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Alcohol in the diet
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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There is no doubt that alcohol with a diet, that is, if necessary, adhere to the principles of therapeutic nutrition, which is prescribed by doctors for various diseases and pathological conditions, is strictly prohibited. But "sitting down" on a diet to bounce back your weight, some are wondering: is it possible to diet with alcohol?
According to most nutritionists, those who continue to drink alcohol with a diet for weight loss, rarely achieve the desired result.
Alcohol with Ducane diet and other protein diets
As the author of this non-carbohydrate diet himself notes, Pierre Ducant in his book "I do not know how to lose weight", alcohol gives a lot of energy (not used in the work of muscles) and "helps the calories to increase fat deposits." For this reason, drinking alcohol with Dukan's diet is prohibited.
The basis of the Ducane diet is the use for a certain time of exclusively protein foods (lean meat and fish, eggs, dairy products, as well as legumes and nuts). To the carbohydrate or low-carbohydrate diet is the Atkins. And in all "modifications" alcohol with a protein diet is not used. Also, do not drink alcohol with the Maggi diet, which is a diet with a low carbohydrate content and a special emphasis on eating eggs.
Keep in mind that in the United States, carbohydrate diets, in particular the Ducane diet, are classified as harmful to health due to the threat of developing metabolic acidosis, although they help to lose weight for a while.
On the violation of carbohydrate metabolism with alcohol - ketosis - we have already mentioned. And now it will have to return, because the basis of protein diets is ketosis. This is a metabolic state in which the energy costs of the body are not ensured by glucose from liver and muscle glycogen, but by ketone bodies that are formed in the liver from fatty acids.
To bring the body to ketosis, you need to consume the entire glycogen reserve, which is in the liver, and stop supplying it with carbohydrates. And the goal of any protein-free diet - in the absence of carbohydrates switch the energy supply of the body to another source of energy, that is, to store fat.
Ketosis is a potentially serious condition if the level of ketone bodies in the blood is too high. Ketones consist of acetone, acetoacetic acid or beta-oxybutyrate. A very high content of ketones in the blood can be toxic: like alcohol in a diet, they increase the acidity of the blood, which threatens damage to organs such as the kidneys and liver.
The only diet where alcohol is possible is a three-year wine diet. During the day, the products included a bottle of dry red wine (750 ml) and three green apples. In this case, wine should be drunk in small portions - 50-60 ml, but often. Those who invented this, say that in three days you can lose weight by 2-5 kg. When these pounds to you will return - it is not specified.
We hope you got an answer to the question, is it possible to drink alcohol?
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Why can not alcohol be taken with diets?
Answering the question why it is impossible to drink alcohol with diets, it should be recalled that one gram of ethyl alcohol gives almost 30 kJ of energy. So, according to the calculations of nutritionists, the caloric content of 100 g of dry wine averages 65-70 kcal, semidry champagne 78 kcal, beer 30-45 kcal, fortified wine 230 kcal, vodka 250 kcal, whiskey all 300 kcal . These numbers will help you decide what kind of alcohol you can eat with a diet. If, of course, we can not convince you that the use of any alcohol and diet are incompatible concepts ...
In addition, let's not forget that ethanol contained in alcoholic beverages penetrates into the intercellular space and blood plasma and reaches the cells of brain tissue and muscles, as well as fat and bone tissue. And its biotransformation takes place in the liver. Ethyl alcohol is oxidized to the toxic metabolite of acetaldehyde and acetic acid. Here and there it is written that after this acetic acid breaks up to produce water and carbon dioxide ... But this process is somewhat different.
Under the action of liver enzymes, acetic acid is partially converted to acetyl-CoA, which goes to the synthesis of fatty acids or ketone bodies. Increasing the production of ketone bodies most often leads to a violation of carbohydrate metabolism - ketosis.
In addition, acetaldehyde damages the membranes of liver cells and acetylates the proteins of its intercellular matrix. As a result, the intensity of fat synthesis in the liver increases and the rate of glucose formation decreases to provide energy to the brain.
Interfering with many of the body's biochemical processes, alcohol in the diet - as well as in the absence of any restrictions in nutrition - disrupts the biosynthesis of lipids and cholesterol, the production of certain enzymes and hormones (for example, testosterone).
And if you drink alcohol with a protein diet, then, first, it increases your appetite, secondly, too much fluid is drained from the body (alcohol acts as a diuretic); third, it slows the metabolism in the body and the fat burning process.