It’s no secret that alcohol is one of the major causes of obesity. The sweetest drinks, such as beer and wine, contain high amounts of sugar, which are quickly converted to calories. What may come as a surprise, though, is that while alcohol inhibits your body’s ability to metabolize food, it also impairs your body’s ability to shed fat. This article is going to tell you more about how alcohol affects your body’s ability to stay fit. We’re going to cover some of the known facts and myths about alcoholic beverages and why they impact your waistline.
Alcohol Inhibits Your Body’s Ability To Burn Fat
When you drink alcohol, your body converts the same glucose (blood sugar) into calories as it would if you had eaten the food instead of drinking it. This is why when you drink alcohol, your body tends to gain weight, rather than lose it. Despite the calories that you consume, your liver continues to produce glucose as it always does when it’s fed, which results in your blood sugar staying at a high level. In addition to this, your body’s storage areas, called adipose tissues, accumulate more fat because they are full of unused calories. This is why you may see many heavy drinkers gain weight even if they are eating healthy food and staying active. It’s also the reason why alcoholics often have a higher rate of diabetes and heart disease than the general population. While alcohol inhibits your body’s ability to burn fat, it also encourages your body to retain water, which can make you appear to be slimmer even if you’re actually carrying more weight than usual.
Alcohol Reduces Your Body’s Need To Eat
When you drink alcohol, you reduce your body’s requirement for nourishment, which in turn reduces the amount of food that it needs to consume. As a result, you may feel that you’re losing weight even if you’re not making any nutritional changes to your diet. This is because your body’s requirement for food is affected by more than just your need for calories. When your body does not require as much food as it needs, it begins to lose its appetite for food, resulting in you losing weight without trying. This is why alcohol can cause some people to significantly lose weight, while eating healthy and staying active, without really changing their way of living. Although this may be positive in the short term, if you continue to drink alcohol, eventually your body will adjust and you’ll need more food than ever before. Your best bet is to stop drinking alcohol if you want to keep your weight.
Alcohol Impairs Your Body’s Ability To Detox
Alcohol inhibits a substance in your body called cytochrome P450 which helps your body in the process of detoxification. During detoxification, your body removes toxins, such as drugs and carcinogens, from your system. If you’re not drinking alcohol during this time, it may cause your detoxification system to work less effectively. In other words, if you’re going to stop drinking alcohol, you may need to do so for a specific reason, or at least for a while, and make some changes in your life to make sure that your body is functioning at its best. Your doctor may also advise you to take supplements or do other things to ensure that your body is operating at its peak efficiency levels.
Alcohol Has A Degrading Effect On Your Body
While alcohol prevents your body’s need to eat and reduces your body’s requirement for detoxification, it also has a very degrading effect on your body, especially if you drink it in excess. When your body undergoes any kind of trauma, whether it’s physical or mental, it requires protein for repair and recovery. In most cases, to facilitate this process, your body produces more insulin, which results in more fat being stored in your cells. Your liver, however, does its best to cleanse your system of these toxins, but due to the constant onslaught of alcohol, this process is often impaired. If you’re going to stop drinking alcohol, you must do so because of how it affects your body. Some people believe that since alcohol prevents you from accessing nutrients in food that it must be good for your health, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Your best bet is to consult a nutritionist or a personal trainer who can help you design a healthy diet program that will restore your health and get you back on the right track.
Alcohol And Thyroid Problems
As we’ve established, alcohol inhibits your body’s ability to burn fat, but it also prevents your thyroid from producing sufficient levels of hormones, called thyroxine (T4). In most cases, people who drink alcohol frequently develop a subclinical form of hypothyroidism which manifests as a hoarse voice, poor hair growth, and sluggish mental function, which in turn prohibits the body from metabolizing food as effectively. It also forces your body to use up more calories simply to maintain your current state of health. Because of this, you may lose weight even if you don’t make any changes to how you eat or how you live your life, but it’s temporary, and once you start drinking again, you’ll quickly regain your weight, unless you have a thyroid problem that’s causing you to lose weight in the first place. To combat this, make sure that you get your thyroid checked out by a physician. Additionally, if you do have a thyroid problem, be sure to consult with a doctor about how to treat it effectively.
How To Tell If Alcohol Is Helping You Or HinderING You)
So you’ve decided to stop drinking alcohol. You may be wondering how to tell if it’s helping you or hindering your attempts to lose weight. The answer is simple: Just follow these guidelines:
- If you’re experiencing weight loss, then you’re already benefitting from the alcohol’s effects. Keep drinking and the weightloss
- If you’re experiencing weight gain, then stop drinking
- If you’re not sure whether or not alcohol is helping you, then take a break for a while and then continue with your drinking, with a note to gradually reduce your intake. You may also decide to try an alternate drink, such as sparkling water with lime, to see if it helps you lose weight easier or if it just doesn’t agree with you. Many people find that this particular drink promotes good digestion and allows them to stay hydrated, while also satisfying their cravings for sweets. In all cases, just make sure that you’re aware of what’s going on with your body and that you’re doing what’s right for you, as this will ultimately lead you to a healthier and happier you.