Source: RENE MILLER
We’ve all done it.
We sit down to a nice meal. A well rounded plate. Some carbs. Some fat. Some protein. Glass of wine, a beer or two maybe.
Before I become the bearer of reality and bad news, let me preface this by saying I am not anti-alcohol. I love beer. Always have, always will. However, alcohol can wreck some serious havoc on our bodies, our wallets, our relationships, and in the end, our lives…. and here is why.
When we take one sip of alcohol, this is what happens in the digestion process. The body is going to say, OK first I need to process the alcohol because there is no storage space for alcohol in the body. Remember, the body is a machine…..a complex and intelligent machine. It is going to fight for you even when you treat it badly. Alcohol is a toxin, so the second it enters the body it is recognized as poison. The body does everything it can to get rid of it. This goes for any and every toxin.
If you look at the oxidative process, you would see that it kind of goes in order of storage capacity. Your body simply cannot store alcohol as it serves no function. So the body wants to get rid of it. If we keep drinking before it can get processed, the body really suffers. This is how we get the buzzed feeling and eventually drunk. The liver simply cannot keep up the filtration process. Alcohol at high levels in the blood stream can kill you. So the body is going to protect itself. How? Well it’s going to process all that alcohol first before it moves on to dealing with other fuels/food sources. This is really important, especially if weight loss is a goal.
Holly Haze chimes in. “When I worked as a health coach, I can’t tell you how many times I heard, ‘I eat really well, I’m even “vegan” and I still can’t lose weight. But I can’t give up my wine every night!’ There are not many good reasons for alcohol consumption. For weight loss alone, it is recommended to have no alcohol.” Holly explains. “When you have alcohol, and snacks, and fat, and any carbohydrates, those immediately gets stored into your storage sites, or your adipose sites (which are your fat cells). So when you add alcohol in addition to other fuels, those are going to get stored away while your body deals with alcohol first. The body HAS to deal with the alcohol first because the body is smart and immediately recognizes it as toxin and works super hard burn it all off.”
What is considered “normal” alcohol intake, and the amount of alcohol promoted as being safe by health authorities is not safe at all.
To reiterate, I do not abstain from alcohol, or am I suggesting that most people need to. But alcoholic beverages are treats to be enjoyed on special occasions, not to be consumed regularly as part of a health-promoting diet.
