How to drink alcohol (the smart way) part 2.

Hey!
Hope you've been having a great week and keeping up the hard work. I know it can be hard to maintain your exercise routine this time of year, but I have to give you big congratulations for keeping going!

When the night's draw in here in the UK and it gets cold, your natural reaction is to go into hibernation mode. But credit to all of you who have chosen to keep going and move steadily toward your goals (and that includes everyone currently doing our 40plus fitness 28 day transformation challenge) ;-).

Big welcome to all our new readers and followers of Optimum Health. I salute you!

In the first part of this post we talked about how to drink alcohol the smart way.(if you missed it click on the link here) I continue that education by letting you know a little more about alcohol and its effects. Before we start, I want to make it clear to everyone (especially the females) reading this post, that I'm NOT anti drinking. I like a drink now and again. However I believe as your friend and health & fitness professional, its my job to equip you with the facts so YOU can make the best decisions that work for YOU.

OK, here we go.......

4. Drink less as you age.
As we get older our bodies ability to deal with the effects of alcohol decrease. Men typically drink more than women, but women are more likely to be affected by the effects of excessive drinking. This is because men are typically bigger in size, carry more muscle mass thus making them better at metabolising alcohol.
Pre-menopausal women can significantly reduce there fertility rate even by consuming moderate amounts of alcohol over time. This has been shown to have the same affect with men in lowering sperm count.
Post menopausal women can seriously affect bone health and hormonal levels by regular drinking or drinking to excess. Studies have shown that too much alcohol or heavy drinking can upset the hormone balance that is key for good bone health and can lead to osteoporosis. 
Research is going on as to the best levels of alcohol we should drink for both men and women.
The general consensus is that 1 alcoholic drink a day (24hours) is low risk and 2 or more drinks a day is high risk.

5. Alcohol is a miracle cure?

"Alcohol can help prevent heart disease". Here in the UK Heart and circulatory diseases kill over 170,000 adults every year . So it’s not surprising the media pounces on studies that suggest moderate drinking can help keep your heart healthy.
The 'facts' and many research reports clearly state that drinking too much alcohol can cause high blood pressure, strokes, some cancers and damage to your heart. Drinking in moderation has benefits and has been proven to offer some protection against heart disease, however there are much better ways to protect your heart health.
Adopting a healthy diet, exercising 2-3 time a week and stopping smoking are all excellent ways to keep yourself at low risk form disease.

"Wine stops women putting on weight" Women who drink wine are less likely to gain weight” (BBC news online) and similar headlines greeted a recent American study that showed women who drank a moderate amount, especially of red wine, were less likely to become overweight than those who didn’t drink at all.
However Dr Emma Williams, a Nutrition Scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, says the results need to be treated with caution. “Because of the limitations of the study, it’s not possible to say whether alcohol itself helps prevent weight gain. The study also worryingly suggested that women, unlike men, can tend to substitute alcoholic drinks for food, so they don’t increase their calorie intake.”
With over 500 calories in a bottle of wine, alcohol certainly isn’t the way to go if you’re planning a diet. But it goes without saying that alcohol should never substitute a meal in order to keep your calorie count for the day down.
“Keeping or maintaining a healthy weight involves consuming a healthy balanced diet as well as keeping physically active,” says Dr Williams. “Base meals on starchy foods, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, cut down on saturated fat and sugar, and engage in regular physical activity.”*

6. Drink Smart and enjoy.
For many people drinking is done without any fore-thought. I have made it a little easier for you by listing some drinks and there calorific values. These are 'averages' as different producers of alcoholic drinks will make there own drink 'brands' with different volumes which will effect the actual calorie total.

1. Beer (lager) Calories = 130 (per 330ml bottle)
2. Beer (ale/stout) Calories = 200 (per pint)
3. Cider Calories = 215 (per pint)
4. Red wine Calories = 195 (250ml large glass)
5. White wine Calories = 178 (250ml large glass)
6. White spirit Calories = 110 (25ml single measure) with mixer
7. Alco-pop Calories = 150 (270ml bottle)
8. Champagne Calories = 95 (125ml small glass)
9. Water Calories = 0

Alcohol does seem to divide opinion when it comes to risks vs benefits, however there is no argument that drinking in excess or on a regular basis does increase your risk of certain conditions and disease. 
Try to remember, as I have always encouraged people to apply - everything in moderation including alcohol (I call it the 80/20 rule).  Take these facts on board and enjoy your drink- if and when you do. 





*Quotes referenced from the 'alcohol awareness' site.