Sometimes, weekends and alcohol go hand in hand. Doesn't it? You could also be thinking that alcohol goes hand-in-hand with all celebrations. However, it may compromise your fitness goals as well.
Hence, I feel that learning about alcohol and its health effects is imperative. Without further ado, let's get started.
I want to break it down into three different parts -
Let's dive deeper into these interesting questions.
1. How does alcohol impact fat loss, muscle & testosterone?
Here, you would want to consider two levels:
What happens in your body when you consume alcohol acutely?
What happens over time if the drinking becomes persistent and consistent?
First of all, we should understand that overconsuming any nutrient leads to fat storage since net fat balance is determined by net energy balance. Alcohol is no different.
So what happens when you drink?
The alcohol is first absorbed in the bloodstream and then goes to the liver. The body handles alcohol metabolically like it handles poison. Metabolism of all other nutrients is put on the back burner until the alcohol is eliminated. Thus, all carbs and fats will preferentially be stored. So it doesn’t make you fat directly (as it gets burned right away), but the other calories present are stored as fat readily.
So If you are drinking heavily, you should reduce your fat intake for that day. You must also avoid post-drinking food binging.
Avoid heavy drinking if your goal is fat loss. Yes, you can lose weight with a moderate, occasional night out. But that can vary according to people.
Alcohol is the least satiating energy source. It is terrible to make you feel full and it might make you feel even hungrier.
Now let's learn how is it affecting body composition. We have to consider its effects on testosterone. Light drinking in the range of 2-3 standard drinks has been shown to boost testosterone by 17% in men. But it doesn't affect anabolism. As you increase the dose, testosterone steeply declines (heavy drinking can reduce it by as much as 45%). For women, it has been reported to increase (due to the effects being that of testicular testosterone).
Women have much less to worry about from a muscle-building perspective if drinking after training.
Alcohol will affect gym performance due to hangovers, dehydration and interrupted sleep. So, plan the night out when the next day is a rest day and focus on rehydration.
2. How does alcohol affect fasting?
I want to say this for those who have a short attention span and want to get to the gist: alcohol does break a fast. Alcohol contains seven calories, which means there is a strong metabolic response within the body to process alcohol. It will definitely break a fast. When we look at it, we actually have to remember that alcohol is almost like the other macro-nutrient.
Protein has four calories per gram
Fats have nine calories per gram
Carbs have four calories per gram
Alcohol has seven calories per gram
Let's talk about how this works. All right, so as soon as you consume alcohol, it begins to get broken down in your body through something known as "alcohol dehydrogenase." Now alcohol dehydrogenase is a simple thing. Just like the name implies, it takes away hydrogen atoms. It ends up breaking down by breaking apart the hydrogen. It does this pretty simply - it does it as soon as it hits the mouth and as soon as the alcohol hits the stomach. Then from there, the alcohol, which is now partially broken down, travels through very, very small capillaries throughout your liver. I'm talking about every nook and cranny.
Remember, the liver is made up of lots of small micro-capillaries that can filter things. When it comes down to it, we are getting alcohol into every portion of our liver so that our liver can handle it. Then our liver uses two enzymes to break the alcohol down even further. It uses, again, our friend alcohol dehydrogenase to break the alcohol down into something known as "acetaldehyde."
Here's the thing: acetaldehyde is about 30 times more toxic than alcohol. You might be wondering, "Why does the body take something that's already toxic and make it even more hepatotoxic?" Well, the answer is simple: it's a smaller molecule. It's a less complex breakdown, so even though it's more toxic, it's easier for the liver to handle.
The point is that you don't want this acetaldehyde in your system for very long. You want your liver to be able to handle it at a moment's notice and to take it out of your system before it does some serious damage. That's where the second enzyme comes in, something known as "aldehyde dehydrogenase." This aldehyde dehydrogenase's job is to break down the acetaldehyde.
It basically does what the alcohol dehydrogenase did, just one step further. It further breaks down even more hydrogen atoms so that acetaldehyde, this very toxic substance, can be broken down very efficiently. It's broken down into something that's rather harmless called "acetate," and then this acetate is broken down into good old-fashioned water and CO2.
Yeah, it's pretty complex, right?
It's amazing that the body can take alcohol, something so toxic, and through a series of enzymatic functions in the liver, actually turn it into water and carbon dioxide.
Pretty amazing, but then it goes one step further.
We know how it's actually processed in the liver, but it actually does some other things. You see, there's one very specific enzyme. This enzyme is called "cytochrome P450." I know it sounds like something out of Star Wars, but it's not. Cytochrome P450 is a specific enzyme that breaks down alcohol in an entirely different way, and cytochrome P450 is only really active in those that drink regularly.
3. How much would you have to drink before damaging your liver?
One study found that just 21 binge drinking sessions could potentially produce early-stage liver disease. In this study, a binge drinking session is classified as more than five drinks in two hours, and a drink is classified as 0.6 ounces (17.74 ml) of alcohol.
0.6 ounces of alcohol is equivalent to:
• 12 oz of beer
• 8 oz of malt liquor
• 5 oz of wine
• 1.5 oz shot of liquor
When you have an alcoholic drink, about 25% of the alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream. As it goes through the bloodstream, it goes through the liver. The liver then breaks it down and deals with the toxic material, as explained above.
Over time, you will lose the enzyme network that breaks down the toxic material. The toxic material can then build up and create a lot of damage. This can lead to fat in the liver, inflammation, and eventually cirrhosis.
Inflammation in the liver usually starts within five years of heavy drinking on a regular basis. Cirrhosis typically takes 5 to 10 years or more to develop.
Eventually, you can lose liver function. This can cause an inability to detox, leading to digestive problems, DNA damage, and a higher risk of liver cancer. But, you won't experience many symptoms until things progress.
The first symptoms of liver damage:
• Fatigue
• Belly fat
Symptoms of advanced liver damage:
• Ascites
• Arthritis
• Itchiness
• Jaundice
• A spike in estrogen and a drop in testosterone
• Fatigue
• Bad breath
• A loss of muscle
Consuming sugar has about the same effect as drinking alcohol. It can actually cause nonalcoholic liver disease. Certain medications and even viruses can also destroy the liver.
The good news is that the liver is the only organ that can completely regenerate if you stop doing the things that are causing the destruction. But, there is a point of no return where there is too much scar tissue, and the damage is irreversible.
References:
Is a Calorie a Calorie?
Fat Oxidation + Alcohol Consumption:
Alcohol and Appetite:
Alcohol and Testosterone:
Alcohol and Muscle Protein Synthesis:
Mortality due to cirrhosis and liver cancer:
Acetaldehyde and alcoholic liver disease:
Alcohol Metabolism:
Helpful Resources:
Let me know your thoughts below.
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