Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol, defined as one drink per day for women and two for men, has been associated with several health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease and lowering the risk of gallstones. However, research suggests that alcohol consumption might disrupt weight loss, since it inhibits fat burning and reduces the output of hormones that play a role in weight loss.
Fat Burning
Researchers from the University of California at Berkeley investigated the effects of alcohol intake on whole body lipid oxidation, or the amount of fat the body is burning. At the end of the study, published in the November 1999 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," lead author Scot Siler and colleagues discovered that participants drinking alcohol experienced a 73 percent decrease in fat-burning ability.
Appetite
Consuming alcohol might increase appetite, which in turn might lead to greater calorie intake and fat mass, according to a study conducted by lead investigator Benjamin Buemann and researchers from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Denmark. Non-obese men consumed one of the following drinks before eating a meal -- beer, wine or soft drink. The report, published in the October 2002 issue of the "International Journal of Obesity," revealed that subjects drinking beer and wine consumed more calories at the meal compared to those drinking a soft drink.
Testosterone
Alcohol might reduce the output of testosterone, a hormone that plays a role in fat loss and building muscle. Increasing muscle mass helps induce fat loss, since the body burns calories in order to hold onto muscle. Aafje Sierksma led a team of researchers from the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands who investigated the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on testosterone levels. They discovered that a moderate amount of alcohol reduced testosterone levels in men but not women, according to research reported in the April 2006 issue of the journal "Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental."
Growth Hormone
Growth hormone is a protein-based hormone that boosts fat loss by enhancing the body's use of fat as energy, especially during sleep. Timothy Roehrs, Ph.D., and colleagues from Wayne State University reviewed the literature regarding alcohol use and sleep. They concluded that alcohol consumption before bedtime reduced growth hormone output during sleep, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
References
- PubMed.gov: De novo lipogenesis, lipid kinetics, and whole-body lipid balances in humans after acute alcohol consumption
- International Journal of Obesity: The effect of wine or beer versus a carbonated soft drink, served at a meal, on ad libitum energy intake
- Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental: Effect of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Plasma Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate, Testosterone, and Estradiol Levels in Middle-Aged Men and Postmenopausal Women: A Diet-Controlled Intervention Study
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Sleep, Sleepiness, and Alcohol Use
Member Comments