Dr. Jeffrey GladdenFounder & CEO of Gladden Longevity

Alcohol Might Be Fueling Your Anxiety‼️

7 Aug 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:55

In this segment of Dr. Jeffrey Gladden's video, he explains how alcohol can exacerbate anxiety through several biological mechanisms. He describes that GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, requires sufficient receptors to produce calming effects; individuals with fewer GABA receptors may need to consume more alcohol to achieve the same calming effect, creating a vicious cycle of increased drinking and heightened anxiety. He also notes that alcohol, especially certain drinks like champagne, can raise histamine levels, which further triggers anxiety. Finally, Dr. Gladden emphasizes that genetic factors, sulfur metabolism, and other individual differences mean that dietary impacts of alcohol are highly personalized, underscoring the importance of tailoring advice to each person rather than applying a one‑size‑fits‑all diet approach.

Chapters

is the GABA receptors. So GABA is an amino acid that helps calm your brain, and it's— we've seen that in research, they show that when you have less GABA receptors, you can actually— when you drink alcohol, you need to drink more alcohol to calm you. So those people tend to drink more to get that effect. But then, like you say, so then there's that vicious cycle of having to drink more and more to get that effect, and that anxiety that just perpetuates. The other thing is that you could maybe get high histamine levels from drinking alcohol. So the histamine is high, that causes anxiety because we know it also makes you more anxious. Champagne's the highest. Yes. Champagne's the highest histamine drink, right? So, yes.
Yeah. And it's really interesting. You know, there's things like histamine, sulfur, different people's genetics. They're built in different ways. And when it comes to food, this is why I say that the diet is never about the food. It's really about the individual.