The Secrets Behind the Beer Belly Revealed
(Endocrinology, in press; published online June 22, 2006) ..
Moderate alcohol consumption is good for you. However, chronically high consumption can cause diseases of the liver, heart and pancreas, including cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure and type 2 diabetes. Researchers from Case Western Reserve in Cleveland found that alcohol
interferes with your body's weight regulation system by preventing adipose tissue (fat cells) from releasing fat for fuel.
It does this by suppressing the effects of adrenaline the body's fight-or-flight hormone. At the same time, alcohol's high calorie content easily creates a positive energy balance and increases fat storage. Drinking beer or other alcoholic beverages affects both sides of the
energy equation. Every gram of alcohol has 7.5 calories- almost as much as fat. A typical 8-ounce beer contains 150 calories. If you drink six beers, that's an extra 900 calories (3,500 calories makes up one pound of fat). Also, that much beer inhibits your fat cells from
releasing fat.Your gut starts to grow: you deposit fat rapidly from drinking extra calories and use less of the fat as fuel for metabolism because alcohol inhibits fat breakdown. Consequently, you get a beer belly.
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