The FastDay Forum

Post script.----- What do we eat with our drink NUTS sorted.

[carorees]

@MaryAnn I'm going to try to track them down. Mind you, my sample of 1 indicates better weightloss when abstaining. I'll be back...

[carorees]

@MaryAnn

I haven't been able to track down all the studies mentioned as yet. However, a good starting point for understanding the issue is this review from 2005: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16047538

Despite its comparatively high energy content of 7.1 g/kcal, it is still controversial whether moderate amounts of alcohol represent a risk factor for weight gain and obesity. Epidemiologic data showed a positive, negative, or no relationship between alcohol intake and body weight. Despite the difficulty in assessing alcohol intake as well as controlling for different confounders of the energy-balance equation, the conflicting epidemiologic data can be explained in most instances. Every component of the energy-balance equation is affected by the ingestion of alcohol. Moderate amounts of alcohol enhance energy intake due to the caloric content of the alcohol as well as its appetite-enhancing effects. Alcohol-induced thermogenesis is approximately 20% in healthy nonalcoholic subjects, i.e., moderate alcohol consumers, which is higher than for other energy substrates but considerably lower than in heavy alcohol consumers. This would suggest that a major fraction of the alcohol energy represents an available energy source for ATP synthesis in moderate non-daily alcohol consumers. Experimental evidence from several metabolic studies showed a suppression of lipid oxidation by alcohol and thus the enhancement of a positive fat balance. The nonoxidized fat is preferentially deposited in the abdominal area. The experimental metabolic evidence suggests that the consumption of moderate amounts of alcohol has to be accounted for in the energy-balance equation and may represent a risk factor for the development of a positive energy balance and thus weight gain. In the heavy alcohol consumer and eventually also in daily moderate alcohol consumers, a larger fraction of the alcohol energy might not be an available source of energy due to the induction of the microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system (MEOS). Experimental data in combination with epidemiologic findings suggest that alcohol energy counts more in moderate nondaily alcohol consumers than in some moderate daily and all heavy consumers. Accordingly the question is not "Whether alcohol calories do count" but "How much do alcohol calories count?". There seems to be a large individual variability according to the absolute amount of alcohol consumed, the drinking frequency as well as genetic factors. Presently it can be said that alcohol calories count more in moderate nondaily consumers than in daily (heavy) consumers. Further, they count more in combination with a high-fat diet and in overweight and obese subjects.

This shows that, like everything, it is a bit more complicated than it first appears. Since alcohol can be used for fuel to only a limited extent and, in addition, due to its appetite enhancing and toxic effects, the amount consumed together with the energy balance of the individual and the macronutrient composition of the diet are inter-related factors.

The main study mentioned by the Daily Mail:

In the Nineties, researchers at Harvard embarked on a survey of almost 20,000 middle-aged women, whose drinking habits and weight were tracked for almost 13 years.

is this study I think: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20212182

I think that the info on the other studies was mainly taken from the discussion section of the above paper.

The authors of the study acknowledge the complexity of the situation in the discussion. Some interesting paragraphs from their discussion of their results are:

...drinking habits may change appetite and the perception of satiety, whereby alcohol drinkers would prefer certain diet.[7,9–11,15] Alcohol metabolism appears more efficient in heavy subjects,[38] therefore alcohol intake may be more likely to promote weight gain in overweight women than in lean women.[41,42] In our study, higher alcohol consumption was generally associated with more current smoking, more physical activity, slightly lower baseline BMI, and less healthy diet.

The association of alcohol consumption with body weight change and development of obesity seems to differ by gender, which must be considered in the context of energy balance. Male drinkers tend to add alcohol to their daily dietary intake, while female drinkers usually substitute alcohol for other foods without increasing total energy intake.[11,35] Consistent with previous findings [7,10,11,14] our study showed that women consuming more alcohol had lower energy intake from non-alcohol source, particularly carbohydrates. On the other hand, there may also be gender-specific differences in the metabolism of alcohol. Compared with male drinkers, female drinkers appear to have a lower activity of alcohol dehydrogenase [36] and thus are more likely to degrade ethanol through other pathways such as the hepatic microsomal ethanol oxidizing system, which has a low efficiency of energy utilization and a high energy expenditure.[37] Metabolic studies have shown that after drinking alcohol, energy expenditure moderately changed in men[38] but substantially increased beyond the energy content of consumed alcohol in women.[39] Taken together, regular alcohol consumption would potentially result in a gain of energy balance in men while a net energy loss in women. There have been other mechanisms through which alcohol may modify energy balance and subsequently body weight, including impact on nutrient digestion and absorption, interference with lipid oxidation and fat accumulation,[5] increased sympathetic tone and associated thermogenesis, and enhanced adenosine triphosphate (ATP) breakdown.[40]

Our study results only apply to light-to-moderate alcohol consumption in association with body weight change. Because very few women in our study reported heavy alcohol intake, we cannot reasonably evaluate the role of heavy alcohol drinking in body weight gain and development of obesity. In our baseline population of women with normal BMI, only 3% consumed alcohol ≥30g/day (corresponding to ≥2–3 drinks per day). In this highest alcohol consumption category, as many as one third of women were current smokers, suggesting that heavy drinkers may have remarkably different lifestyle patterns compared with those consuming lower amounts of alcohol.

If we accept the validity of this study, then, it suggests that a light to moderate alcohol consumption for normal weight, middle-aged women may not adversely affect weight provided the appetite-enhancing aspects can be controlled. However, I would strongly advise against drinking 2-3 units every day because of the adverse health effects from alcohol that are independent of body weight.

The same cannot be extended to men or young or obese women (so far studies suggest that alcohol increases weight in these groups).

Thanks for that @carorees

Basically, we should still keep counting our alcohol calories.