Alcohol - Moderation and Myth
The effects of drinking a light cocktail are not always noticeable from a cellular level but you might notice things like: you don't sleep as well, you look tired and older, or you may feel tired or even ill.
You are usually paying this price within 24 hours and sometimes for a few days.
When you drink even just one bottle of beer, one glass of wine, or 1 ounce of alcohol you are depleting the cells in your body of two vital components: water and nutrients.
It is comforting to hear how one or two drinks a day can be good for your health.
The fact is though, alcohol is a toxic drug and is poison to your body.
When you really try to weigh the benefits to the costs it is quite an uneven scale.
The benefits for people will be different and personal.
The costs are all the same and speak for themselves.
The Costs of Drinking Alcohol
Here are some common myths and some coinciding facts about alcohol consumption.
Myth: 4 ounces of wine is fat free and only 125 calories.
This can't really cause all that much weight gain.
Fact:By interfering with the metabolism of food, alcohol causes weight gain.
Unlike food, alcohol requires no digestion.
About 20% will pass right through the walls of your stomach right into your bloodstream and the rest will be absorbed into the small intestine.
Then it heads to the liver.
The alcohol will then become a top priority for your liver which immediately recognizes it as a toxin.
The way it deals with it is by turning it into glucose which then it metabolizes for energy.
But this is a slow process.
So all the food that you ate or have eaten, and the metabolization of it, gets put on the back burner because your liver is busy dealing with the alcohol.
So all that food is left to turn into fat.
And grossly these fats go into the bloodstream and go on to cause tissue damage, affect immunity,and get stored in fat cells.
It can take up to 48 hours for your bodyto return to metabolize fat normally.
So you have seriously compromised your chances of weight loss and will probably even gain weight.
Myth: Drinking beer while playing sports is okay Fact: Your body's ability to turn food to energy is affected by alcohol and you need that energy when you are exercising.
Drinking will also reduce your endurance, slow down your reaction times, and increases loss of body heat.
You body will be dehydrated and you can develop muscle cramps.
If you drink a few beers after you play sports or exercise you are not rehydrating and really hurting your body.
Your body will also be very slow to recover from any injuries that are sustained when playing.
Myth:Drink two beers as a diuretic to lose weight overnight.
Fact:If you lose weight it is unfortunately temporary.
Drinking alcohol causes water to drain out of your cells.
So attention to all the women out there- this will cause older-looking skin in as little as 24 hours.
The weight loss is usually caused by increased urination and dehydration.
Once you start drinking water again you will weigh the same again.
Myth: Having a drink at bedtime will relax me and help me get deeper sleep.
Fact: The drink may make you feel really drowsy and put you out, but sleep research has shown that your wakefulness during the second half of your sleep cycle will be increased.
Getting a deep sleep is also a key to prevent aging so the alcohol is not by any means going to help with that.
As you can see the costs of drinking alcohol are high.
For those who don't want to give it up then here are some things you can be doing.
oMake sure you eat foods high in B vitamins like folic acid which will help protect your body against the toxins.
oDrink wines less than 5 years old.
There may be some natural antioxidants still in them.
oDrink lots of water to counteract the dehydration and help with detoxification.
You are usually paying this price within 24 hours and sometimes for a few days.
When you drink even just one bottle of beer, one glass of wine, or 1 ounce of alcohol you are depleting the cells in your body of two vital components: water and nutrients.
It is comforting to hear how one or two drinks a day can be good for your health.
The fact is though, alcohol is a toxic drug and is poison to your body.
When you really try to weigh the benefits to the costs it is quite an uneven scale.
The benefits for people will be different and personal.
The costs are all the same and speak for themselves.
The Costs of Drinking Alcohol
- Alcohol can cause cancer
- It increases blood pressure
- It causes fluctuations in blood sugar levels
- It ages your skin
- It contributes to weight gain and obesity.
Here are some common myths and some coinciding facts about alcohol consumption.
Myth: 4 ounces of wine is fat free and only 125 calories.
This can't really cause all that much weight gain.
Fact:By interfering with the metabolism of food, alcohol causes weight gain.
Unlike food, alcohol requires no digestion.
About 20% will pass right through the walls of your stomach right into your bloodstream and the rest will be absorbed into the small intestine.
Then it heads to the liver.
The alcohol will then become a top priority for your liver which immediately recognizes it as a toxin.
The way it deals with it is by turning it into glucose which then it metabolizes for energy.
But this is a slow process.
So all the food that you ate or have eaten, and the metabolization of it, gets put on the back burner because your liver is busy dealing with the alcohol.
So all that food is left to turn into fat.
And grossly these fats go into the bloodstream and go on to cause tissue damage, affect immunity,and get stored in fat cells.
It can take up to 48 hours for your bodyto return to metabolize fat normally.
So you have seriously compromised your chances of weight loss and will probably even gain weight.
Myth: Drinking beer while playing sports is okay Fact: Your body's ability to turn food to energy is affected by alcohol and you need that energy when you are exercising.
Drinking will also reduce your endurance, slow down your reaction times, and increases loss of body heat.
You body will be dehydrated and you can develop muscle cramps.
If you drink a few beers after you play sports or exercise you are not rehydrating and really hurting your body.
Your body will also be very slow to recover from any injuries that are sustained when playing.
Myth:Drink two beers as a diuretic to lose weight overnight.
Fact:If you lose weight it is unfortunately temporary.
Drinking alcohol causes water to drain out of your cells.
So attention to all the women out there- this will cause older-looking skin in as little as 24 hours.
The weight loss is usually caused by increased urination and dehydration.
Once you start drinking water again you will weigh the same again.
Myth: Having a drink at bedtime will relax me and help me get deeper sleep.
Fact: The drink may make you feel really drowsy and put you out, but sleep research has shown that your wakefulness during the second half of your sleep cycle will be increased.
Getting a deep sleep is also a key to prevent aging so the alcohol is not by any means going to help with that.
As you can see the costs of drinking alcohol are high.
For those who don't want to give it up then here are some things you can be doing.
oMake sure you eat foods high in B vitamins like folic acid which will help protect your body against the toxins.
oDrink wines less than 5 years old.
There may be some natural antioxidants still in them.
oDrink lots of water to counteract the dehydration and help with detoxification.
