The intake of alcohol whether just over dinner, with friends at the local pub or at a social function, or even while just relaxing alone, has become a part of the lifestyle of many individuals. But is alcohol really that bad and more importantly, does it really make people to become fat?
While there might be some divergent views on this, scientifically it is has been severally demonstrated that "moderate" alcohol consumption does actually offer some health benefits, nevertheless, its excessive intake also has the ability to make people fat.
To begin with, some of the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption actually comes from the alcohol itself as it helps to lower blood pressure and stress levels. Also the constituent ingredients of alcoholic drinks such as wine, especially the polyphenols in red wine, have antioxidant properties by themselves.
Other benefits of moderate alcohol consumption include its anti-clotting properties which provide some protective effect against heart attacks. Also, modest alcohol intake helps to increase the levels of HDL "good" cholesterol while lowering LDL "bad" cholesterol levels.
Pure alcohol in and of itself is high in calories as it contains about 7 calories per gram. It is therefore only slightly lower than fat which has 9 calories per gram but almost twice the amount of calories in both carbohydrates and proteins which have about 4 calories per gram each.
Although these values may seem small, it is helpful remembering that one beer (340ml) is equivalent to 12 ounces and this yields about 84KCal. Also, while one day of excessive calorie intake may not be too alarming, the cumulative amount over time should however become a source of worry as this can lead to excessive fat storage in the body.
With that said, how exactly then does alcohol consumption interfere with an individual's weight loss efforts? The simple fact is that upon consumption, alcohol virtually slows or put more appropriately, stalls the metabolism of fat by the body.
This stalling of the body's fat metabolism is occasioned by the fact that the body cannot store alcohol and therefore must have to burn it off as energy in order to rid it from the body. The body achieves this by converting some of the ingested alcohol to fat but majority of it to acetate which is then released into the bloodstream. The body then automatically switches to the acetate as its primary source of energy fuel.
There are actually studies which indicate that the body's metabolism can be reduced by as much as 73% for several hours after just two drinks. Some other research studies have observed that while a few drinks can stall fat loss for a few hours, excess intake of alcohol can however stall it for as long as four days.
While the acetate replaces fat metabolism, the body therefore has the propensity to store the fat derived from any subsequent food intake due to the fact that it is already getting its energy fuel from the acetate gotten from the alcohol you just drank.
Furthermore, some studies have found that people are more likely to eat as much as 200 calories or more without knowing it when they have a drink before or during a meal. This is due to the fact that alcohol dehydrates the body, which in turn makes you start feeling hungry and thus more likely to engage in overeating.
There are equally other important weight loss components that alcohol consumption interferes with such as muscle mass. The dehydrating effect of alcohol makes muscle development difficult as the body needs to be well-hydrated to build muscles. This is an important consideration because the more lean muscle mass you have the greater your BMR and thus your fat burning capability.
Similarly, alcohol raises the level of cortisol (a muscle-wasting hormone) and reduces the production of testosterone for about 24 hours. Alcohol equally retards muscle recovery while also reducing protein synthesis which generally makes you feel lethargic.
Alcohol is further known to cause an increase in the level of the female hormone - estrogen. Estrogen increase in men usually causes fat deposition around the abdomen and the development of "man boobs." In women this often results in irregular menstrual cycles and cycles without ovulation. Increased alcohol consumption has also been linked with an increased risk of breast cancer in women.
However, while it is crystal clear that excessive alcohol consumption does actually cause weight gain, it might be very difficult for a lot of people to totally quit making use of it. Therefore it is highly advised to make better beverage choices and more importantly to drink in moderation if you are at all serious about losing weight.