsletter Health question of the week : our answer to a question you ask yourself (more or less secretly). All our newsletters