Alcohol Consumption 

• Healthy people metabolize alcohol consumption at consistent rate (15ml per hour).
• Men can consume up to 28 units per week.
• Women up to 21 units per week.
• Red wine induces fat burning if consumed in moderation. 

One Unit is 10 ml (8ml is pure alcohol)

Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA)

• Beer – 350 ml/d
• Red Wine – 120 ml/d
• Hard Drinks – 30 ml/d

Alcohol & Metabolism

Our bodies cannot store alcohol. When we drink it, it is quickly absorbed through our small intestines and ends up in our bloodstream. Because it cannot be stored for later use, unlike fats and sugars, it goes to the front of the queue to be dealt with by our livers. Effectively,  alcohol consumption puts every other digestive process on hold, which can lead to the build-up of fat in the liver, one of the first steps towards liver disease.

Alcohol contains empty calories and has no nutritional value. It can often contribute to malnutrition because the high levels of calories in most alcoholic drinks can account for a large percentage of your daily energy requirements.

Your body cannot store alcohol, so it must metabolize it right away. When you drink alcohol, your body makes metabolizing it a priority over all other metabolic processes. Your body sends alcohol to the liver, which produces the enzymes necessary for the oxidation and metabolism of alcohol.  Around 98% of alcohol that is consumed is processed in the liver, with the other two to ten percent being expelled through urine, breathing, or sweat. The amount of alcohol in a standard drink will take around 10 hours for the average person to process it.

Given alcohol is a by-product of yeast digestion.

Maintaining adequate blood sugar levels is one of the key functions of your metabolism, but when you drink alcohol, maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is one of the first elements of metabolism to be shoved aside in your body’s rush to excrete the toxins as efficiently as possible.

“Alcohol inhibits your body’s ability to make glucose and to maintain healthy levels of glucose or blood sugar in the blood. Even occasional alcohol consumption can cause dangerous drops in blood sugar levels, especially when consumed on an empty stomach.“

HOW OUR BODIES DEAL WITH ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

This is particularly true of alcohol. Alcohol is primarily broken down by two specific enzymes, alcohol hydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde hydrogenase (ALDH). Although our livers play a vital role in helping us deal with alcohol, our stomachs, pancreases and even our brains are involved. The first stage involves ADH turning alcohol into acetaldehyde, a highly toxic substance which is a known carcinogen (a substance that can cause cancer). Fortunately, this is where ALDH comes into play, quickly turning acetaldehyde into acetate. This can be broken down into carbon dioxide and water, which can easily be eliminated by our bodies.

People talk about “one unit per hour” – the idea that our livers can process 10ml of pure alcohol each hour after it’s been consumed – but that is just a rule of thumb.

At a biological level, there is nothing we can do about how these particular enzymes work. That is determined by the genes we were born with. But learning how our bodies work can help us make better choices, including understanding what alcohol does to other aspects of our metabolism.

Alcohol Consumption & Weight Loss

• Any weakening of the stomach will lessen the rate and efficiency at which food is digested.
• Interferes with a healthy metabolism.
• Interferes  the weight loss process.
• Impairs body’s ability to absorb nutrients and vitamins from the food you eat.
• Damages  body’s ability to absorb nutrients, vitamins and minerals from the food you eat. 
• At seven calories per gram, alcohol supplies almost twice as many calories as protein and carbohydrates. 
• In fact, alcohol has only two fewer calories than fat, which has nine calories per gram.
•  Calories in alcohol lack the nutrients beneficial for a healthy metabolism and will therefore hasten fat storage.
•  Because your body can’t store alcohol and must metabolize it right away, other metabolic processes suffer.
• Your body won’t metabolize sugars and fats as efficiently during the metabolism of alcohol, and drinking can cause your metabolism to slow.
•  This can contribute to weight gain.

Alcohol & it’s side effects

Alcohol can have adverse effects :

• Weaken Kidneys
• Leading to serious health problems
• Drunken cells causes brittle bones
• Provokes sex desire but takes away the performance
• Under supply of male sex hormones
• Shrinkage of testicles
• In growth of breast due to rise in oestrogen levels 

Reduce Drunkenness Effects

• Ginger Juice or a ginger piece
• Water of soaked dates
• Vitamin B Complex
• Cabbage dipped in vinegar
• Celery Juice
• 1 tsp mustard seeds with 1 glass of water induces vomiting

Conclusion

Ultimately, when it comes to our drinking, our weight, and any other aspect of our lives, we can choose how we live in the bodies that nature has given us. And we can choose to live well.