You Ask, I Answer: Alcohol

Thanks for your site. It's helped me to understand what some foods actually do to your body, and not just that I should avoid them (phosphoric acid and high fructose syrup especially!)

So my question is...what is it about alcohol that makes it so bad for you?

Especially looking from a weight-loss perspective, am I better off eating the cheeseburger, or drinking the four beers (for example)?

-- Anonymous

Alcohol is a tricky subject, because it can be argued that it is both "good" and "bad" for you.

Alcohol is the only substance that can actually increase our good (HDL) cholesterol.

Many foods can lower our bad (LDL) cholesterol and maintain our good cholesterol numbers, but none of them can actually raise the latter.

Keep the following in mind, though. In order to get the positive effects from alcohol, men should have no more than two servings a day, and women no more than one.

A serving of alcohol equals 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1 1/2 ounces of liquor.

That being said, excessive alcohol intake is especially detrimental to our kidneys, pancreas, and stomachs.

From a nutritional standpoint, alcohol adds empty calories, meaning they are void of nutrients (an exception could, I suppose, technically be made for red wine and maybe even for white wine due to the presence of antioxidants).

That being said, no one's health suffers from a lack of drinking alcohol.

So, as a general motto, if you don't drink now, there is no need to start.

Remember, exercising and quitting smoking also raise HDL levels.

So, a few gym visits each week are much better for your body than relying solely on alcohol to improve your lipid profile.

As far as your "lesser of two evils" question (whether you are better off eating the cheeseburger or having four beers): at the end of the day, they both offer pretty much the same amount of calories.

However, beer does not add extra sodium and saturated fat to your day. Then again, the cheeseburger provide protein and some vitamins and minerals not found in beer.

From a weight-loss perspective, one is not a better choice than the other.

Our bodies don't discriminate. Extra calories (specifically 450 of them) are extra calories, whether they come from beer, hamburgers, or sushi rolls.