A few interesting studies on alcohol

[bradley]

I was reading about some of the effects of alcohol on the body, and ran across the studies below. While I am not advocating alcohol consumption, this was the first time I had read anything of this nature concerning alcohol consumption.
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: Med Hypotheses. 2001 Sep;57(3):405-7.

Does regular ethanol consumption promote insulin sensitivity and leanness by stimulating AMP-activated protein kinase?

McCarty MF.

Pantox Laboratories, San Diego, California 92109, USA.

There is good reason to believe that regular moderate alcohol consumption promotes insulin sensitivity of skeletal muscle; conceivably, this benefits the protective effects of moderate drinking on vascular health and risk for obesity and diabetes. The mechanism responsible for alcohol's insulin-sensitizing activity remains obscure. As a working hypothesis, it is proposed that metabolism of acetate in peripheral tissues generates sufficient levels of AMP to temporarily stimulate the AMP-activated protein kinase, which in turn induces the synthesis of certain long-lived proteins that act to boost insulin sensitivity and possibly aid the efficiency of fat oxidation as well. Copyright 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.

PMID: 11516237
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Med Hypotheses. 2000 May;54(5):794-7.

The insulin-sensitizing activity of moderate alcohol consumption may promote leanness in women.

McCarty MF.

Pantox Laboratories, San Diego, USA.

Cross-sectional epidemiology reveals that women who drink alcohol regularly and moderately, on average, tend to have a decidedly lower body-mass index (BMI) than non-drinking women, despite slightly higher caloric intakes. In men, moderate drinkers are no heavier than non-drinkers, yet they consume considerably more calories. The thermogenic effect which this implies is not explained by the modest acute thermic effect of ethanol ingestion. However, there is indirect evidence that regular alcohol consumption has an insulin-sensitizing effect on skeletal muscle that down-regulates insulin secretion. Decreased insulin activity on adipocytes and the liver may discourage fat storage and promote hepatic mechanisms of ketogenesis, gluconeogenesis, and associated thermogenesis, thus possibly accounting for the relative leanness of female drinkers. The possibility that prescribing moderate alcohol intake could aid weight control in non-drinking overweight females should receive clinical evaluation. The impact of moderate drinking on risk for diabetes in women appears to be quite dramatic. Copyright 2000 Harcourt Publishers. Ltd.

PMID: 10859689
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[WillKuenzel]

So it has a negative impact on protein synthesis but can be beneficial to losing fat or staying lean? I guess, it depends on which is a top priority.

[Berserker]

I always thought it was cause some people don't eat when they drink. I also read something about body not digesting all the cals in alcohol, can't remember the details or if that was it.
Also red wine seems to work better for me. Something differant in there? Less sodium?

[JTyrell710]

so does it make you get more insulin or less or what? I dont understand this science-speak you've spoken. Would the scientists recomend mod. drinking for people lookin to build muscle or to stay lean?

[TheGimp]

What about the sugar crash when you stop drinking?

[defcon]

Im cutting, bring on the beer! My Meals will consist of protein and beer. great :)

[wibble]

Originally posted by TheGimp
What about the sugar crash when you stop drinking?

Drink enough so you don't have the coordination to eat. After drinking, if all goes well you should only be able to sleep. :)

[bradley]

Originally posted by TheGimp
What about the sugar crash when you stop drinking?

There would not be a sugar crash, unless you are drinking something that is high in sugar such as mized drinks, frozen drinks, etc. Alchohol itself does not contain any carbs, i.e. hard liquor.

[bradley]

Originally posted by JTyrell710
so does it make you get more insulin or less or what?

The paper states that moderate drinking will have an insulin sensitizing effect on muscle cells, which would mean less insulin will need to be secreted to get the job done (glucose transport, etc.)

"However, there is indirect evidence that regular alcohol consumption has an insulin-sensitizing effect on skeletal muscle that down-regulates insulin secretion."



Would the scientists recomend mod. drinking for people lookin to build muscle or to stay lean?

I would not recommend moderate drinking, since there are other effects that one must consider.

[bradley]

Originally posted by Berserker
I always thought it was cause some people don't eat when they drink. I also read something about body not digesting all the cals in alcohol, can't remember the details or if that was it.

The body will digest the alcohol, since it will be used as the primary fuel source when present in the body. In other words fat burning will halted.



Also red wine seems to work better for me. Something differant in there? Less sodium?

If I remember correctly, I read one paper showing that males were able to consume more total calories when the extra calories were coming from red wine. Not to say that there is something special about red wine, although it does contain anti-oxidants.

[AfroBritishPimp]

Originally posted by defcon
Im cutting, bring on the beer! My Meals will consist of protein and beer. great :)

I'll drink to that.

[Wu36]

evidence that beer can be beneficial to cutting is NOT what i need, cool study nonetheless.

[Fenbay]

Bradley,

My understanding is that the way pure alcohol has to be broken down for the body to use as energy is actually a ketone type molecule.

If that is true, it seems if one were on a ketogenic diet you could achieve an even deeper metabolic shift towards burning fat.

I may be way off on this, but I have anecdotal evidence that while I have been on a hard keto diet and consume my usual scotch and soda in the evening the next morning keto sticks show me throwing even more ketones......

So the fact that I'm in ketosis and thus my body is more readily "choosing" to burn fat as the primary fuel source and not protein/sugars then maybe the protein break-down associated with alcohol consumption would be negated.

Tons of theory here obviously.

[bradley]

Originally posted by Fenbay
Bradley,

My understanding is that the way pure alcohol has to be broken down for the body to use as energy is actually a ketone type molecule.

Alcohol can increase the NADH/NAD+ ratio in the liver, which promotes the formation of ketones.



If that is true, it seems if one were on a ketogenic diet you could achieve an even deeper metabolic shift towards burning fat.

I may be way off on this, but I have anecdotal evidence that while I have been on a hard keto diet and consume my usual scotch and soda in the evening the next morning keto sticks show me throwing even more ketones......

Alcohol will "deepen" ketosis (see statement that I above), which is the reason for the increased concentration of ketones in the urine.



So the fact that I'm in ketosis and thus my body is more readily "choosing" to burn fat as the primary fuel source and not protein/sugars then maybe the protein break-down associated with alcohol consumption would be negated.

Tons of theory here obviously.

Well when you consume alcohol it will be preferentially burned before anything else (carbs, protein, fat), so you are not necessarily burning more fat. In the end it will still come down to overall calories.