Alcohol and fat-burning
If you’re serious about your health, fitness, and athletic performance and you want
the maximum possible benefit from your program, you should drink alcoholic beverages
in moderation or not at all. “Moderation” is usually defined as one drink for women, two
drinks for men. One or two drinks won’t do much harm, and may even have some health
benefits such as increased HDL, the good type of cholesterol. Excessive alcohol
consumption will definitely compromise the results you'll get from your nutrition and
training program.
Alcohol has the second highest calorie density of all food types
At 7 calories per gram, Alcohol is the 2nd most calorie dense nutrient behind fat,
which contains 9 calories per gram. Therefore, alcohol contributes a large number of
calories to your total daily intake above and beyond the food you normally consume.
Because the alcohol is metabolized by the liver, the alcohol is not converted directly into
body fat. But this doesn't mean that drinking alcohol won't make you fat.
Alcohol suppresses the body's ability to burn body fat
The body has no storage capacity for alcohol like it does for carbohydrates and
fats. Since alcohol must be detoxified as quickly as possible, the oxidation of the alcohol
takes top priority over the oxidation of other macronutrients. In other words, while the liver is busy metabolizing alcohol, the utilization of fats, carbohydrates, and protein has to be temporarily suppressed. The burning of fats is suppressed the most, because it’s
positioned at the bottom of the oxidative hierarchy. Lyle McDonald, author of “The
Ketogenic Diet” says, “The consumption of alcohol will almost completely impair the
body’s use of fat for fuel.” In the book “Power Eating,” dietician Susan Kleiner writes,
“Alcohol puts fat metabolism on hold. It’s not your friend if you’re trying to stay lean.”
When alcohol is in your system, your body will simply convert more of the food
you normally eat into body fat. Regardless of whether the calories come from food or
drinks, if you consume more calories than your body needs, the excess will be stored as
fat. Since most people usually consume their alcohol in addition to food instead of as a
substitute for it, the accumulation of body fat is usually the result.
Alcohol provides little or no nutritional value
Alcoholic beverages provide little or no nutritional value. Alcohol is empty
calories just like refined sugar is empty calories. There are trace amounts of some
vitamins and minerals, but they’re present in such tiny quantities that their nutritional
value is insignificant. Aside from providing some energy in the form of a small quantity
of carbohydrates, alcohol is empty calories.
Alcohol interferes with the absorption of nutrients
If the lack of nutritional value isn’t bad enough, alcohol actually depletes the body
of vitamins and minerals from other foods you eat. Alcohol irritates the lining of the
stomach and intestinal tract and interferes with proper digestion and absorption of vital
nutrients. The metabolization of alcohol by the liver uses up the B vitamins niacin and thiamin. Alcohol can also decrease your body’s ability to metabolize zinc.
Alcohol is a poison
Alcohol is a toxin. It’s essentially a poison that must be detoxified by the body.
Alcohol dehydrates you
Alcohol is a potent diuretic. It draws water out of the cells and increases the loss
of water through the kidneys. The increased fluid output can cause the loss of watersoluble
minerals and all of the other negative effects of dehydration.
Alcohol contributes to numerous health problems
Alcohol has been associated with the development of numerous health problems,
and degenerative diseases including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke,
cardiomyopathy, abnormal heart rhythms, liver disease, cancer, decreased resistance to
infections, gout, and hypoglycemia.
Alcohol decreases natural testosterone production
Alcohol suppresses Testosterone, one of the main anabolic (muscle building)
hormones. Enough said.
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