Alcohol and Metabolism

Fredrigo

So after I went to a medical seminar on diabetes, heart disease and hypertension and getting a lot of information about metabolism I decided I needed to include a serving of alcohol in my daily meal plans.

After several months I've definitely noticed that with a single drink I lose weight more consistently than if I drink nothing or drink more. It doesn't seem to matter if it's wine, beer, or hard liquor it all seems to work the same.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar?

JDNOX

I have not experienced that but have read a study on it where they said the work out can be more productive if you have a drink.

haileemou

I was worried about the alcohol doing the opposite! Mmmh! How does it speed up the metabolism?

goron59

I'm usually *much* lighter after going on a pub crawl, but I suspect that's more to do with the 5 hours of standing/walking and dehydration.

dumb_blondes_rock

See, not only is AA for quitters, but it will also make you fat! lol....I have always heard that a 4oz serving of red wine helps blood flow and helps the heart and liver because it has a ton of antioxidants in it.....but, i mean cmon, who drinks only 4oz?

haileemou

and glass to mouth movement goron59 hehe

dumb_blondes_rock

I usually only drink on the weekends, but there was a point and time in teh winter where i was drinking like 3 times a week and i lost 15 pounds out of nowhere.....but when i drink i don't really eat much, i dont' get the crazy munchies

kyle4jem

I only really drink at the weekends, but might just start having a wee snifter before dinner :drinker:

I know a medium glass of red and a couple of squares of dark chocolate are supposed to be good for the heart, but the chocolate'll have to wait till maintenance phase :ohwell:

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

I know nothing about alcohol, all I know is that nicotine found in cigarettes can help boost metabolism a bit but you can also get the same benefits with drinking green tea.

zowgati

I guess it depends if your aiming to be thin our healthy. If the aim is just to thin there are plenty of unhealthy ways to do that- cigarettes and booze all round for a skinny coffin it seems

TheShelterCat

So I shouldnt quit smoking and drinking??? :laugh:

Felesina1

Well, I wouldn't quit drinking.... and enjoy the occassional cigar. But from a health standpoint, the only other commercial use for nicotine other than smoking is as a pesticide. So we each have to make our own decision.

corsayre8

I guess it depends if your aiming to be thin our healthy. If the aim is just to thin there are plenty of unhealthy ways to do that- cigarettes and booze all round for a skinny coffin it seems

Really? A glass a day isn't going to kill you,and depending on the study you can even find evidence to support having a drink or two a day.

If you choose not to drink, fine, nobody cares. But that post screams superiority and spreads fear.

zowgati

Thanx for the feedback but what I was refering to was the attitudes of placing weight loss above health, and using examples of how taking that to the extreme is deadly. I am not aware of any study that links alcohol and cigarette consumption to healthy weight loss but each to there own

Fredrigo

Thanx for the feedback but what I was refering to was the attitudes of placing weight loss above health, and using examples of how taking that to the extreme is deadly. I am not aware of any study that links alcohol and cigarette consumption to healthy weight loss but each to there own

Smoking has been linked to weight management but the risks are easily worse than the benifits in the long run. It's like cutting off your hand so you stop burning your fingers.

The study wasn't able to discern how alcohol worked but follow up studies did confirm that consistent moderate (1 or 2 servings a day) consumption helped regulate blood sugar levels and other digestive properties appetite suppression occured as well but it's hard to determine if that is caused by the reaction of the digestive tract or if the alcohol affects the brain and that tells the body to start reacting differently. The studies also clearly stated this only applies with moderate drinking. The health risk chart (which assessed heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension) looked like a the letter J with more risk at no alcohol, reduced risk with moderate consumption; and increasing risk as consumption increased beyond moderate.

kitinboots

http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html

Fredrigo

That was a great article and explains a lot of my observations since I was usually drinking spirits as my nightly "dose" and as a diabetic I try to follow a nutritional profile similar to the one outlined.

zowgati

Wow! so your telling me I am more likely to get heart disease, diabetes and hypertension is I don't drink than if I do?? Really?? I guess when you through in the impact on my liver, my weight (based on the sugar in alcohol) and my mind (as alcohol is a depressant) I'm happy to take my chances as a happy and healthy non-drinker and non-smoker!

LoveHoodies

I always knew I was doing my body good with a bottle of wine a night

Fredrigo

Wow! so your telling me I am more likely to get heart disease, diabetes and hypertension is I don't drink than if I do?? Really?? I guess when you through in the impact on my liver, my weight (based on the sugar in alcohol) and my mind (as alcohol is a depressant) I'm happy to take my chances as a happy and healthy non-drinker and non-smoker!

Just because a study shows statistically that there is benefit to moderate alcohol consumption that doesn't mean it will help everyone. Each of our body chemistries are different and more importantly any habit (even healthy ones) still have to fit within your personal concept of acceptable behavior.

That being said if you read the article linked above it does explain how moderate alcohol can help your liver, why the calories don't burn the same as regular calories, and how the mild depressant properties may help appetite suppression. Again the emphasis is that this is all based on moderation.

BrewerGeorge

Wow! so your telling me I am more likely to get heart disease, diabetes and hypertension is I don't drink than if I do?? Really?? I guess when you through in the impact on my liver, my weight (based on the sugar in alcohol) and my mind (as alcohol is a depressant) I'm happy to take my chances as a happy and healthy non-drinker and non-smoker!

Surely you know that alcohol has been with us since the monkey days. Chimps, elephants and other animals actively seek out fermented fruit to get the buzz. We're evolved to consume it. For most of history people literally lived on weak (1% or so) beer instead of water 100% of the time because boiling the beer sterilized the source water, and no harmful pathogen can live in finished beer with live yeast. It's also a very good source of B vitamins and trace minerals.

There are even well-regarded anthropological theories that link the first agriculture to the desire to make beer rather than eat the grain. If the agricultural revolution led to the start of civilization, then you can thank beer for civilization itself.

The problem is not the alcohol, but how available it is in our rich Western society. Except for that house brew (1%) I described above, strong beers and wines were for special occasions and represented real sacrifices of otherwise available food calories. A case of beer requires about 7 pounds of barley to make. That costs us less than twenty bucks now, but 7 lbs of barley is a big deal when you have to grow it yourself. That's a lot of meals for the family.

So like most everything else, the real problem is not the alcohol itself, but how easy it has become for us to get and overconsume.