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Alcohol and Low Carb Diet, Everything You Need to Know
Alcohol and Low Carb Diet – Alcohol has a bad reputation and is certainly one of the most abused substances in the world by dieters and non-dieters alike. It can become a serious problem when it interferes with your personal/social life and well-being. To enjoy it, we need to exercise moderation and self-control, hence the need for this topic. alcohol and low carb diet.
If you enjoy a few beers, shots or glasses of wine to relax or have fun on the weekends, you're in good shape! But mix it up alcohol and low carb diet, and you may find yourself struggling with how much alcohol you're drinking. People on a keto or low-carb diet notice that their tolerances decrease significantly. And when you realize that your favorite drink contains more than 30 grams of carbs in a small serving, you may consider that alcohol and low carb diet do not match.
Alcohol and low carb diet – How and why alcohol affects us
“…Alcohol molecules slow down the brain’s signals for actions like walking and talking.” Alcohol is actually the fourth macronutrient, providing our bodies with 7 calories per gram. If you’re unfamiliar with macronutrients, you can read more about them here. macronutrients here. Since alcohol is not necessary for survival and is considered toxic to humans, it is ignored under this essential macronutrient umbrella. Be aware that alcohol and low carb diet do not match, it helps to have better results.
When we ingest alcohol (in the form of ethanol), our body begins to work to metabolize it or break it down for energy. Since alcohol is toxic to our bodies, we begin to metabolize it as quickly as possible. This causes the body to make fat burning secondary, which is why alcohol consumption is alcohol and low carb diet don't match. The drunk feeling we get is alcohol being metabolized. Since alcohol molecules are water and fat soluble, they are able to pass through and be delivered to virtually every part of our body, most importantly, our brain and liver. About 98% of the alcohol we consume is processed in the liver; the rest is excreted through urine, sweat and even breathing!
Some symptoms of being drunk, such as slurred speech, impaired judgment, and gross motor movement, are caused by alcohol molecules slowing down signals from the brain for actions like walking and talking. For this reason, it is classified as a depressant, as it slows down our bodily functions – fat burning being one of them.
Alcohol and the Low-Carb Diet – The Science of Fat Burning and Alcohol Metabolism
Many people find that drinking too much alcohol hinders their weight loss. This may be because the liver will start to process the alcohol as quickly as possible. Our fat-burning processes are interrupted in order to get rid of this alcohol quickly. The speed at which alcohol is metabolized varies from person to person.
The liver of a person on a high-carbohydrate diet has a lot of glycogen stored. Glycogen is a byproduct of glucose (sugar and carbohydrate) and is the secondary long-term energy store, with the primary energy stores being fat cells held in adipose tissue.
If you’re eating a high-carb diet, your fat-burning pathways are busy breaking down sugars; alcohol is metabolized more slowly because of this. On the other hand, someone on a low-carb diet has depleted their liver’s glycogen stores and is now using fats instead of carbs and glucose, and is burning body fat more efficiently. Since your glycogen stores are low, the alcohol you drink will start to be metabolized by your liver right away. You can see why. alcohol and low carb diet isn't that ideal?
This immediate metabolization will cause that sudden onset of feeling drunk. Your liver will not warn you when the alcohol is coming in to be processed. Many keto users will experience low tolerance simply because their liver is ready to metabolize efficiently rather than feeling sluggish processing extra carbs and sugars.
Alcohol and Low Carb Diet – Other Issues with Drinking and Fat Loss
In addition to the science behind our metabolic processes, we also have some humanistic flaws.
When we drink alcohol, our inhibitions are lowered, which can make mindless snacking and cheating on your diet more likely to happen, which is yet another reason why alcohol and low carb diet cannot go together, moderation is ideal.
See another explanation why alcohol and low carb diet They don't match: On a ketogenic diet, you'll notice that you're less hungry because of the slowly released energy from fats. If you start drinking alcohol on a relatively empty stomach, you'll start to feel the effects of alcohol much more quickly (again, having to do with glycogen stores and being fasted).
Speaking of a fasted state, a great way to deplete glycogen stores is through intermittent fasting. This technique allows your body to enter ketosis much faster since the main source of energy is fat and not carbohydrates. Your body is forced to use up its glycogen stores faster, deplete them, and switch to the fats you are feeding it and never associate them with. alcohol and low carb diet.
Finally, as with any diet, alcohol consumption should be limited. The calories in alcohol are empty calories. They provide our bodies with small amounts of energy, but they are short-lived. We also do not absorb any nutrients, vitamins or minerals from alcohol. It is best to keep alcohol as a pleasure and enjoy it in moderation.
Alcohol and low carb diet – So what alcohol can we enjoy?
Clear liquors with around 40% alcohol are a safe bet and are considered keto alcohol, and anything that tastes sweet is not! Acceptable keto alcohol includes:
- Vodka
- Tequila
- Gin
- Whiskey
- Rum
- Scotch
- brandy
- Brandy
Alcohol and Low Carb Diet – Low Carb/Keto Friendly Wines
You can also enjoy wine and beer! However, you need to learn which wines are carb-friendly and how many carbs are in your favorite wine. Here are some low-carb wines to explore! Stick to dry or semi-dry wines; you’ll develop a taste for them if you don’t already. The calorie and carb counts will vary depending on the brand, grape types/growing conditions, and fermentation process, but we’ll provide an average here as a guideline:
Red Wines (148 ml)
- Cabernet Sauvignon (our favorite: full-bodied, dry, and tart!): 120 calories, 3.8 carbs
- Pinot Noir: 121 calories, 3.4 carbs
- Merlot: 120 calories, 3.7 carbs
- low carb white wineWhite Wines (5 oz serving)
- Pinot Grigio: 122 calories, 3.2 carbs
- Sauvignon Blanc: 122 calories, 2.7 carbs
- Chardonnay: 118 calories, 3.7 carbs
- Riesling: 118 calories, 5.5 carbs
- Champagne (although low alcohol, so you need to drink more): 96 calories, 1.5 carbs
Alcohol and Low Carb Diet – Low Carb / Keto Friendly Beer
Just like wine, there are many low-carb beer options to choose from. Here are some good options to consider:
Light Beers (355 ml)
- Bud Select 55: 55 calories, 1.9 carbs
- MGD 64: 64 calories, 2.4 carbs
- Rolling Rock Green Light: 92 calories, 2.4 carbs
- Michelob Ultra: 95 calories, 2.6 carbs
- Bud Select: 99 calories, 3.1 carbs
- Miller Lite: 96 calories, 3.2 carbs
- Natural Light: 95 calories, 3.2 carbs
- Michelob Ultra Amber: 114 calories, 3.7 carbs
- Coors Light: 102 calories, 5 carbs
- Amstel Light: 95 calories, 5 carbs
- Bud Light: 110 calories, 6.6 carbs
Alcohol and the low-carb diet – What to worry about
Sugar is hidden everywhere! Even something as seemingly innocent as a gin and tonic can have over 30g of sugar in it. Soda water is very high in sugar. If the bartender adds fake lemon juice and simple syrup, you’ll likely have over 50g of sugar in your glass. Avoid the following popular drinks and mix-ins, and you’ll be a low-carb pro.
Sweet Wines
- Moscato
- Port / Sherry
- Dessert Wines
- Bleeding
- Zinfandel
Sugary mixers
- Triplesec
- Whiskey Sour Mix
- Blue Curacao
- Sugary syrups
- grenadine
- Frozen Margarita Mixes
- Flavored alcohol (coconut rum, peach schnapps, Bailey's, etc.)
- Juices (cranberry, orange, pineapple, tomato, etc.)
- Fruit supplements (cherries, berries, pineapples, oranges, etc.)
- Syrups (fudge, whipped cream, fruit flavored syrups, sweet creams, coconut cream)
Alcohol and low carb diet – Avoid wine coolers and alcopops
Wine coolers and Alcopops are essentially the same as sugary soft drinks with some alcohol added. These should be avoided at all costs, simply because of the massive sugar content. A good example of how many carbs we’re talking about is Smirnoff Ice, which contains 32g of carbs per 355ml serving. That’s almost as many carbs as Coca-Cola (39g carbs per 355ml serving)!
Alcohol and Low Carb Diet – Some Flavor Additions
Alcohol is not dessert. Most people need to mix their spirits to make them go down easier. Some good mixers that you can safely enjoy are:
- Sparkling water
- Seltzer Flavored Water
- Diet tonic water
- Diet Flavored Bubbly Water
- Add some Stevia or erythritol if you're drinking at home!
- Sugar-free drinks (e.g. Redbull sugar-free, Bai5 sweetened with erythritol, Diet Soda, Monster)
- Stur (aspartame free!)
Alcohol and low carb diet – Why and how to prevent it
Simply put, a hangover is caused by dehydration. The fix? DRINK MORE WATER.
While drinking alcohol, DRINK WATER. Got home safely and are you ready to sleep? DRINK WATER. Wake up thirsty? DRINK WATER. Water will cure and prevent hangovers better than any tonic, creamy supplement anyone can try to sell you. The answer is water. Between drinks at the club or bar, drink a glass of water. Do this a few times and it will help immensely. Avoid that nausea, headache, fatigue and misery with this easy fix.
The best hangover cure is lots of water, some aspirin to speed up recovery and a nice lounge on the couch.
Read Also:
Noi Low Carb Beer, from Rio de Janeiro to Brazil
12 Low Carb Alcoholic Drink Recipes
Sources:
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa28.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19577377
