Healthy Food Chart

Well I hate to be the food police here, but hey, it’s my job right? Today’s topic always gets everyone upset. (Please don't kill the messenger here.) The big game will be soon here and not only will food be freely available but so will the alcoholic beverages. Don’t get me wrong now, I love this indulgence myself now and then but…..here’s the problem in terms of weight loss. All forms of alcohol (yes, even beer) impact weight loss because:

The liver cells produce alcohol dehydrogenase. This effectively breaks down alcohol.  When a person consumes alcohol these cells are forced to metabolize alcohol (not fat) and the fatty acids accumulate.  The liver perceives alcohol as a poison (not as a spirited, fun beverage!) and will go to work on detoxification, not fat loss. Simply put, it impedes weight loss efforts. And excess alcohol seems to impact good judgment around food choices, so it’s likely there will be even more empty calories consumed besides the alcohol calories. My usual but sane advice, go for the moderation. And maybe you won’t be partly responsible for the 20 percent increase of antacids the morning after the Super Bowl.

Some alternatives: iced teas sweetened with a non-chemical stevia (the new Truvia wins the taste and safety criteria in my opinion), cranberry fizz cocktails with unsweetened stevia and fizzy water, Zevia, a truly natural diet soda (sweetened with stevia) and available in numerous flavors. Or if you must, have  wine spritzers, made with half the amount of alcohol and mixed with lemon lime Zevia. And, if you have to have your beer at least make it "light." Oh, and did anyone mention pure filtered water?