In Human Physiology, we recently discussed calorie intake
and recommended amounts for healthy individuals. A typical 75Kg male was found
to need about 2,000 calories daily.
As I thought about my diet, I had to consider the fact that
I do work at a brewery and get some of my calories come from beer. Surprise
surprise! So do many young people. Based on a data brief of U.S. men and women,
on average people aged 20-39 years old consume almost double the amount of
calories from alcoholic beverages than those aged 60 years old and older. So
what?
Dietary guidelines suggest that these calories need to be
taken into consideration when an individual is trying to maintain a healthy
caloric intake. A survey of U.S. binge drinkers reports some pretty crazy
results. The average of drinking habits for participants was about four drinks
on binge nights and about four nights of this per 30 day period. It was found
that on these heavy drinking nights, about 1,000 calories are attributed to
alcoholic beverages. That is half…half of the amount of calories recommended
for a healthy 75kg male!
This becomes a problem quickly if an individual is trying to
manage weight. From class, we discussed how important it is to match your
intake of calories to your output in energy in order to maintain a healthy body
composition. With most people our age not taking into account alcoholic
beverages, we continue to progress our national obesity problem, which we know
can cause a whole host of physiological issues.
Under the basis of beneficence, I wanted to share this
information with my fellow classmates so that we can all keep healthy
lifestyles and realize that EVERYTHING we put into our bodies should be taken
into account. You all rock, and come have a beer with me at 10 Barrel (and then
lets work out together after).
References:
Adam E. Barry, Shawn D. Whiteman & Jennifer
Cremeens-Matthews (2016) Alcohol-Attributable Calories Consumed as a
Result of Binge Drinking: A National Survey of Drinkers in the United
States, Substance Use &
Misuse, 51:7, 932-936, DOI: 10.3109/10826084.2016.1155610
Nielsen SJ, Kit BK, Fakhouri T, Ogden CL. Calories consumed
from alcoholic beverages by U.S. adults, 2007–2010. NCHS data brief, no 110.
Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2012.
This post provoked me to think about a few things. I've heard of old school body builders drinking a bit of alcohol before workouts on occasion because of the blood thinning effects of alcohol allowing them to get "better pumps". I was curious about the effects of alcohol ingestion prior to exercise on fluid and electrolyte levels, and found this paper that showed alcohol prior to exercise reduced plasma Na+ and increased plasma K+ during exercise, which may negatively affect health and physical performance.
ReplyDeleteCastro-Sepulveda, M., Johannsen, N., Astudillo, S., Jorquera, C., Álvarez, C., Zbinden-Foncea, H., & Ramírez-Campillo, R. (2016). Effects of Beer, Non-Alcoholic Beer and Water Consumption before Exercise on Fluid and Electrolyte Homeostasis in Athletes. Nutrients, 8(6), 345. doi:10.3390/nu8060345
Interestingly enough, they also found that non-alcoholic beer before exercise could help maintain electrolyte homeostasis during exercise. Maybe there is a reason to drink O'doul's after all.
With some of my research about type 2 diabetes for my MSBS project, I have come across many ways that people have found effective at preventing obesity, a major factor in diabetes type 2. The common theme that I saw was to avoid drinking your calories. This includes soda, alcohol, and any other high calorie, low nutrition drink. Many of the articles stated that despite drinking enough calories to meet daily caloric intake many individuals still ate their regular meals leading to weight gain. Many stated that drinking is a social event for many and allows them to relax, which I completely understand. It is nice to sit down with your buddies and enjoy a few drinks while telling a few stories and ignoring the daily grind. I think this is all okay and our focus should be on moderation being key to successful weight management. Enjoy a beer now and then and take time to treat yourself but do all things in moderation and if you over do it, maybe a jog or gym should be in your plans!
ReplyDelete