It may surprise you to know that opting for a glass of wine after dinner is a better choice for your health than that fat and sugar laden dessert. It's a battle that many people wage in their minds, whether to have an after dinner drink or a dessert.
They can cause a dramatic surge of sugar levels in your body. This could eventually lead to insulin resistance – the culprit behind Type 2 Diabetes. So, on that score, alcohol is less damaging than soft drinks. However, cocktails – which are sugary alcoholic drinks, have the same effect on your body as soft drinks.
"A natural, homemade dessert in a reasonable portion size is better than alcohol. A simple glass of wine is better than a highly processed or large portion of dessert. It is all about making the most whole, real food and drink choices," she said. Some guidelines she suggests all come down to more conscious choices.
According to nutritionist Joy Bauer MS, RD, CDN, not only is it impossible for alcohol to turn into sugar in the body, it also tends to lower blood sugar levels.
Too much sugar causes diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver disease and tooth decay. When consumed in excess, it's a toxin. And it's addictive – just like alcohol. That's why children are getting the diseases of alcohol – Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease – without alcohol.
Studies show that sugar can be as difficult to quit as drugs and alcohol.
Let's make no mistake about it, junk food does not contain any nutritional benefit. An exception may be that you add fruit to the ice cream you love. However, even with no nutritional benefit, it may be calorically less damaging than your choice of alcohol, depending what your poison is.
But smoking is consistently said to be one of the worst things we can do for our health. Is sugar really that bad? Possibly. Here's the issue with sugar: If it causes diabetes and obesity, it's responsible for more deaths than tobacco.
Some studies show that sugar can be as damaging to the liver as alcohol, even if you're not overweight. It's one more reason to limit foods with added sugars, such as soda, pastries, and candy.
Let's start with the basics: Distilled alcohol (meaning vodka, gin, rum, and whiskey) contain 0 grams of carbohydrates and 0 grams of sugar, which means they'll have a negligible impact on blood sugar.
Alcohol's immediate visible and physical effects bring awareness to its impact on our physiology more rapidly and wouldn't typically be compared to the effects of fructose. But this is precisely what makes sugar worse than alcohol.
For alcohol, the glycemic resistance is much higher, which means that you have better insulin resistance as compared to other soft drinks, which are high in sugar content. Therefore, it makes alcohol a highly unhealthy choice, which can also result in diabetes in the long run, if one ingests too much of it.
Research confirms that sugar has a similar influence on the brain's reward center as alcohol and drugs. One such study found that sugar activates the brain's pleasure center as much as drugs such as cocaine, and that sugar can be even more rewarding than alcohol and drugs.
In addition to contributing extra energy (calories) to your daily intake, alcohol interferes with normal metabolic pathways including 'fat burning'. This interference can lead quickly to more body fat being stored.
Drinking beer makes you happier and healthier than if you are teetotal, scientists confirm. Beer drinkers have better mental and physical health than teetotallers and ex-drinkers, scientists have found.
Long-term benefits
And by taking the decision to stop drinking, you could reduce your risk of developing many serious alcohol-related diseases. Alcohol is linked to seven different types of cancer including bowel cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer and mouth cancer.
Long-Term Health Risks. Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including: High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems. Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon, and rectum.
Reduced anxiety, better sleep and increased energy and productivity top the list of benefits that participants typically experience, not to mention significant improvement in weight and body composition, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and liver enzymes.
The body then releases insulin to lower the sugar level, which prohibits the release of more sugar from the liver. After the alcohol has left the system, a person's blood sugar level is often low. This causes them to crave sweet foods.
The liver both stores and manufactures glucose depending upon the body's need. The need to store or release glucose is primarily signaled by the hormones insulin and glucagon. During a meal, your liver will store sugar, or glucose, as glycogen for a later time when your body needs it.
Alcohol does not equal Carbohydrates
Although many popular alcoholic beverages contain carbohydrates and may raise blood sugars, alcohol itself is not a carbohydrate. While alcohol is produced from carbohydrates, yeast convert sugar into ethyl alcohol (ethanol) and CO2 through a process called fermentation.