Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 77, December 2015 | Page 38

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NUTRITION

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Dilemma

Alcohol is deeply entrenched in our culture as a way to have fun, relax, and be social, especially during the Festive Season and
December holidays, but here’s how it affects your health and your waistline. – BY CHRISTINE PETERS, REGISTERED DIETICIAN

First Priority
Under normal conditions, your body gets its energy
from the calories in carbohydrates, fats and proteins,
which are slowly digested and absorbed within the
gastrointestinal system. However, this digestive
process changes when alcohol is present. When you
drink alcohol, it gets immediate attention, because
it is viewed by the body as a toxin, and needs
no digestion. On an empty stomach, the alcohol
molecules diffuse through the stomach wall quickly
and can reach the brain and liver in minutes.
This process is slower when you have food in your
stomach, but as soon as that food enters the small
intestine, the alcohol grabs first priority and is absorbed
quickly into the bloodstream. As the alcohol reaches the
liver for processing, the liver places all of its attention
on the alcohol. If you drink very slowly, all the alcohol
is collected by the liver and processed immediately,
avoiding all other body systems. However, if you drink
quickly, the liver cannot keep up with the processing
needs and the alcohol continues to circulate in the
body until the liver is available to process it. That’s why
drinking large amounts of alcohol, or drinking alcohol
quickly, affects the brain centres involved with speech,
vision, reasoning and judgment.

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But wait, there’s more…
Alcohol is also a diuretic, meaning that it causes
water-loss and dehydration. Along with this
water-loss, you lose important minerals such as
magnesium, potassium, calcium and zinc. These
minerals are vital to the maintenance of fluid
balance, chemical reactions, and muscle contraction
and relaxation.
Added to that, when the body is focused on
processing alcohol, it is not able to properly break
down foods containing carbohydrates and fat.
Therefore, these calories are converted into body fat.
Alcohol contains seven calories per gram and offers
no nutritional value. It only adds empty calories to
your diet. So why not spend your calorie budget on
something healthier? Also, skipping a meal to save
your calories for drinks later is a bad idea. If you
come to the bar hungry, you are even more likely
to munch on unhealthy snacks, and drinking on an
empty stomach enhances the negative effects of
alcohol. If you’re planning on drinking later, eat a
healthy meal first. You’ll feel fuller, which will stop
you from over-drinking.

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