How alcohol affects our quality of life

alcohol affects our quality of life

Alcohol abuse can have many negative consequences for a person - starting with a headache, and ending with serious health disorders, such as cirrhosis of the liver, memory lapses, etc. In addition, alcohol greatly affects our lives, relationships, and even training and brain health. I’ll tell in more detail how alcohol affects the quality of our lives.

Material content

How does alcohol affect the brain?

How does alcohol affect metabolism?

How many calories are in alcohol and how does it affect the quality of the diet?

How does alcohol affect muscle and exercise?

How does alcohol affect the brain?

Often alcohol is presented as a sedative. But this is not at all true. Alcohol is not only a sedative, but also has an indirect stimulating effect, which is not very good.

Alcohol directly affects the chemical composition of the brain. It changes the level of neurotransmitters - transmitters that control thought processes, behavior and emotions.

In fact, alcohol suppresses agitation and increases lethargy. Your speech, thoughts and movements will be slower and slower the more you drink. You will begin to stumble, fall and perform many clumsy actions.

But here's the catch. Alcohol also contributes to the production of dopamine in the brain - the center of pleasure. It is influenced by many different enjoyable activities: chatting with close friends, vacationing, raising salaries, and drinking alcohol.

By increasing the level of dopamine in the brain, alcohol makes you think you are feeling fine. You continue to drink to produce dopamine, but at the same time, the chemical composition of the brain changes, which enhances the feeling of depression.

Numerous studies have shown that the effect of alcohol on dopamine is more pronounced in men than in women, which explains why men are more likely to suffer from alcoholism.

Over time, if we consume a large amount of alcohol, the effect of dopamine is reduced to a minimum. But at this stage, the person was already hooked on the feeling of pleasure, although he stopped receiving it. As soon as a desire arises again and again to experience that pleasant feeling with the consumption of alcoholic beverages, alcoholism arises.

The time it takes for an addiction to occur is different for everyone. Some have a genetic predisposition to alcoholism, and they will need very little time, while others will need a couple of weeks or even months.

How does alcohol affect metabolism?

Numerous scientific studies suggest that the use of even small doses of alcohol provokes long-term changes in the metabolism - for example, after a glass of vodka, fat-burning processes in the body can be blocked for 6-9 hours. During this time, the body cannot burn fat stores, but gladly increases them.

In fact, alcohol deals a triple blow to metabolism:

the body gets extra calories from the alcoholic drink itself;

increases appetite (plus, when intoxicated, the feeling of "criticality" in the choice of food decreases);

fat burning processes are blocked.

As a result, alcohol leads to an increase in internal fat stores and the development of obesity.

In addition, alcohol makes the liver use antioxidants, vitamin C, and minerals to neutralize chemicals. If you have a deficiency of these substances - the body sends the remaining reserves to it. Alcohol increases the level of estrogen, which worsens the symptoms of PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), fibroma and endometriosis, and other estrogen-dominant problems in the body.

The main consequences of alcohol consumption for metabolism can be summarized as follows:

sharp disproportion in redox processes;

the formation of highly toxic acetaldehyde;

distraction of enzymes from the normal metabolism of endogenous substrates containing alcohol and aldehyde groups;

the accumulation of excess amounts of acetate, which leads to increased formation of fatty acids and cholesterol

How many calories are in alcohol and how does it affect the quality of the diet?

Is it possible to follow a diet and drink alcohol? This is a very controversial issue. Given the variety of diets and the range of drinks with alcohol, in each case, the compatibility of diet and alcohol should be considered individually, preferably with the help of a nutritionist. In the recommendations of most strict diets, alcohol is completely eliminated.

At the same time, if weight loss occurs due to limited calorie intake, such a diet and alcohol are quite compatible, but in very reasonable doses. When calculating the daily calorie intake, you should only consider the calorie content of the alcoholic beverages that you consume.

The calorie content of alcoholic beverages is important to know when the method of weight loss is to calculate the daily calorie intake, and not limited to a specific set of products.

Calories in alcohol and the amount of carbohydrates in 100 g of the finished drink:

Vodka 40% - carbohydrates 0.0, 235 kcal.
Brandy 40% - carbohydrates 0.5, 225 kcal.
Whiskey 40% - carbohydrates 0.0, 220 kcal.
Gin 40% - carbohydrates 0.0, 220 kcal.
Cognac 40% in - carbohydrates 0.1, 239 kcal.
Rum 40% - carbohydrates 0.0, 220 kcal.
Punch 26% - carbohydrates 30.0, 260 kcal.
Liquor 24% - carbohydrates 53.0, 345 kcal.
Port 20% - carbohydrates 13.7, 167 kcal.
Sherry 20% - carbohydrates 10.0, 152 kcal.
Madera 18% - carbohydrates 10.0, 139 kcal.
White dessert wine 13.5% - carbohydrates 5.9, 98 kcal.
Vermouth 13% - carbohydrates 15.9, 158 kcal.
Dry white wine 12% - carbohydrates 0.2, 66 kcal.
Red wine 12% - carbohydrates 2.3, 76 kcal.
Beer 4.5% - carbohydrates 3.8, 45 kcal.
Beer 1.8% - carbohydrates 4.3, 29 kcal.
Mojito cocktail alcoholic - carbohydrates 5.3, 52 kcal.
Champagne “brut” - carbohydrates 1.4, 70 kcal.

The calorie content in any diet, depending on physical activity, ranges from 1500 to 1800 kcal, which means that it is quite possible to include a couple of drinks in the menu without going beyond calorie content. One serving of alcohol is contained in a glass of wine, 0.33 light beer or 25 ml of a drink with a strength of 40%. The daily norm recommended for men is 3-4 servings of alcohol, for women - no more than 1-2 servings.

Combining diet and alcohol

Many will be surprised by the calorie content of alcohol. However, even the so-called moderate or “healthy” alcohol consumption can lead to weight gain and, of course, impedes the effort spent on weight loss. This is because it is very easy to overdo it with alcohol calories.

Alcohol is not only characterized by an extremely high calorie content, causing weight gain, but also complicates the metabolism in the body, which reduces the amount of fat burned. When you take alcohol, a small percentage of alcohol (ethanol) turns into fat, with most of it being converted to a substance known as acetate.

Acetate is released into the bloodstream, where it replaces fat as the main source of fuel. So, in alcohol, a rich amount of kcal is unsuccessfully combined, while at the same time, inhibition / reduction of fat burning. In other words, the body is forced to store an excess of non-combustible calories, causing weight gain. Therefore, sweet alcoholic drinks are the worst thing you can think of and the biggest stumbling block for people trying to lose weight.

How does alcohol affect muscle and exercise?

As in the case of blocking fat burning, alcohol negatively affects the synthesis of amino acids in the body. The body begins to spend the energy of alcohol, forgetting about any muscle needs for protein for growth and recovery. Muscles, in turn, begin to break down to make up for the resulting amino acid deficiency.

The main side effects of alcohol on exercise and muscle:

The body is dehydrated. Alcoholic beverages are diuretics, your kidneys begin to work to the fullest. And since you actively sweat and lose fluid during sports, drinking alcohol before training is generally not possible. Your body receives severe dehydration, which negatively affects physical performance. During training, you need to drink enough water to ensure good blood flow and the delivery of all nutrients to the muscles.

Not enough energy is produced. All alcoholic beverages are broken down in the liver, blocking its other functions, in particular glucose production. And it is necessary for the body to receive energy. After drinking alcohol in front of the hall, you will get tired faster, since your body will try, first of all, to remove all alcohol from the blood, and only then to start producing glucose.

The reaction is dull. Everyone knows the effect of alcohol: after drinking a glass of something strong or a glass of red, we feel relaxed - alcohol acts on our nervous system, dulling the body's reaction to external stimuli. And if relaxation in a calm environment is good, then poor coordination in training is fraught with serious consequences.

The probability of seizures increases. During training, the muscles actively break down glucose. This leads to the release of lactic acid. After alcohol, the liver, which must convert acid to glucose, will be busy cleansing the body of toxins, so it will not be able to timely reduce the level of lactic acid. An increased concentration of lactic acid will lead to convulsions, lethargy and rapid fatigue during exercise.

Weight gain. Alcoholic beverages are very high in calories, and after a few glasses the temptation to eat too much increases. If you train to get in shape, but you can’t keep track of your eating behavior and are not averse to drinking a glass or two - do not expect impressive results in weight loss.

Decreased muscle growth. Alcohol can provoke sleep disturbances, and at night, including hormones that are responsible for muscle growth in the body are activated. If you are striving for a set of muscle mass, remember this property of alcohol.

Increased heart rate. During sports, the heart works at full capacity - alcohol increases the heart rate, contributing to overload. A similar effect can last up to two days after drinking. Consider stressing your heart?