Everything that humans consume goes through the body's internal processes. Whether we are aware of it or not, these products can have unintended effects. We often drink alcohol to relax or as part of a social activity. How the body breaks down and...
Consuming large quantities of alcohol can prevent foods from converting into a form that can cross over from the digestive tract to the bloodstream. It can also damage the lining of the stomach and intestines and make the absorption of food...
When you consume alcoholic beverages, the alcohol affects the way that many tissues work. Alcohol adds calories to your diet but also affects your overall metabolism. There is some evidence that alcohol increases your metabolism instead of...
It is a common assumption that over-the-counter medications are safe. While this may be true in some respects, it is important to read the label before taking any medication and to understand that some OTCs react with other over-the-counter...
Alcoholism is characterized by a mental obsession with and physical craving for alcohol. Once physically addicted and mentally obsessed, the alcoholic will continue drinking despite consequences, which may become progressively severe and include...
Although an isolated drink on occasion is unlikely to have long-term effects on your metabolism, chronic drinking will, over time. If you force your body to metabolize alcohol over and over again, it can eventually interfere with the processing of...
Hangovers prove costly in terms of missed work and poor job performance -- $2,000 per year per working adult, according to a report in the June 2000 issue of the "Annals of Internal Medicine." Although slight evidence suggests that B vitamins may...
The biochemical processes in your body that provide energy generate toxic byproducts. The liver is responsible for filtering and detoxifying those byproducts along with other harmful substances that enter your body, such as drugs, alcohol and...
Hypothyroidism describes the medical disorder in which the thyroid gland does not secrete its hormone, resulting in several effects on the metabolism. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a liver disorder that can develop as a result of...
Beer does not speed up the metabolism. In fact, drinking beer may be harmful to your weight loss or weight maintenance plans. Alcohol actually slows down the fat burning process. Still, beer in moderation may be part of a healthy diet for most...
Fermenting carbohydrates results in the production of alcohol. The carbohydrates that remain in the alcoholic mixture after the fermentation process ends can be removed by distillation. But alcoholic beverages normally contain significant amounts...
Alcohol is primarily made out of carbohydrates, but it is a special kind of carb that metabolizes differently from others, due in part to the fact that it is fermented. Some foods are more conducive to fat burning than others. Alcohol consumption...
When you pull out last year's bathing suit to get fired up for summer and find out that it does not fit quite as well as it did last season, it is time to take action. If your goal is to lose weight quickly, you must make some major alterations to...
When you eat or exercise a certain way, your habits can affect your metabolism. Your metabolism is the mechanism in your body that regulates the burning and storage of fat. Those with a high metabolism may have an easier time burning calories,...
Your body digests wine and other forms of alcohol quickly after they enter your digestive tract. While some of it can pass through your stomach, most of it is transported to your liver, where a system of enzymes called the "alcohol dehydrogenase...
Many health benefits are associated with drinking a moderate amount of alcohol each day -- such as lowering blood pressure, improving insulin sensitivity and reducing risk of developing cancer and heart disease. However, excessive alcohol intake...
The Johns Hopkins Gastroenterology and Hepatology website reports the incidence of alcoholism in the United States is 7 percent as of 2010. A common consequence of alcoholism is chronic liver disease, which begins with increased fat deposition in...
Alcoholism is a complex disorder that arises from both genetic factors and environmental influences. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a person's genes account for about 50 to 60 percent of the risk of becoming...
When watching your weight, be careful about the amount of beer you drink. A bottle of beer can contain a high number of calories, not necessarily from the carbohydrates, but because of the alcohol content.
Alcohol poisoning is the result of drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time, usually binge drinking, with nearly 50,000 cases of poisoning every year according to What is Alcohol Poisoning? One cannot "sleep off" the effects of...
Weight loss at its simplest comes down to calories in versus calories out. By consuming fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. Alcohol calories are often overlooked because they are not food, so we don't always think about how many...
The calories and carbohydrate in alcoholic beverages can sabotage people's diet. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram, says the UCLA Student Nutrition Action Committee, as opposed to carbohydrates and proteins with 4 calories per gram. Making it a...
The production of vodka requires distillation of grains to produce alcohol. Polar Ice Vodka is produced in Canada and involves four separate distillations.
What constitutes overuse of alcohol varies from person to person, based on factors such as sex, tolerance and size. Each individual person needs to understand what his own tolerance for alcohol is and try not to overuse it. Overuse of alcohol can...
Blood alcohol content describes the amount of alcohol present in the blood of someone who has been drinking. The Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drug and Other Addiction Services reports that a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent indicates...
Alcoholism contributes to malnutrition by decreasing appetite and vital nutrients; drinking often serves as a substitute for meals, according to MayoClinic.com. Many alcoholics become malnourished either because they consume too few essential...
Used in moderation, alcohol appears to confer some health benefits. The American Heart Association reports that moderate intake of alcohol, 1 or 2 drinks daily, increases HDL cholesterol and reduces your risk of coronary heart disease. However,...
Ethyl alcohol is the type of alcohol that manufacturers turn into alcoholic beverages, and it is a common substance of abuse. Alcohol is one of the most widely abused drugs because, according to Drugs.com, it creates feelings of relaxation,...
Fatty liver disease is a condition in which too much fat builds up in your liver. You are more at risk for fatty liver disease if you tend to put on weight around your middle, eat too much, especially too much fatty food, or drink too much...