Alcohol
In the last three articles, I covered the basic information about carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. They are the macronutrients that people usually track and are used to hearing in their health classes. However, there is a fourth macronutrient, alcohol. Alcohol has many unique characteristics that should be noted. This newsletter is going to be a little shorter than the others. I will go into the basics about alcohol and its metabolism and then briefly note some interesting interactions it has with the human body. These interactions can be difficult to understand as they take a lot of explanation and require deep dives to explain them. If you are interested to hear more about how alcohol impacts your health let me know and I can go into depth on any of those topics.
What is alcohol?
Getting started, Alcohol is a nonessential macronutrient that contains 7 kcals per gram. This places it a lot closer in calories to fat (9kcal/g) than protein and carbs (4kcal/g). Therefore, alcoholic beverages that contain no additive calories from sugars will still contain the calories from the alcohol in it. One standard drink (12 oz beer at 5% alcohol, 5 oz wine at 12% alcohol, and 1.5 oz hard liquor at 40% alcohol) contains 14g of alcohol or 98 calories from alcohol. However, how many calories are absorbed is dependent on which pathway is used to breakdown the alcohol.
How is alcohol processed?
The alcohol, ethanol, that you consume will be broken down by your liver. Your liver has two main ways it breaks down alcohol. Let us call the first method the “primary” method. The primary method turns the ethanol into ATP that can be readily used by the body or stored for energy later. It has relatively less toxins compared to the second method. This primary method is only used with moderate consumption (one standard drink for women and 2 standard drinks for men). Consuming higher quantities than this in a single sitting will “flood” the liver and trigger the body to use its second method or “emergency” method.
The emergency method is the same mechanism your body uses to breakdown chemicals that your body thinks are toxic (drugs, insecticides, and other harmful chemicals). When your body processes ethanol using the emergency method, the alcohol is turned into heat and the energy is wasted. Alcoholics’ livers are adapted to rely on this system heavily and as a result receive less calories from bouts of binge drinking. The percentage of ethanol processed with the primary and emergency method are dependent on the individual and their tolerance to alcohol. Generally speaking, those that drink less frequently and in moderate quantities will get more calories than their alcoholic counterparts when consuming the same amount of alcohol.
It is extremely important to note that excessive drinking does have its consequences. It is observed that there is a “J” shaped correlation between alcohol consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease. This means that moderate consumption of alcohol has been correlated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease than no consumption of alcohol, but excessive consumption has been correlated with the highest risk of cardiovascular disease. This leads me to believe that the primary method of processing ethanol is nontoxic while the emergency method is toxic. Along with higher risk of cardiovascular disease, excessive consumption of alcohol has many other health risks including; cancer, liver disease, high blood pressure, weak immune system, down regulation of protein synthesis, and one hell of a hangover.
Artificial sweeteners impact alcohol absorption too…
Since alcohol is so calorically dense, there is a large market for “low-calorie” alternatives. One low-calorie alternative involves using artificial sweeteners instead of full sugar counterparts. In my article on carbohydrates, I mentioned that artificial sweeteners mess with the signaling system of the body and impact the way sugars are absorbed. Artificial sweeteners also impact by the way alcohol is absorbed by allowing alcohol to get into the bloodstream quicker. The artificial sweetener causes a higher and quicker blood alcohol content (BAC) spike. So, reaching for a vodka tonic or non-artificially sweetened seltzer might be your best low-calorie option. Unless, of course, your goal is to get hammered.
Alcohol is an interesting macronutrient that has two methods of being processed by the liver. One results in calories while the other results in toxins. Excessive consumption of alcohol can lead to many health issues. However, there could be some health benefits related to consuming moderate levels of alcohol.
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