Alcohol Effects on Metabolism
Alcohol is the most abused drug in the entire world and can be a devastating factor in the diet game for someone who is trying to lose weight. Alcohol is also high in calories and offers no nutritional value whatsoever. As an added bonus, any alcohol that you consume slows your metabolism and increases your desire to eat.
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Fat on the Back Burner
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Alcohol is toxic to the body, and our bodies know it. So, the body works overtime to dispose of it at the expense of stored up fat. In the book "Nutrition," Paul M. Insel explains that if alcohol were to be stored within the body, the result would be the catastrophic destruction of organs and cells. To avoid this, the body quickly metabolizes any alcohol that is consumed--making it top priority.
Absorption
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The first organ that alcohol hits when it enters your body is your stomach. Once the alcohol hits your stomach, the absorption process begins. AlcoholMonitoring.com reports that while some of the alcohol is absorbed immediately into the blood stream, the remainder is absorbed into the small intestine first. It then passes through the portal vein and into your waiting liver.
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Acetate
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Approximately 95 percent of the alcohol that you consume enters the liver and is ultimately transformed into acetate. The more you drink the more acetate your liver creates. Unfortunately, your body will mistake acetate for fuel and proceed to utilize it for energy. This scenario is not only unhealthy but also bad for anyone who needs to lose body fat. According to College Health Guru, the more acetate the body uses for fuel, the less stored fat the body burns, and the more weight you can potentially pack on.
It Gets Worse
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Your liver is only capable of metabolizing a certain amount of alcohol at a time, regardless of the amount that you ingest. Therefore, an evening of heavy drinking can take more of a toll on your metabolism than a single night cap. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reports that it takes approximately one hour to consume one drink, which is equal to 1.5 oz. of 80 proof liquor, one 12 oz. can of beer and 5 oz. of wine. Any more alcohol beyond these limits in an hour will remain in your blood stream until your liver can play catch up. This means that even if you were to run a mile after drinking, fat burning would still have to wait.
Truth about Carbs
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According to Shapefit, LLC, alcoholic beverages that go through the distillation process such as vodka and rum contain no carbohydrates. Wines are essentially low in carbs because the grapes lose their sugar content when they convert to alcohol, and beers that are "low carb" do have fewer carbohydrates than ordinary beers. But each form of alcohol is still high in calories. This unmistakable fact can further fuel weight gain issues in people who are trying to lose weight. Not only does the alcohol need time to metabolize, while you wait for that to happen excess calories are being added to your waistline.
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- Photo Credit Michal Zacharzewski: sxc.hu
