Should you be having another beer?
Many of us like to drink and maybe some of us drink too much but there is no denying that alcohol is part of our social fabric and way of life.
We drink for pleasure, leisure, creativity and social connections. We drink to celebrate, relax and destress.
But alcohol does comes with potential negative effects on your health.
Alcohol is a poison that we must break down and convert into not so poisonous compounds in order to enjoy the boozy buzz. Your body’s ability to do this is influenced by your genetic tolerance, age, biological sex, body size, ethnicity and your own unique combination of conversion enzymes.
Alcohol affects us in different and individual ways.
And because it is toxic to your body, your body will prioritise the metabolism of alcohol before other macronutrients. Which means that the meal you ate before you began drinking and the nachos that will be a good idea after a few more drinks, will get stored as fat.
But what about the benefits of drinking alcohol?
Alcohol is just one of many potential factors that impact on your health, fitness and wellbeing. There are studies that show some benefits to moderate drinking and then there are studies that disprove those studies and so the studies will continue.
The reality is, choosing to drink alcohol is about what you’re willing to trade and prioritise.
• Do you want a lean body and six-pack abs? Then you shouldn’t be drinking at all.
• Are you trying to lose weight? Trading your macronutrients might be a short-term strategy if you aren’t willing to give up alcohol completely.
• Are you struggling with health issues? Time to re-evaluate the wine with dinner every night.
• Are you training for a sport event or working to improve your athletic performance? Sorry, then no Sunday beers and braai’s for a while.
• Do you want to destress over drinks with friends? Find ways to manage your stressors so that you have only one drink instead of three.
So determine your health and wellness goals and lifestyle priorities. And then if you do decide to have another beer, do so because you genuinely enjoy it and it adds value and pleasure to your life.
