Details about the Dangers of Alcohol

The Problem with Alcohol...

Alcohol is a macronutrient just like protein, carbohydrate, and fat. In the United States, The Food and Drug Administration does not require manufacturers to list these components separately on packaging. If they did, you would see that alcohol grams weigh in at 7 calories per gram. Twice as much as carbohydrate and protein, and very near the same caloric “cost” as fat. Moreover, these calories are metabolized much differently in our bodies than other macronutrients. Before they can be used in cellular respiration (Krebs Cycle), the liver must break them down into fatty acids. That means that they are treated as fats in cellular respiration after this additional processing step. We could say that drinking alcohol is like drinking fat, but it’s actually worse than that. It would be more accurate to say that alcohol is like drinking fat while simultaneously taking your liver off-line from it’s other duties.

Dehydration

Once ingested, the immediate effect of alcohol metabolism is cellular dehydration. To visualize the effects of dehydration, think of a cell as a large swimming tank teaming with dolphins. Imagine thousands of dolphins that have been trained to carry packages from the water's edge to a hatch in the floor of the deepest part of the pool. This illustrates the activity of a normal cell: cranking out written instructions of what the body needs and delivering the instructions to sub-cellular particles within the cells that actually produce the needed hormones. Millions of "packages" are transported in this manner every minute in every cell in your body every day of your life! The reason all this goes well is because the dolphins have room to move. They can navigate the pool freely and easily as long as there is plenty of water. But try to get it done with half the water and things begin to deteriorate. The dolphins that were already so numerous that they were constantly touching other dolphins on all sides, are now unable to move. And so it is for a human cell that is dehydrated. In such a limited movement environment, a mere fraction of the intended hormone production occurs.

Degrades Health

So much for the immediate effects of alcohol. Consider that over time, regular alcohol consumption increases the risk cancer, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, dementia, and cirrhosis. It destroys neurons, the core components of the brain and spinal chord that process and transmit information by electrochemical signaling. It reduces gluconeogenesis (GNG), an important aid to weight control because it selectively burns the food in your gut rather than storing it first. (You always prefer GNG because once food is stored it will always brings lean mass with it to be burned.)

Organic Cross-tasking

The liver is the most important organ in your body. A few of it's many jobs are metabolizing carbs, proteins, and fats, the absorption of fat into waste, breaking down and eliminating hormones, and the manufacturing of immune substances and blood proteins. Amazingly, it can also perform some of the functions of other organs as a way to help when things get backed up. One of the Kidney's functions is to control the PH balances in our cells. As you may expect, the chemical effect of dehydration is that the cell becomes more acidic. When the kidney comes to the aid of this problem to balance PH levels, it forces the liver to take on the additional tasks of blood filtration and electrolyte balancing. Remember that the liver is already dealing with the additional task of breaking down the alcohol macronutrients into fatty acids. Now add to that the cross-tasking with kidney function. The result is exponential degradation of liver function.

Causes Fat Buildup

Let's look at the what happens to our bodies systemically for the days that follow alcohol consumption. Alcohol has been proven to cause inflammation of the pancreas. This inflammation impairs production of enzymes needed to break down proteins and fats. Alcohol has been proven to increase the production of insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is used to lower blood glucose levels and signals the body to store fat. Elite athletes, the folks who maintain a razor-thin layer of fat, are said to be very in tune with changing fat levels. When you think about it, that makes sense. After all, if you have only a few total pounds of fat on your body, even a small behavioral change will show up in the net amount stored. Several Deltatrac scientists have participated in bodybuilding events over the years. On the day of a competition, a male competitor is somewhere between 3% and 7% fat. Women are between 6% and 10%. At those levels, we all can attest to the incredible impact even the smallest of functional adjustments have on total body fat. One of the phenomenons we talk most about is the 2-day rule. It says that just one beer will cause the body to store every calorie eaten for 2 days. When we say "store" we mean the body indiscriminately processes every morsel eaten and turns it into body fat. The 2-day label is a loose term. Some say their "2-days" is 18 hours. Others say it's closer to 72 hours! Whatever you are is a function of your genetics. If you struggle with weight it's likely that you are nearer the long end of that scale. But no matter where you are, you have to ask, "Can I really afford this?"