Sunday, November 30, 2008

Weight Loss, How Alcohol Will Make You Fatter

By Ricardo d Argence

Over the years, there has been a lot of information spread around about weight loss. New diets here and a new gadget over there. There has however been little said on the effects of alcohol and weight loss. That is what we will look at here today.

While alcohol is caloric, as are virtually all foods and beverages, it differs in important ways from other substances. The first problem is that the calories that you get from alcohol are worthless, and not one calorie from alcohol has any nutritional value.

Like other calories, the ones you get from alcohol are processed in the liver. Alcohol calories are kind of like bullies, they must be burned first, this leaves all other calories patiently stored and we all know what stored calories are, they are fat.

Not only is alcohol a bad choice because it inhibits your judgement and harms your health, it is also bad for your diet. Alcohol contains twice as many calories as carbohydrates and proteins. What this means is alcohol provides seven calories per gram as opposed to carbohydrates, which contain four calories per gram. To summarize if you consume four 12-ounce beers you have ingested 600 calories! It is easy to see how prolonged use of alcohol could pack on the pounds.

A last note about alcohol's caloric effects involves mixers. Many popular alcoholic drinks are actually a mix of different substances. These additive ingredients can cause the calorie total to add up quickly. For example, one long island ice tea has an astounding 740 calories. You could get half of the calories recommended for one day in just one drink.

Another key ingredient to weight loss is your metabolism. Your metabolism is the sum of physical and chemical reactions in your cells to produce energy. Or more simply put the rate at which your body processes calories into energy. Alcohol slows this entire process, in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a person on a 1250 calorie diet where 250 of the calories were from alcohol could see as much as a 36% reduction in their metabolism. This means that you are processing calories nearly forty percent less efficiently.

Many people who consume alcohol regularly inform that at first they feel much better. On the other hand, you can suffer from depression if you drink to excess, since alcohol is actually a depressive substance. If you are feeling depressed it will feel a lot harder to diet, actually people are known to eat more as a way of comforting themselves. A vicious cycle if you stop and think about it. Depression can cause lack of motivation as well as making you less likely to want to continue any kind of exercise routine.

Water plays a significant role as far as basic health is concerned, but it is also vital for muscle building. Muscles need a pretty big amount of hydration so that they can preform correctly, with having this, there is a chance they will become week and inefficient. When alcohol is consumed the kidneys need a great quantity of water to flush toxins from the system thus causing dehydration.

Drinking to much is harmful, however a moderate amount of alcohol is good for your system. As well as the problems it can cause with weight loss, medical issues are now an added concern. When all is said and done, if you are trying to be healthier and lose weight, you should avoid alcohol. If you must drink, red wine is considered the safest alternative until your weight is under control. - 15784

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