Hehe! I guess a lot of us must have asked this question since every health blog advises we avoid it. So I wonder if this is to our benefit. Here are some Tips by GQ.
1. Don't underestimate enjoying your food
First, very little research has been done around adherence and moderate alcohol consumption. Sir Robert Scott Caywood famously once said, “Compromises are made for relationships... not wine”. Looking at research from the International Journal of Obesity, he may have had a point. Very little research has been done around our simple enjoyment of a given diet. Not arguing over the calorie content of last week’s burger or whether we can have that dessert this week or not, but just effortlessly adhering to it.
In a huge meta study — a study of lots of studies — it was found there was no perfect diet. Instead they concluded, “Regardless of assigned diet, 12-month weight change was greater in the most adherent,” adding, “These results suggest that strategies to increase adherence may deserve more emphasis than the specific diet.”
In other words, if a glass of red wine with your sunday roast or beer on a friday evening after work helps you stick to a diet, then it could be doing more good than harm. Don’t underestimate simply enjoying your food.
2. Learn to eat and drink
This next nutritional gem is a little left field. But when trying to lose fat, one important hormonal factor is your insulin sensitivity. In very simple terms, this is your body’s ability to eat, assimilate and store carbohydrates. Bad insulin sensitivity means you’re more prone to storing a sizeable serving of cheesecake as fat. Good insulin sensitivity means you’re more prone to storing it as muscle glycogen to then use in the gym later.
What’s amazing is that scientists from the Department of Medicine and Clinical Science at Kyushu University, Japan, believe that, “alcohol improves insulin sensitivity." It's worth noting this refers to alcohol and not strictly beer (which comes with all sorts of additional ingredients.) But again, there’s proof that beer and your belly could co-exist for reasons beyond its calorie content.
3. Avoid processed drinks
Another point that seems to have been ignored during the vilification of all alcoholic drinks is the role added ingredients have to play. To quote research from the Journal of American Medical Association, “Several studies have found an association between sugar-sweetened beverages and incidence of obesity.” So maybe it stands to reason we study sweetened cider and sugar-ridden cocktails role in the birth of the beer belly, and not simply scorn the entire wine rack?
A distilled spirit like a pure, refreshing gin can’t be held equally responsible for expanding our waistlines as those brightly-coloured, heavily-sweetened cocktails (which come decorated with fruit to disguise them as being healthy).
4. Healthy alcohol?
One final point to consider is the healthy components of certain alcoholic drinks. Let’s take red wine as an example. Scientists have long known it contains the health-boosting compound known as resveratrol, a natural polyphenol the grapes (used to make the wine) produces when it feels under threat from fungus.
As a result, when you pour yourself a glass of the red stuff you’re also pouring yourself a glass of disease-fighting vitamins, minerals and micronutrients which scientists from the University of Illinois in Chicago believe has, “anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and antiviral properties.” All ailments associated with the aging process.
The sole purpose of this article is to broadcast the lesser-known benefits of alcohol and to stop this mass vilification of all drinks by presenting objective research that shows consuming certain alcoholic drinks in moderate amounts can be ok. I must stress “moderate consumption” since as is obvious excessive intake has (not surprisingly) been linked to a whole list of health issues and in no way is this article making light of any of them. But at least this does offer you some options for having an enjoyable drink in moderation without worrying about your belly.
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