Immediate Reasons Why You Should Avoid Or At Least Limit Alcohol Consumption
If you are serious about your health and longevity, you should drink alcohol in moderation or not at all. Here are some reasons you should avoid or at least limit alcohol consumption. Oh, and if these don’t convince you, next time you are in a pub, have a look around. You won’t find many fit, healthy people hanging around at 1 or 2am. And next time you’re in a gym, have a look at the toned, clean, healthy people you see. You’ll notice they carry around a bottle of water – all the time. Do they know something you don’t? Forget the alcohol, drink your water!
Alcohol is high in calories
Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, making it the second highest calorie dense food after fat (9 calories per gram). As it doesn’t satisfy appetite, it is easy to drink a lot of calories without realizing it. The calories provided are also ‘empty’, as they contain little or no nutritional benefit, other than some energy in the form of a small quantity of carbohydrates.
Alcohol is a poison
Alcohol is a toxin. It is essentially a poison that must be detoxified by the body. Clear spirits like cane, vodka and gin are easier for the body to process. Whiskey and brandy are more difficult, because the color in the liquor is essentially from the casks it is made in, and the body has to process this as well as the alcohol. Wine is fermented and contains yeast, making it more difficult for the body to deal with. Champagne contains less yeast, which makes it a good choice if you have to drink. Some blood types handle alcohol better than others. The common O blood type handles it the worst of all blood types. And women process alcohol far less efficiently than men.
Alcohol suppresses the body’s ability to burn fat
This is probably the main reason why alcohol makes you fat, and the reason behind the famous ‘beer belly’ even on drinkers who don’t eat a lot. The body has no storage capacity for alcohol like it does for carbohydrates and fats. And because it is a poison, the body must metabolize it as quickly as possible. Now, while the liver is metabolizing the alcohol, the utilization of fats, carbohydrates and protein has to be temporarily suppressed. The burning of fats is suppressed the most, because the body metabolizes carbohydrates and proteins first. In short, alcohol puts fat metabolism on hold. When alcohol is in your system, your body will simply convert more of the food you normally eat into fat (instead of into energy, as it is ‘too busy’ dealing with the alcohol). And since most people usually consume their alcohol in addition to food and not as a substitute for it, the accumulation of body fat is the result.
Alcohol interferes with the absorption of nutrients
Alcohol irritates the sensitive lining of the stomach and intestinal tract. This interferes with proper digestion and absorption of vital nutrients. It also destroys some of the good strains of bacteria that live in the intestinal tract. These bacteria assist in digestion, absorption of vitamins and in keeping harmful bacteria under control. An excess of harmful bacteria in the gut causes gas, bloating, yeast infections, stomach cramps and a disruption of the body’s pH levels (link to Acid-Alkaline Balance) and can lead to more serious health problems if not rectified. Drinking every day never gives the good bacteria a chance to re-establish themselves, which is another good reason to limit your drinking.
The metabolization of alcohol by the liver uses up the B vitamins thiamin and niacin. Alcohol also decreases the body’s ability to metabolize zinc. And it also suppresses testosterone, vital for muscle-building and optimal health for both men and women.
Alcohol dehydrates
Alcohol is a potent diuretic. It draws water out of the cells and increases the loss of water through the kidneys. This can cause the loss of water-soluble minerals, in addition to the other negative effects of dehydration.
Alcohol and health problems
Excessive alcohol consumption has been associated with 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.
If you do drink, here are some tips on how to do it sensibly:
1. Count the calories!
Factor the alcohol into your daily calorie intake if you are trying to lose weight. Also stick to drinks with the lowest possible calories – light beer, reduced- or no- sugar coolers, or reduced-alcohol wine. Cocktails are the worst as they are mixed with high-calorie additives like milk, sugar and juice.
2. Stay hydrated
If you’re dehydrated you won’t burn fat as efficiently. In addition to your normal water intake, drink an EXTRA glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you have.
3. Limit yourself
Have no more than 2 drinks per sitting and NEVER binge. Anything beyond 2 drinks can do absolutely nothing positive for you. The relaxation benefits of alcohol are achieved with one or two drinks – anything over this and the benefits become neutralized by the negative effects. As you can see from all the reasons above, abundant health and longevity are simply not compatible with alcohol. Getting drunk is frankly just not an option if you are serious about health and longevity. If you are a heavy drinker and you are serious about your long-term health, do something about it. If you suspect it is an addiction, face it and get help. Kinesiology (link to Kinesiology – A Miracle Cure?) is a technique well worth considering for this.
4. Don’t drink often or daily
The common advice is to ‘drink in moderation’ – 1 drink a day for women and 2 drinks for men. However, it is not a good idea to drink every day – 2 drinks a day adds up to 14 drinks a week, still a lot of alcohol for the liver to process. Alcohol destroys the good intestinal flora in your gut, and drinking every day never gives a chance for this to recover. Drinking every day also builds on the habit of drinking. We are naturally creatures of habit and this is one habit that will not serve our quest for health and a long, disease-free life very well.
4. Avoid late nights
Drinking and late nights often go together. Late nights mean disrupted sleep, less sleep and a lower quality of sleep. The body needs rest and thrives on structure and schedule. Late nights interfere with this and often, your exercise program. Alcohol also disturbs your sleep as the body tries to process it.
5. Peer pressure
As anyone who has ever tried to stop drinking knows, there is tremendous social pressure to drink and this can be a problem for some people. It’s possibly a little easier for women but can be very difficult for guys. The harsh truth is, if it’s a major problem, you may need to consider who you spend time with. You will always become like those you spend time with – and it’s easier for losers to reach up and pull you down rather than to try and climb up and improve themselves. 99% of the world doesn’t care that you are trying to improve yourself. The only ones who do care are those people who are trying to improve themselves. The Food Pyramid – Old and BRAND NEW!
One way of doing it is to have a funny story prepared beforehand for when people ask (and they will). It’s pointless trying to give the real reason! Try something like, ‘I have a genetic liver disorder, I wish I could drink with you guys but I just can’t take chances’ or ‘my doctor says (it’s amazing what people believe if you use these magic words!) I don’t have the enzymes to digest alcohol, so the toxins build up in my liver and other organs’. This takes the pressure off and you can relax and have a bit of fun too. And eventually people will get used to it and stop hassling you to drink.