When an individual consumes alcohol, it enters the bloodstream through the stomach and small intestine. From there, it travels to the brain and due to it being a central nervous system depressant, it slows down the functions of the body in terms of reaction time and ultimately, the metabolism. If the metabolism is slowed as a result of alcohol consumption, the body will find difficulty in carrying out vital bodily processes that the metabolism would usually be responsible for, such as converting foods into energy and tissue repair building blocks and getting rid of nitrogenous waste. This often causes excess fat storage, weight gain and furthermore, health complications.
The liver is an organ which helps break down and remove harmful substances from the body, this including alcohol, proving that alcohol is a toxin. Considering that it can remain in the urine for up to eighty hours, hair follicles for up to three months and in the bloodstream for up to twenty-four hours, the damage that it can do in terms of scarring and malfunction are catastrophic when a person consumes excessive amounts. The best way to flush such a toxin from the body is to drink pure still water and to exercise in an attempt to sweat it out quicker.
When the body is pushed to a high enough intensity during exercising, excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or the afterburn, can last for a few days; meaning that you can fat burn from the same workout session for days until the metabolism returns to its normal rate, however, alcohol will likely inhibit this.
Alcohol is high in sugar, containing seven calories per gram (almost as much as pure fat). Drinking these empty liquid calories goes as a complete opposite to all the hard work and benefits that are strived for when pushing yourself through exercise. Due to the fact the body simply isn’t designed to store alcohol, seeing it as a toxin, it can also reduce the amount of calories the body is able to burn through exercise – meaning that once those calories are consumed, not only are you setting yourself back in terms of your health and fitness journey, you’re also going to struggle to get back on track. Alcohol can affect muscle gain too, disrupting sleep patterns and growth hormones, vital for muscle development, which are released whilst in a deep sleep. Alcohol can be a catastrophic and demoralising decision.