I’m not going to lie and say I don’t drink alcohol. I’m also not going to lie and convince myself that it’s not detrimental to my health. I know that it’s poison, and when I know I’m going to drink, I factor it into my cheats for the week or the month. It falls into the same cheat category as eating french fries or dessert at a restaurant. My diet is 80-90% organic, sustainable, unprocessed, real, whole food throughout the week so that I can enjoy those 10-20% cheat moments on the weekend. (Notice I said “moments”? The entire weekend shouldn’t be a free-for-all)
IT’S REALLY NOT HEALTHY. The fact that we’ve been sold the idea that “one drink a day is healthy” is ridiculous. One drink a day can be filed under the heading of “not that bad” at best. But to use the word “healthy” is B.S. The studies that show that “people who consume one drink a day are less likely to have _____ disease” are merely correlative studies. They don’t prove causation. Anyone who consumes one drink a day obviously has some self control. Most people I know don’t stop at one drink, unless their wine glass can hold 20 ounces. If someone has the self control to stop at one drink, they probably have the same self control when it comes to junk food, desserts, cigarettes, drugs etc. That probably makes for a healthier individual. But it’s NOT the alcohol that makes them healthy. It’s the conscious self control to not overdo it with toxins.
ADDITIONAL CALORIES. If you’re trying to lose weight, the last thing your body needs is additional calories with zero nutrition to back it up. Beer, wine and liquor can range from 95 (light beer) to 780 (LI Iced Tea) calories for ONE drink! When was the last time you had 4-5 drinks on a weekend? Do the math and equate that to how many extra unhealthy meals you threw into your body.
IT SHUTS DOWN METABOLISM. When you drink alcohol, your body puts all other metabolic processes on hold until the alcohol is processed. Your body can’t convert alcohol calories to fat, so it needs to use them up on the spot. This will delay all other fat burning until the alcohol has been metabolized. Plus, most people drink at night, when metabolism its at it’s slowest. So most of us put hundreds of extra alcohol calories (often accompanied by extra food calories) into our bodies at a time where our metabolism is almost at a standstill.
IT’S POISON. Do you remember the first time you tried alcohol? You probably didn’t say “Yum!!!!”. Same thing with cigarettes and even coffee too. If it tastes repulsive, it’s probably your body’s way of telling you to stay away. It’s not until we “acquire” a taste, and a little bit of addiction, to these products that the taste becomes pleasurable. Give a beer or a cigarette to a kid, and see how they like it. (Don’t actually do that. It’s kind of illegal)
IT CAUSES DISEASE. In case you need some more convincing, here’s a few diseases related to alcohol consumption: Cardiovascular Disease,, Anemia, Cirrhosis, Dementia, Depression, Seizures, Gout, Pancreatitis, Epilepsy, and Cancer of the Breast, Liver, Rectum, Throat, and Ovaries. CHEERS!!!