The REAL Effects of Alcohol On Your Body - Part 1 of 2

The REAL Effects of Alcohol On Your Body - Part 1 of 2
If you are curious as to the effects of alcohol on the
body, this could be the most eye-opening article you will
ever read.

Many of us associate the effects of alcohol on the body
with the heart, lungs, liver, brain, memory, etc.
Furthermore, if asked about effects of drinking alcohol in
terms of our fitness goals, most people will let you know
about the infamous beer belly.

You know what I'm talking about right?

Drink too much and you end up storing too many calories as
fat.

Many people will choose low calorie alcohol drinks or low
carb alcoholic beverages in an attempt to avoid the fat
storage issue. They feel that by making this choice the
only bad effects of alcohol - increased fat storage - will
be minimized.

But what you didn't know is that only about 5% of the
calories from alcohol are stored as fat! [14]

Then it hit me as it should hit you right about now...

The effects of alcohol on the body are far more damaging
than can be predicted by the number of empty calories in
some alcoholic beverage.

The truth is...

1- Alcohol really affects the amount of fat your body can
and will burn for energy!

In a study done by the American Journal of Clinical
Research [4] they concluded that just a mere 24g of alcohol
consumption showed whole-body lipid oxidation ( the rate at
which your body burns fat) decreased by a whopping 73%!

When alcohol goes thru the liver, the by-product is called
Acetate. It would appear that acetate puts the proverbial
brakes on fat burning.

Your body can use many types of fuel. Protein,
carbohydrates and fat. In many cases, the fuel used is
dictated by it's availability.

Trouble is...

Your body tends to use whatever you feed it for fuel right?
As your acetate levels increase, your body burns more
acetate as fuel.

What this means is...

Fat burning takes a back seat!

What it all boils down to is this...

a) You consume a couple of alcoholic drinks or more. b)
Your liver metabolizes that into acetate. c) Your body uses
the acetate for fat as fuel.

2- Increase in appetite

In another American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study,
there was evidence to suggest that consumption of alcohol
lead to an increase in appetite over that of any other
carbohydrate type drink. [5]

Researchers over in the Research Department of Human
Nutrition and Center for Advanced Food Studies in Denmark
[8] concluded that consumption of alcoholic beverages, and
wine in particular, may enhance total energy intake at a
meal relative to a soft drink, when served with no
restriction.

3- Decrease in Testosterone and an Increase in Cortisol

A study of 8 healthy male volunteers observed that after
drinking alcohol, the effects of a significant decrease in
testosterone and an increase in cortisol (a muscle
destroying hormone) lasted up to 24 hours! [6]

The only real question to ask yourself is this...

If you are serious about building muscle and burning fat,
you want all the free testosterone levels you can get and
you want to reduce cortisol in any way you can. That means
go lite on the drinking because it does affect your
hormones.

What more...

Is that the effects were even worse if you exercise before
drinking. [1] This means that if you are going out and
will be drinking more than a small amount of alcohol, you
might as well skip the gym.

Not shocking is a study done by the Department of
Radiology, Sahlgrenska Hospital, Goteborg, Sweden [2] that
determined increased waist to hip ratio of alcoholics may
include not only changes in adipose tissue, but also in
muscle tissue distribution.

In layman's terms.. that means more fat around the waist
and less overall muscle mass.

Look for Part 2 of this article to learn the other 4
reasons why excessive alcohol might destroy your muscle
gains and hinder your fat loss.

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Do you suffer from any of these effects of alcohol on your
body? Who else wants to discover the simple but proven
methods of nutrition and training that will allow you burn
fat and build muscle quickly? Sign up for Marc David's
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http://www.beginning-bodybuilding.com