Hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle affect many processes in a woman’s life. According to scientists from New York the female sex hormone estrogen can promote excessive alcohol consumption. So, a few days before ovulation and during it, women can drink more than in any other part of the cycle.
The results were published in the journal Nature Communications. Experiments on mice show that high levels of estrogen stimulate the cerebral cortex. This area shows increased activity when drinking alcohol, which encourages further rapid drinking.
“When a female mouse first tastes alcohol, these neurons literally go crazy. And if there is a high level of estrogen during that period, this activity is even more intense,” explains Dr. Kristen Pleil, study co-author and pharmacology expert at Weill Cornell Medicine.
The human menstrual cycle naturally involves similar hormone fluctuations, which suggests that estrogen might play a role in women as wellnot only in mice. This hormone is known to influence emotions, and research confirms that it can also modulate drinking behavior.
For women, four or more drinks within two hours are considered binge drinking. Such behavior increases the risk of liver damage and can even lead to the failure of this organ. It is also interesting that men have the same brain infrastructure, including estrogen receptors. The difference is only in its source – in men, estrogen is produced by the conversion of testosterone directly in the brain.
The increasing consumption of alcohol among women is supported by trends on social networks that present drinking as a modern way of relaxation. Scientists warn that this trend has serious consequences, and they call for greater awareness of the hormonal and social factors that influence alcohol consumption, especially among women.
