4 Major Reasons To Eliminate Alcohol From Your Diet

Today I want to talk to you about a major concern that most health experts hold. Alcohol consumption even in small amounts can be a culprit behind many common ailments and health complaints. It’s not hard to understand why many doctors and nutritionists recommend that you eliminate alcohol from your diet completely. So, what’s so bad about alcohol anyway? I did a bit of digging, and this is what I found:

Eliminate Alcohol from Your Diet #1: It Causes Weight Gain

There are loads of studies and scientific research that purports that alcohol consumption and weight problems are closely connected. One reason is that we don’t tend to count calories of beverages.  This may be especially true with alcoholic drinks. Alcohol is packed full of calories and converts to sugar in the system. To make matters worse, these are empty calories, meaning they have no nutritional value. And then there is the mixer, usually either sugar-packed soda or syrups. As a consequence, drinking alcohol can create an overabundance of calories and weight gain.

Eliminate Alcohol from Your Diet #2: It Messes With Your Mind

Anyone that’s been drunk understands that alcohol can greatly affect the way you think. Not only does it affect your thought process pretty much immediately, but it can linger into the next day. Excessive drinking can actually lead to permanent memory loss and cognitive decline. Likewise, too much alcohol can cause depressive thoughts or anxiety.

There’s a reason places like the Canadian Centre for Addictions offer mental health counseling and help for patients that have alcohol problems. When it takes over a person’s life, alcohol can devastate not only the drinker but the entire family. 

Eliminate Alcohol from Your Diet #3: It Can Cause Muscle Soreness

We’ve all dealt with muscle soreness or aches and pains before. Sometimes they come as the result of an intense workout. Other times they could show up from an old injury or repetitive action. Either way, drinking alcohol can increase these pains and make recovery longer. Alcohol actually causes a buildup of lactic acid in your body, this is the chemical that the body creates when you exercise. Dehydration is another reason you may feel ill or sore the next day after drinking.

Eliminate Alcohol from Your Diet #4: It Increases Risk for Serious Diseases

We hear all the time about what foods, actions, or lack there of may increase long term risk for certain diseases. According to the CDC, “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, liver, and colon.
• Learning and memory problems, including dementia and poor school performance.
• Mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.
• Social problems, including lost productivity, family problems, and unemployment.
• Alcohol dependence, or alcoholism.“

In conclusion, though small amounts of alcohol may not affect your life in any of the above ways, I recommend paying attention to your consumption habits. If you believe that it is hurting your physical or mental health, please get some help. Always drink responsibly by knowing your limits and never operating a moving vehicle or machinery while under the influence.