The Joys and lows of Drinking Alcohol

science
(Sunny) #1

Hi everyone,
Heres a bit of back ground to my keto Journey.
My Keto journey started with a slow transition from June 2017 until October 2017 (thats how long it took me to get my head a round the high fat thing) when I went completely Keto, much to the skepticism of everyone around me… I also stopped drinking alcohol for 92 DAYS!! from jan 5 2018 I felt amazing,
I lost 18kg.
Then easter happened, March 2018 and sitting around log fires drinking red wine with dear friends under Australian rural winter evening skies my alcohol hiatus ended BUT I still managed to remain Keto that was easy! I even converted a few of my friends as they witnessed my dramatic change since christmas… Then May 2018 Happened … My birthday month and I went to Hawaii where I fell off the wagon… in a dramatic fashion… I’ll just mention two words Cheesecake Factory… and heres two more Fruity Cocktails and lots of wine and champagne. Did I mention it was girls week a way? Yep, It was all over red rover! I put on 5 kg’s in 4 months and felt completely and utterly ordinary… bloated and all the old aches and pains came back!

Until 15 October this year… I found the 2 Keto dudes podcast and I have come back into the fold with a better understanding of Keto living thanks to their informative and entertaining podcasts. I’ve lost 6 kg’s and feeling really good I’ve even incorporated a couple of fasts.
but I’m totally annoyed with myself though, I’ve missed out on 2 Keto Fest’s and low carb down under conferences in the meantime.

I LOVE eating Keto and I LOVE having a drink with my friends and having the odd Martini here and there, Its wonderful to know that a traditional vodka martini is zero carbs and comes with the perfect Keto snack - Olives!! Espresso martinis are great!! also very low carb with the added kick of the caffeine buzz - I digress… apologies.

So here’s my “show me the science” question.

How does drinking alcohol impact our bodies?, I know our bodies tend to process the alcohol first and food later. Hence the potato chips have been replaced with a charcuterie board and lots of cheese with sliced zucchini as crackers.
By becoming fat adapted/living ketogenically does
a) alcohol lower ones tolerance?
b) alcohol spike insulin?
c) alcohol kick you out of ketosis

The reason I ask is that ever since going back to Keto I’ve noticed my Weightloss is slower and I find that the affects of alcohol hit me harder and faster… wine especially…
for example Sunday afternoon I had a drink with the neighbours (we live in a cul de sac that lends it self to these little get togethers) that turned into 3 or 4 over a period of 5-6 hours. (2 of those were espresso martinis) That was Sunday… its now Tuesday lunch time… and I’m still dusty! its as if I ate a whole loaf of bread! Would my tolerance also have been reduced as a result of my alcohol hiatus and subsequent 6 day a week abstinence?
I’d be interested to know. I’m quite happy to live alcohol free… I’m keen to find out if threes such a thing as non alcoholic carb free wine and bubbles and particularly whats available in Australia.

Thanks in advance for reading and I look forward to your responses.

Cheers sunny🇦🇺

P.S apologies I did rambled a bit.

Alcohol and stalling
(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #2

I think I love you, fellow Australian!

In terms of ketosis, your body will stop producing ketones to process the alcohol, generally around 12 hours.

For me, yes, but I was never a big drinker to begin with. Generally 3-4 beers will get me pissed and now it only takes 1-2.

I don’t have an answer for this but I do have this wonderful article which I do not have time to read through but can assure you is relevant;

Answered in A, absolutely.
Depending on how fat adapted you are.
Last week I had 2 beers and 6-8 tequilla shots and I was still in ketosis the next morning but that MAY have been existing ketones floating about in my blood.

The best thing to do, is to choose when to drink, do not do it mindlessly and do not do it alone. PLAN when you drink.

(Sunny) #3

Thanks for the article will have read tonight before I go to bed

LOL back atcha!

I completely agree with a PLAN! and drinking alone isn’t possible in my street! Ha!
Like you Ive had a big night before and tested my ketones the following morning to find myself hi on ketones however testing in the evening has proven that my ketones are floating around 0.2mml!

Until next we scribe next dear fellow Australian!
Cheers!:clinking_glasses::australia:

#4

Drinking alcohol for the purposes of gustatory pleasure with a delicious meal is a very different subject than drinking without a meal for the purposes of drunkenness. And fermented grapes are very different than fermented grains in terms of what their final product is composed of.

I’m not interested in intoxication at all - just health and relaxation to savor the natural high of life and keto brainz. Pus, I’m a foodie, and I enjoy matching wines with foods, and goblets at home :blush:

There are some significant and fascinating differences between fermented wines and distilled alcoholic beverages, in how the alcohol in them is metabolized! Just a sip or two of wine a minute or two before your first bite of a fatty meal initiates a flow of gastric juices that enhance digestion and nutrient absorption - so that’s pretty amazing.

I think dry wines taken with fatty meals are fabulously complimentary to a well-formulated keto diet - as do keto physicians the Drs Eades, and also Dr. Phinney. Not only for delighting the palate, but also for enhancing digestion and satiety as well as mental relaxation, because sipping it slows down a meal and makes you appreciate your food even more.

When dry wines are taken as an aliment (digestive aid, with food) the gastrin processes transform much of the alcohol vastly reducing what the liver has to deal with. Not only that, certain compounds in wine help clear fat from the liver - and also have an insulin-reducing effect - making these wines good for the liver (except in cases of cirrhosis) and good for diabetics. This is from the work of Salvatore Lucia MD - his book “The History Of Wine As Therapy” is very extensive in its research.

Also, keto researcher Cristi Vlad in his book Periodic Fasting addresses the moderate use of wine with food - by various long lived people who also fasted a lot. Other threads about this can be found using the forum search bar :grapes:

(Sunny) #5

Thanks @SlowBurnMary for your informative post.
I agree there is nothing like savouring a good red wine with a meal. Thanks for sharing your knowledge

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #6

I hear 12 hours bandied about… where does this number come from? The only “Dr” I’ve heard say this is Dr Berg, but as he is a Scientologist I’m not sure that’s based on science as much as belief. I’m not saying he is wrong. I just want another source to corroborate.

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #7

According to this one drink would metabolize in about 3 hours for me.

(Sunny) #8

That link was great Thank you @Ruina

#9

You’re very welcome!

(Splotchy) #10

I love red wine with food. I’m very pleased to note this is apparently approved in the pending Fung/DiNicolantonio book on longevity.

However I do have a poorly functioning ‘stop drinking’ button. I love the relaxation and the taste, but too much. This means I relax so much that carbs look enciting, plus I’m reasoning that if my liver is busy processing alcohol, it will pause with the more important task of converting my flab to ketones. Also I don’t sleep well after drinking and wake feeling rubbish.

I’m tackling this with some success. I thought hard about why my ‘stop drinking’ button is so poor. One is that I hate waste. Others in my family barely drink and so I polish off the bottle as it seems daft to waste it when it tastes so good. So I’m now pouring wine into Tupperwares and freezing it - means I can’t drink it on impulse!

I also feel that after a glass or two, a lot of the continuing is a sipping reflex habit as the taste buds dull. So I get some chilled flavoured water (ginger, lemon) and use it to refill my wine glass again and again. It’s all psychological but seems to work. I still drink but feel I’m in control rather than a habit controlling me.

(Alex ) #11

Stealing that description… That’s me in a nutshell…

(PSackmann) #12

My “stop drinking button” (love the phrase also) works better with hard spirits than it does with wine, so I’ve cultivated the taste to sip tequila. A good tequila with flavor nuances and a large water chaser is a wonderful relaxant, and can also be enjoyed on margarita night out with friends. My husband is glad, because he loves margaritas and better tequilas do not hit him as bad, especially when paired with homemade orange liqueur and all natural mix. Now to find a good gin that won’t break the bank for the summer.

(Sunny) #13

I have stopped drinking for 100 days… I’m 24 days in…:sunglasses:
and the fat is melting away! I am constantly in ketosis. If I take it up again on may 22 I’ll late you know. not sure yet.
I too have a faulty stop drinking button so I think this hiatus will reset it… I live in hope. Get yourself a copy of The Sober Diaries either hard/soft copy or audio - eye opening, hysterically funny and poignant. I n addition to her own personal journey The author goes into how your body process it etc highly recommended.

(Windmill Tilter) #14

Thanks for posting this.

I’ve been having a similar experience. I’ve been logging my food/drink and weight loss since I started keto 1/11/19, and when I look at the chart, every time that my weight loss comes to a screeching halt there was alcohol involved. I guess I have a faulty “stop drinking” button too. I’ve decided to go dry for a while myself, and it’s been making a huge difference. KCTO (keep calm and teetotal on) :smile:

:+1::+1::+1:

('Jackie P') #15

Thank you Sunnysunshine for the recommendation. I am half way through The Sober Diaries. It’s a brilliant read and its making so much sense I am going to do my own 100 days.
I wish you well, please let us know how you get on.

#16

The rule I have made for myself is I can only have a drink if I don’t particularly want one. If my thirst is screaming out for another I pass. I also typically poor shorter than a regular drink.

Of course I also have medical reasons not to drink a lot so that’s a motivator for me so I don’t get sick

(David Cooke) #17

I no longer log everything. However I did notice that drinking a small can of beer in the evening had no influence on my morning run times (that is to say, sometimes I even ran better).
I use my running times as a log these days,