Does alcohol burn fat? Invisible calories: why people get fat from alcohol. Men Gain Abdominal Weight

How many calories are in vodka?

"We will eat her, dear," - the alcoholic answers his son in a joke. And there is some truth in his words: in 100 grams of vodka there are about 240 kcal, and in a bottle there is almost a daily norm of a skinny person. And yes - alcohol helps to get fat. Zozhnik deals with alcohol.

Alcohol calories

To begin with, let's digress from the well-known harm of alcohol, cirrhosis of the liver, the effect on the death of brain cells and other hackneyed truths and talk about it from the point of view of biological mechanisms.

In general, alcohol is a very, very high-calorie thing. At the heart of any alcohol is ethyl alcohol, the same C2H5OH, sung in jokes. Even a child knows that it is exactly 40% in vodka, and an experienced adult knows that it is 4-6% in beer, 10-13% in wine.

So, the calorie content of this ethyl alcohol is extremely high: about 700 kcal per 100 grams of pure alcohol.

For example, in protein or carbohydrate food, on average, about 400 kcal per 100 grams, only pure fat is higher - 900 kcal per 100 grams. As a result, in vodka (and its 40-degree relatives - whiskey, cognac, schnapps, calvados) about 210-240 kcal per double shot, in beer - about the same amount per bottle, in liquors most of all - about 350 kcal due to the dissolved it contains sugar, the amount of which reaches 50% of the total mass. Least of all in dry red or white wine - 60-70 kcal per 100 grams.

Wherein the nutritional value pure alcohol is zero. It has 0 proteins, 0 fats and 0 carbohydrates. It would seem, what is the catch and how can you gain weight from alcohol if there is zero fat in it.

empty calories

The fact is that alcohol calories are called “empty”. This means that they cannot be directly deposited in fat and, of course, in muscle. Alcohol calories are pure energy that the body needs to spend. Have you noticed that under the influence of alcohol people become more active?

The body, receiving a dose of such empty calories, immediately rearranges itself in such a way as to get rid of them in the first place. Because he cannot store alcohol and strives to bring it out with all his might. That is why the body stops burning fat and carbohydrate reserves, switching to alcohol fuel, and these fat reserves, prepared for burning, are simply postponed for the future. In the folds above the belt, for example.

In addition to burning your reserves of fat and carbohydrates, during alcohol intoxication, the processes of muscle recovery and growth also stop in the body. Therefore, even a seemingly harmless bottle of beer consumed regularly in the evening will not allow an athlete to build up any impressive muscle mass - a significant part of the body's resources will spend alcohol calories, pushing recovery and growth for later. Thus, the more you drink in terms of ethyl alcohol, the longer body will burn those calories and push the reserves onto your belly.

Drancorexia

That is why, for example, professional bodybuilders almost never allow themselves to drink alcohol. Especially when preparing for a competition.

But if you are not a professional athlete, then you can safely pamper yourself, especially if you consciously include alcohol in your daily calorie intake. Moreover, Zozhnik, when a person reduces food intake in order to leave himself a supply of norms for drinking at a bar for the evening.

In general, if your healthy gut requires alcohol, you know that in terms of pure intoxication (i.e., the volume of ethyl alcohol consumed), the number of calories will be approximately the same - you drink wine or vodka (liqueurs do not count). And be prepared for the consequences. And may the force be with you.

I've been getting tons of questions related to alcohol and fat loss lately. Especially when summer approaches. Parties, clubs, vacations and all that. Alcohol is the key element. People basically want to know how much alcohol makes you fat, how it affects protein synthesis, how to make it work with your diet, and what to drink when you go to a nightclub.

I think this is a very good topic because most of the people leading healthy lifestyle life tends to miss out on a lot of fun by not drinking alcohol. Many people prefer to stay at home and watch their diet instead of going out and having a couple of drinks. It's sad, really, because it's all wrong reasons. I don't blame them. Read magazines or listen to "experts" and you will soon begin to believe that a few drinks will destroy your muscles, make you impotent, and leave you with a big belly. Most of it is, of course, nonsense. It's no surprise when we're dealing with a panicking fitness mainstream that can't put things in perspective even if their lives depended on it.

This is an objective opinion on the effect of alcohol, anyone interested in optimizing body composition may be interested. At the end of this article, I'm also going to show you how a hopeless drinker like me can stay in top shape by drinking regularly.

Come s-here and I'll tell you my secrets... *hic*

Alcohol and thermogenesis

For many years there has been a debate on the subject of alcohol calories "count" them or not. This debate was started based on the fact that drinkers weigh less than teetotalers and studies showing accelerated weight loss when fats and carbohydrates are replaced with an equivalent number of calories from alcohol. The link between low body weight and moderate alcohol consumption is especially strong among women. In men, it is either neutral or weak, but it is there.

How can this be explained given that alcohol is second only to dietary fat in terms of energy density per gram? Not to mention that alcohol is consumed through a liquid that is not satiating?

The calorie content of alcohol is labeled as 7.1 calories per gram, but the actual value is closer to 5.7 calories due to the thermal effect of food (TEF), which is 20% of the calories ingested. This makes the TEF of alcohol close to protein (20-35% depending on the amino acid composition). The increased thermogenesis resulting from alcohol consumption depends in part on catecholamines.

Is elevated TEF a reasonable explanation for low body fat in regular drinkers? We must consider that alcohol does not affect satiety as other nutrients do. Also, intoxication can contribute to overeating. Ever come home from a party in the middle of the night and eat something delicious? That's what I mean.

It is unlikely that the effect of alcohol on weight can only be attributed to high TEF. An alternative explanation is that alcohol consumption reduces food intake in the long term.

Another explanation is that regular alcohol consumption has a beneficial effect on nutrient breakdown due to improved insulin sensitivity.

Alcohol, insulin sensitivity and health

Moderate alcohol consumption increases insulin sensitivity, lowers triglyceride levels, and improves glycemic control. Not only in healthy people, but also in people with type 2 diabetes. There is no clear consensus on the mechanism by which alcohol enhances insulin sensitivity, but a viable explanation could be that alcohol promotes leanness by stimulating AMPK in skeletal muscle. It is not an exaggeration to suggest that this may have a beneficial effect on nutrient breakdown in the long term.

If the impact of alcohol consumption on insulin sensitivity has left you indifferent, then consider the following fact, studies consistently show that moderate drinkers live longer than teetotalers. This can be explained mainly by a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. However, alcohol also contributes to a healthier and disease-free life by protecting against Alzheimer's disease, metabolic syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, the common cold. various kinds cancer, depression and many other diseases. This list goes on and on.

It can even be said beyond any doubt that moderate alcohol consumption is healthier than total abstinence. With that in mind, it's strange that the fitness and health-conscious populations avoid alcohol. This irrational attitude seems to be based on the belief that alcohol makes you fat and hinders muscle growth. So let's take a look at this.

Alcohol, hormones and exercise

You may have heard that alcohol consumption lowers testosterone levels. While this is true, the actual impact is widely exaggerated. In a three-week study involving men and women who consumed 30-40 grams of alcohol per day, testosterone levels at the end of the study period decreased by 6.8% in men, and did not change in women. That's three beers a day for three weeks and a measly 6.8% drop in testosterone levels in men. What effect do you think a few beers in the evening once or twice a week will have? Hardly noticeable.

To significantly reduce testosterone levels with alcohol, you need to get seriously drunk. Approximately 120 g of alcohol, which is equivalent to 10 bottles of beer, will reduce testosterone levels by 23% within 16 hours of drinking. If you drink that damn much, then you will end up in the hospital and get the same effect with a decrease of about 20%.

Several studies have looked at alcohol consumption in the post-workout period. One study looked at the hormonal response to post-workout alcohol consumption, using 70-80 grams of alcohol, equivalent to 6-7 bottles of beer. Anyway, despite this post-workout binge, no effect on testosterone levels was found, only a very modest effect on cortisol levels was noted. The latter was expected, given the effects of alcohol on catecholamines. Referring directly to this document, the following quote summarizes scientific research on the effects of alcohol on testosterone:

"While most human studies do not show an effect of ethanol on serum luteinizing hormone (LH), some data have shown an increase while others have supported a decrease."

It seems that the fitness mainstream, which has been most adamant in promoting the "alcohol-destroying-testosterone-myth", has no research on which to base their claims. Well, no surprise. We've been through this many times, as it has been with meal frequency and a lot of other nutritional myths.

When it comes to recovery from strength training, moderate alcohol consumption (60-90 grams) will not increase exercise-induced muscle damage or affect muscle strength.

However, research on this topic is a little mixed. One study using a very brutal negative rep training regimen with 80 g (1 g/kg) of alcohol noted impaired recovery of trained muscles. It should be noted that after such a “negative” training, recovery is harder and the volumes here were pretty crazy.

Other researchers looked at exhaustive endurance training followed by alcohol intake in the 120g (1.5g/kg) range and saw significant testosterone suppression that occurred the next day.

The common denominator between these two studies is extremely hard training or unusual high level alcohol consumption during the post-workout period. If you're not in the habit of going to a bar after 50 negative leg failures, then this stuff doesn't apply to you. However, such studies are drawing the attention of the alcohol alarmists in the fitness community.

What about protein synthesis? Surprisingly, the strong effect of alcohol on protein synthesis in the muscles of a normal person does not exist in the scientific literature. It has only been studied in chronic alcoholics who have a reduced rate of protein synthesis. Chronic alcoholic myopathy, leads to loss muscle mass This is an unfortunate side effect of alcohol abuse. However, this study showed that alcoholics without myopathy had the same low percentage of body fat and the same amount of muscle mass as non-drinkers. Here's an argument for you about how alcohol adversely affects muscles.

This makes sense given that the metabolic by-product of alcohol, acetate, is toxic. Its processing takes precedence over everything else. This quote beautifully sums up the metabolic fate of alcohol:

"Ethanol (alcohol) is converted in the liver to acetate; an unknown part of which is then activated to acetyl-CoA, but only a small part is converted to fatty acids.

Most of the acetate is released into circulation, in which it affects the metabolism of peripheral tissues; adipocytes released by non-esterified fatty acids are reduced and acetate replaces lipids in the fuel mixture."

Acetate itself is an extremely weak precursor to fat synthesis. There simply isn't a metabolic pathway that can make fat from alcohol with any meaningful efficiency. Studies on fat synthesis after substantial alcohol consumption have not been conducted in humans, but Hellerstein estimates de novo lipogenesis after alcohol consumption at about 3%. Of the 24 grams of alcohol in this study, a measly 0.8 grams of fat is synthesized in the liver.

The effect of alcohol on fat storage is very similar to that of carbohydrates: by inhibiting fat oxidation, it allows dietary fat to be stored more easily. However, while the conversion of carbohydrates to fat can occur when glycogen stores are full, DNL (de novo lipogenesis) through alcohol consumption seems less likely.

Summary

* Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with an abundance of health benefits. The long-term effect on insulin sensitivity and body weight (via insulin or decreased appetite) may be of particular interest to us.

* The thermal effect of alcohol is high and the real calorie content is not 7.1 kcal, but ~ 5.6 kcal. However, it's still easy to go over your calorie intake when drinking. Calories for calories, the short-term effect of alcohol on satiety is low. Add to this intoxication, it can contribute to overeating.

* The negative impact of alcohol on testosterone and recovery has been greatly exaggerated by the fitness mainstream. Excluding very high alcohol intake, or long-term and daily consumption, the effect is not significant and is unlikely to adversely affect muscle or training adaptations.

* The effect of alcohol on protein synthesis in a normal person is unknown. It is plausible to assume that there is a negative impact, but it is very unlikely that it is of such a huge magnitude as some people may say.

* Alcohol is converted to acetate in the liver. Acetate oxidation has an advantage over other nutrients and is oxidized to carbon dioxide and water. However, being a potent inhibitor of lipolysis, alcohol/acetate alone cannot cause fat deposition on its own. It's all the junk food that people eat in combination with alcohol that causes fat deposits.

How to Lose Weight or Prevent Fat

Now that you understand the effect of alcohol on metabolism, it's time to show you how you can make alcohol work to burn fat. Also, how can you drink on a regular basis, without gaining fat. Without having to count calories and drink as much as you want.

Apply this method as I say. If you pay attention, you will understand the meaning of all this. I have experienced this for myself and for numerous clients.

The rules are:

* On this day, limit your fat intake to 0.3 g/kg body weight (or as close to that as possible).

* Limit carbohydrates to 1.5 g/kg of body weight. Get all your carbs from vegetables and high-protein foods. Also limit carbohydrate-rich alcoholic beverages such as beer and fruit juice smoothies. 330 ml of beer contains about 12 g of carbohydrates, while regular Cosmopolitan has about 13 g.

* A good choice alcohol is dry wines with a very low carbohydrate content, about 0.5-1 g per glass (115 ml). Sweet wines contain much more, 4-6 grams per glass. Cognac, gin, rum, whiskey, tequila and vodka are all zero carb. Dry wines and high-grade drinks are what you should ideally drink. Drink them neat or mix them with Diet Coke (drinks are supposed to be fun, after all).

* Eat as much protein as you want. Yes, this is correct. No limits. Due to the restriction of dietary fat, you need to get protein from lean sources. Low-fat cottage cheese, protein powder, chicken, turkey, tuna, pork, and egg whites are good sources of protein on this day.

* For effective fat burning, this should be limited to one day a week. Follow this protocol and you will lose fat on a weekly basis.

By the way, a nice bonus after a night of drinking is that it effectively relieves you of water retention. This in itself can be a motivation for people who are already experiencing a plateau in weight loss.

Apply it with common sense. Remember, this is a short-term strategy for those who want to be able to drink freely without having a significant impact on fat gain or loss. It's not something I encourage people to do on a daily basis, but it's one of the strategies I use to keep my body fat percentage low for myself and my clients.

For example, the calorie content of a glass of dry wine is about 160 kcal, glasses of vodka - 115 kcal, portions of cognac or whiskey - 120-130 kcal. Cocktails are the most high-calorie, because sweet syrups, liquors and sparkling water are added to them. For example, a glass of Margarita contains about 200 kcal. In this alcoholic story, beer has a special place: despite the low calorie content per 100 ml - about 45 kcal, beer "takes" volume. One bottle or can is already 225 kcal; two bottles - 450 kcal, which is 25% of the daily diet of a man of average build. At the same time, alcohol does not cause a feeling of fullness - it grows.

2. Alcohol disrupts metabolic processes in the body

Entering the bloodstream, alcohol affects the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, enzymes; disrupts cellular metabolism. In the process of complex chemical reactions, alcohol replaces fats and carbohydrates, and the liver begins to break it down in the first place, putting energy in reserve. In addition, about 5% of alcohol is converted directly into fatty acids; 1% - in cholesterol. Decided to have a drink? Remember: alcohol for the body is food, and it is absorbed in a priority order.

3. Alcohol dehydrates the body

And dehydration leads to weight gain for several reasons: First, the cells of the body are depleted, from which your body begins to mistakenly believe that it needs additional food. You feel hungry, you begin to absorb food that the body does not really need, which leads to overeating. Secondly, dehydration is a stress for the kidneys, which cannot normally cope with the excretion function in conditions of lack of water. The liver reacts to the collapse of the kidneys, which, in turn, slows down the metabolism. In addition to weight gain, dehydration leads to an increase in blood cholesterol levels: depleted cells “break down”, and the liver begins to generate cholesterol to repair them.

4. Alcohol reduces the level of control

After two glasses of wine or a bottle of beer, few people can deny themselves the temptation and not eat a piece of pizza, chips, nuts, wings, ribs, or all together - fatty, sweet and salty. After all, this is a snack (and a shock dose of calories), where without it? In addition, the vast majority of men drink alcohol at night looking. Alcohol strengthens, which becomes an additional factor for gaining excess weight.

It's important to know!

Men gain abdominal weight.

That is, fat in you, men, is deposited in the abdomen, which, by the way, is bad not only for the figure, but also for health. At the same time, the type of weight gain is not associated with the products from which the weight was gained (except for muscle mass, of course). In other words, weight gain is due to an excess of calories - it doesn't really matter if they come from alcohol, from food, or from alcohol and food at the same time.

A woman who eats a lot and drinks alcohol is more likely to gain weight in the buttocks, hips and shoulders - this is genetically inherent in nature.

If you still decide to drink...

1. Choose light drinks

Research shows that the stronger the drink you choose, the more noticeable its effect on your health and figure (with the same gram-degree equivalent).

2. Drink alcohol with water

I repeat: for your body, alcohol is food! Drink a glass of wine or a glass of vodka with a glass of water. It is extremely difficult to combine water with beer, so it is better to reduce the use of this drink in principle.

3. Choose Your Snacks Carefully

Remember: the calories you get from alcohol are added to the calories you eat.

And without any doubt: if your goal is to get rid of excess weight, then you will have to give up alcohol altogether, otherwise the process will go extremely slowly.

Is it possible to combine alcohol and healthy lifestyle? How does alcohol affect weight loss and muscles? Is it true that it is directly deposited in fat?

Alcohol is a separate substance on a par with proteins, fats and carbohydrates, with the only difference that it contains calories, but is not nutritious and is not used by the body.

Alcohol and excess weight

Alcohol can lead to excess weight in several ways.

The first problem is its high calorie content, in which it is second only to fats. There are 7 calories in one gram of pure alcohol. Obviously, the stronger the drink, the higher the calorie content. And if it's a cocktail, then syrups and cream add calories. So a glass of wine has about 100 calories, and one serving of a pina colada cocktail has about 300 calories.

Secondly, the assimilation of alcohol takes place in a special way. Ethanol is a poison to the body, and it seeks to get rid of alcohol and process it in the liver as quickly as possible. So it will break down alcohol and use the released calories first. Alcohol becomes a priority source of energy.

While alcohol is being processed in the body, fats and carbohydrates are not used as energy and can be more easily stored as fat.

Thus, alcohol does not convert to fat directly, but makes it easier for other nutrients to convert to fat.

Third moment. Where there is alcohol, there is almost always a lot of food - fatty, carbohydrate and high-calorie: meat or cheese delicacies for wine, chips or deep-fried chicken wings - for beer. Well, at the feasts there are always a lot of different tender foods.

The fourth point: he is not only not saturates, but also makes you eat more (),increases appetite.

This effect has not yet been well studied, butalcohol is believed to act on central neurotransmittersystems that are responsible for motivation and reward.

Another ability of alcohol to stimulate appetitevaries in different people.Although one or two glasses of wine may not affect one person in any way, the other will start sweeping the refrigerator. Therefore p regular abuse will obviously lead to excess weight.

Fifth, alcohol reduces self-control. And all the above simply leaves no chance not to overeat.

Everything is lost?

“Everything is lost”, only if you look at one day, torn from life, and do not look at several weeks or even months.If the rest of the time a person is in a real calorie deficit, nothing can make him gain fat from the air, not even alcohol.

A good selection of research on the topic was made by Alan Aragon. Thus, a systematic review of studies for 1984-2010showed that moderate drinking is not associated with being overweight, except for heavy drinkers ().

In another study, participants ate 1,500 calories for three months. One group got 10% of their calories from white wine, the other from grape juice. The scientists found no difference in body composition between the two groups. Although this does not reach statistical significance, the weight loss in the "wine" group was even slightly greater..

In another study, scientists also did not findno change inbody weight or body fat despite adding two glasses of red winefor dinner for six weeks.

Moderate wine consumption (190 ml five days a week for 20 weeks) did not improve or worsen insulin sensitivity, weight and body composition, blood lipids and blood pressure in overweight women ().

But recently a systematic review and meta-analysis of 47 studies foundthat the consumption of beer is more than 500 ml per dayis associated with an increase in fat in the abdomen, although scientists have many questions there.

alcohol and muscles

It is believed that a glass of wine lets down the whole strength training and impair muscle growth. But most of the studies showing the harm of alcohol to muscles have studied heavy drinkers. This is at least 100 grams of pure alcohol per day, or approximately 7 alcoholic drinks. That is, we are talking about chronic alcoholics.

Moderate alcohol consumption has little effect on various variables associated with muscle growth or strength.

Another study looked at the effects of alcohol intoxication on hormones after weightlifting training. Half of the participants were given 5 alcoholic drinks and tracked hormone levels for the next five hours. No differences were found in the levels of testosterone and other hormones in both groups. Cortisol was elevated in the drinking group, but not for long.

With endurance training, the situation is different. In one study, volunteers worked to exhaustion on exercise bikes and then drank 10 alcoholic drinks. Scientists have found that testosterone production has dropped. But here again we need a "long-term version" of the study for several weeks or months. Although there is an ethical question - is it possible to keep an athlete chronically drunk, albeit in the interests of science.

If it's hard to get approval for a study where athletes get drunk after a workout, it's even harder to get the green light for weightlifters and runners who do it before a workout. However, there are such studies.

In one of them, subjects drank about six drinks and then did strength or endurance training. They were examined before, during, as well as 24 and 48 hours after alcohol intake. Contrary to the scientists' expectations, alcohol did not have a noticeable effect on strength performance. Creatine kinase levels, an indicator of muscle damage, were also not elevated. Another study shows similar results. Although, obviously, this is not a reason to drink alcohol before and after a workout.

conclusions

If you look at alcohol consumption in the short term, it often causes you to exceed the number of calories. Butlong-term studies show no weight gain with moderate daily use, even when the norm of calories is slightly exceeded due to alcohol. Alan Aragon: “In a way, alcohol in small amounts seems to “dissolve in the air” without being deposited in fat. But the mechanisms underlying this are not well understood, and we lack well-controlled studies.

If you don't drink at all, you don't have to start. EIf you drink too much, you risk your health a lot.But if you drink moderately from time to time, do not wake up with a hangover in the company of a stranger, there is no reason to completely give up alcohol.

Alcohol is two-faced. On the one hand, it helps to get rid of stress and relieve tension after a long day at work. But even one sip of alcohol causes devastating harm to the body. It is essentially a poison that must be detoxified by the body.

Facts proving the harm of alcohol

1. The work of the cardiovascular system worsens. When drinking alcohol, the heart increases in size, and then returns to normal, but because of this, scars remain on its surface, which can subsequently cause a heart attack or stroke.
2. Reasoning deteriorates. Alcohol is equated with drugs, as it is addictive and affects the psyche: at first, a person experiences euphoria and high spirits, and after a few hours, depression, irritability and aggression appear. When intoxicated, a person thinks inadequately, his movements and speech deteriorate significantly.
3. The brain is destroyed. This is the main evidence of the harm of alcohol. Alcohol is the basis of any alcoholic drink, and it sticks together red blood cells, which subsequently block microcapillaries. As a result, oxygen is not supplied to the neurons and they die, but they can no longer recover and exit along with urine.
4. Chronic diseases develop. When the alcohol breaks down, it begins to release dangerous substances that spread throughout the body.
5. negative inheritance. Scientists have proven that 90% of children with mental retardation come from families where they abused alcohol.
6. The boundaries of moral and immoral behavior are erased.
7. Alcohol dehydration develops. Alcohol is a diuretic. It draws fluid from the cells and removes water through the kidneys. Increased water loss causes loss of soluble nutrients and other side effects of dehydration.

The only way to reduce the harm from alcohol is to give it up or at least keep it to a minimum: no more than two drinks per evening. Of course, this does not mean that you can drink this amount every day without consequences. In addition, alcohol is a diuretic, so when drinking it, you need to drink more than ordinary water.

Harm of alcohol for women

All processes that occur in the female body depend on the hormonal cycle. When a girl or woman begins to constantly drink alcohol, the toxic substances of alcohol affect the adrenal glands, and they, in turn, begin to secrete male hormones. Thus, if a woman constantly drinks, then male hormones begin to gradually accumulate in her blood, which will soon transform the appearance of a woman, giving them male features. First of all, this can be understood by the voice, which becomes lower and rougher. Further, the manner of movement changes, which becomes sharper and rougher. Menopause in drinking women can occur 10 or 15 years earlier.

Also, the harm of alcohol on a woman's body lies in the fact that regular drinking can affect the future possibility of having children. This is due to the fact that alcohol affects the fatty tissues of the ovary, which can lead to problems with ovulation. Alcohol affects the walls of the uterus, which greatly complicate the bearing of a child and can lead to miscarriage or the birth of a child with abnormalities.

So, here are facts about the dangers of alcohol that will make many girls think:

• with frequent drinking of alcoholic beverages, skin color worsens and traces of hyperemia may occur, when blood flow increases in certain places on the skin, but the reverse process, on the contrary, worsens;
• the elasticity of the skin and the shape of the face are also lost;
• dark marks appear on the whites of the eye, due to bursting of blood vessels;
• due to a violation of the liver, the skin color turns yellow;
• alcohol leads to dehydration, which causes dark circles under the eyes;
• due to male hormones in the female body, a restructuring of the distribution of the fat layer occurs. The figure begins to acquire a male type of addition, that is, fat is deposited at the waist. After a while, even a beer belly can grow in women;
• blood vessels lose their elasticity, hence the appearance of varicose veins, spider veins;
• metabolic disorders leads to a deterioration in the absorption of useful substances by the body, and this leads to beriberi. As a result, the hair becomes brittle, the nails exfoliate and fatigue is constantly felt.

Does alcohol get stored in fat?

The fact that alcohol burns fat is a myth that misleads many. Alcoholic beverages have the highest calorie content of all products - 7 Kcal per 1 g, which is only 2 Kcal less than in pure fat. Therefore, you imperceptibly sort out with calories, without suspecting it.

Since alcohol is processed by the liver, it is not converted directly into fat. However, alcohol inhibits the body's ability to burn fat. Because alcohol needs to be eliminated from the body (detoxified) as quickly as possible, the body gives this process the highest priority. In other words, while the liver is busy excreting ethanol, the use of fats, proteins and carbohydrates is temporarily suppressed. Moreover, fat burning is suppressed especially strongly, since oxygen is needed for this process.

It turns out that while alcohol is in the body, the body accumulates body fat at the fastest pace. It doesn't matter if your calories come from food or drink. If you consume more than you use, you will gain weight. Since most people drink alcohol in addition to meals, additional fat deposits are a natural result.

Detox at home

Of course, such activities are best done under the supervision of a doctor and with the use of special medications. However, if necessary, detoxification of the body from alcohol is possible at home, and in several ways:

1. Turning to folk remedies, you can use a combination of honey and warm milk. Such a drink will quickly replenish those reserves of trace elements that have been used up under the toxic effects of toxins. In addition, milk with honey has a good effect on the kidneys and liver.
2. The second method can be used by people who do not have problems with the cardiovascular system. Here you need to use a sufficient amount of parsley leaves. It also contains many active substances that improve the human condition, in addition, these substances combine the results of the breakdown of alcohol, and also speed up metabolism.
3. The juice of citrus fruits or beets will help to remove the consequences of alcohol intoxication very well. They significantly speed up the metabolism and saturate the body with various vitamins and microelements.
4. Also for detoxification, various decoctions from such herbs as: chamomile, ginger, St. John's wort, dandelions and the like are suitable.
5. Most alcohol toxins are stored in fatty tissues, so when a person loses weight, they may experience some complications as the toxins are released into the bloodstream. In this case, the detoxification of the body from alcohol should be carried out in the direction to get rid of the toxins in the fatty tissues. For this, physical activity or special bathrooms are suitable. For the preparation of baths, you can use sea salt and essential oils of coniferous trees.

Video: "The harm of alcohol on the body."