Alcohol and Your Pancreas — The Forgotten Organ

When people talk about alcohol and health, they usually mention the liver, the brain, maybe the heart. But there’s another organ quietly taking damage — and it often doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Your pancreas. In this episode of Trust Your Health, we’re uncovering what alcohol really does to your pancreas — how it disrupts your digestion, throws off your blood sugar, and raises your risk of painful and even life-threatening conditions. Let’s start with what the pancreas actually does. It sits just behind your stomach and has two main jobs. First, it produces enzymes that help break down fats, proteins, and carbs so you can absorb nutrients. Second, it makes hormones — like insulin and glucagon — that regulate your blood sugar. When you drink alcohol, you interfere with both of these jobs. Alcohol irritates the pancreas and disrupts the normal timing of its enzyme release. Normally, your pancreas sends enzymes into your small intestine, where they help digest your food. But with alcohol, those enzymes — like amylase, lipase, and proteases — can get activated too early, right inside the pancreas itself. Instead of breaking down food, they start breaking down the pancreas’s own tissue, essentially digesting the organ from the inside. This triggers inflammation and damage, a condition called acute pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis can be excruciating, with severe upper abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and fever. In some cases, it requires hospitalization. But it doesn’t always stop there. Repeated drinking and repeated inflammation can lead to chronic pancreatitis — where the pancreas becomes permanently damaged and scarred. This can result in long-term digestive problems, malnutrition, and unrelenting pain. Alcohol also interferes with the pancreas’s hormone function. Over time, heavy drinking can impair insulin production and make your body less sensitive to insulin. This raises your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and can worsen blood sugar control if you already have diabetes. What’s worse is that pancreatic damage often happens silently. By the time symptoms show up — like greasy stools, unexplained abdominal pain, or unstable blood sugar — the pancreas may already be significantly impaired. Here’s what you can do. If you drink, keep it to a minimum — and take alcohol-free days each week. Pay attention to warning signs like unexplained abdominal pain, greasy or floating stools, or swings in your blood sugar. If you already have diabetes, pancreatitis, or digestive issues, talk with your doctor about cutting alcohol completely. And don’t assume your pancreas is fine just because you feel fine. This small, vital organ deserves your care as much as your heart or liver. In our next episode, we’ll look at how alcohol disrupts your reproductive system — and why it can affect your hormones, fertility, and sexual health more than most people realize. Thanks for listening to Trust Your Health. Because trusting your health begins by understanding your body. Be sure to follow the podcast so whenever you need clear, honest advice about your body, we’ll be here to help you make sense of it.