QUESTION 13:  What Are the  REAL Effects of Alcohol on  My Body? 

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! 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 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 its 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- It Leads To an Increase In Your 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.  

 Researchers over in the Research Department of Human Nutrition and Center for Advanced 

Food Studies in  Denmark 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- Decreases Testosterone and Increases 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! 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. 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 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 fatter around the waist and less overall muscle mass. 

When you consume large quantities of alcohol, your liver is busy converting the alcohol to acetate 

and any vitamins and minerals that it might process are taken up by the detoxification process. 

Alcohol interferes with the metabolism of most vitamins, and with the absorption of many nutrients. 

Alcohol stimulates both urinary calcium and magnesium excretion. This just means that you'll get 

less of a benefit from the "healthy" meal you may be consuming. Food in the stomach will compete 

with ethanol for absorption into the blood stream. It is well known that alcohol competes and 

influences the processing of nutrients in the body.

5- Decreases Protein Synthesis of Type II Fibers 

This means the actual building of muscle is slowed down by 20%+ or more. This included a 

35% decrease in muscle insulin-like growth factor-I (GF-I).

6- It Increases Dehydration 

A common side effect of alcohol is dehydration. Alcohol is a diuretic. Drinks containing 4% 

alcohol tend to delay the recovery process. Considering how important water is to muscle 

building and general health, it's clear that dehydration can put a damper on your progress. 

After alcohol consumption the first thing you might want to do is drink coffee.  But that's a 

diuretic as well.  How to avoid dehydration?  Drink more water. 

7- It Reduces Sleep 

Alcohol consumption, especially at the times when you would normally sleep, can have 

effects on the quality of sleep. Clearly high quality sleep is extremely important to the rebuilding 

and growth process of muscle. Without proper rest and recovery, your gains will be affected. 

Alcohol consumption can induce sleep disorders by disrupting the sequence and duration of 

sleep states and by altering total sleep time as well as the time required to fall asleep. 

8- Makes the Next Day Not the Best Workout Day 

A rather obvious conclusion but if you plan on drinking on a Friday night in excess then the 

leg workout you thought of doing on Saturday morning won't be top notch. It takes a bit to 

recover, your body to detoxify and for you mentally to be prepared to workout. Not to mention 

you need energy for the workout ahead. 

Sure you can hit the weights but my point is... It's not going to be the best workout you've ever 

experienced. At this point you might be totally discouraged to ever drink any alcohol again. 

But there's some good news. 

Here's proof... 
In the November 2004 issue of the International Journal of Obesity they did a study on the 

effects of moderate consumption of white wine on weight loss.  Each group consumed 1500 calories. 

150 calories came from white wine in one group and 150 calories from grape juice in another. 

Conclusion: An energy-restricted diet is effective in overweight and obese subjects used to 

drinking moderate amounts of alcohol. A diet with 10% of energy derived from white wine is as 

effective as an isocaloric diet with 10% of energy derived from grape juice. 

It's simple: Moderation is the key! (With first place being abstinence as you already know). 
In any event... The effects of alcohol on your body when it comes to building muscle and burning

fat are quite clear. It is a lot more than just some extra calories stored as fat. If you consume 

too much, it can derail your goals a lot longer after your head has hit the pillow and you've gone to sleep.