I know, I know: Spring Break is right around the corner; you’re just an all-nighter and a few finals away from that Coke and rum. By now, you’ve probably come up with a mental list of bars to hit up and drinks to down over the next couple of days away from classes, papers, and exams. But before you go, here are some quick facts to take with you as you wrap up your finals:
· Long-term alcohol abuse can lead to chronic alcoholic myopathy, which causes muscle loss (Preedy et al., 2001). So if you’re going to indulge, be responsible about it.
· Acute alcohol intoxication in adolescents may negatively affect the pubertal growth spurt. For most of us, this no longer applies, but for the few of you who still have some precious time left to add an extra inch to your height, think twice before you let yourself blackout.
· Alcohol has a relatively high thermic effect of food (TEF), which decreases its true caloric value from 7.1kcal/gram to about 5.6kcal/gram. Doesn’t mean you can’t consume too many calories from those shots, though.
· Rat studies have found that alcohol negatively affects protein synthesis (Preedy et al., 1992). This phenomenon is less clear in humans.
· Alcohol halts fat oxidation and also suppresses carbohydrate and protein oxidation (Shelmet JJ et al., 1988).
· At the same time, alcohol itself does not cause fat gain. Rather, it’s everything else that you ingest along with the alcohol.
· Moderate alcohol intake is associated with many, many health benefits. Moderate. Not excessive, over-the-top, what-just-happened drinking.
· A few studies have indicated that alcohol improves insulin sensitivity.
· And least but not least, alcohol can make for a fun night. A lot of alcohol can make for a wild and crazy night. Too much alcohol can make for poor decisions you will likely not even remember the next morning.
So if you’re going to drink, then by all means go for it. Indulge. But do it safely, cause whatever happens … that’s what you get for waking up in Vegas.
SOURCES
Frias J, Rodriguez R, Torres JM, Ruiz E, Ortega E. Effects of acute alcohol intoxication on pituitary-gonadal axis hormones, pituitary-adrenal axis hormones, beta-endorphin and prolactin in human adolescents of both sexes. Life Sci. 2000;67(9):1081-6.
Preedy VR, Keating JW, Peters TJ. The acute effects of ethanol and acetaldehyde on rates of protein synthesis in type I and type II fibre-rich skeletal muscles of the rat. Alcohol Alcohol. 1992 May;27(3):241-51.
Preedy VR, Paice A, Mantle D, Dhillon AS, Palmer TN, Peters TJ. Alcoholic myopathy: biochemical mechanisms. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2001 Aug 1;63(3):199-205.
Shelmet JJ, Reichard GA, Skutches CL, Hoeldtke RD, Owen OE, Boden G. Ethanl causes acute inhibition of carbohydrate, fat, and protein oxidation and insulin resistance. J Clin Invest. 1988 Apr;81(4):1137-45.