One way to maintain a healthy weight is to focus on eating healthy food regularly. The risks of alcohol aren’t just mental – body processes can be adversely affected by heavy drinking. As such, it is essential to know what is in your drinks and what you are putting into your body when you drink. Alcohol has a lot of calories, and calories are used by your body for energy. Though most calories are used for energy, there are also some going into fat storage which can make you feel hungry even when you’re not hungry.
“Alcohol isn’t treated like other nutrients in food; in fact, the digestive system works extra hard to eliminate it from the body, prioritizing the elimination of alcohol ahead of all other nutrients. If you were to have a meal with your alcoholic beverage, the nutrient uptake from the meal would be greatly decreased due to the body working so hard to eliminate the alcohol from the body,” explains Krissy Maurin, lead wellness coordinator at Providence St. Joseph Hospital’s Wellness Center.
Affecting your hormones
A variety of hormones are engaged in regular, day-to-day activities. Too much alcohol can affect the functioning of the glands that release hormones and the regions that such hormones effect, resulting in a variety of health problems, especially weight gain.
High calories
I’m sure you’ve tried these before. Margaritas. Daiquiris. Pina Coladas. Everyone loves a good glass of cold fresh-squeezed citrusy goodness. But did you know that some of these tropical favorites can be loaded with calories? You could be unknowingly eating your body weight in calories each time you indulge in one of these cool and refreshing alcoholic beverages.
In fact, alcohol has more calories than protein and carbohydrates. In addition to being high in calories, some of these drinks can also be high in sodium. So be careful when choosing which ones to have one night out with friends or family as an appetizer.
