I have recently came across a group of people who practice low-carb keto diets who will jump through hoops to justify drinking any kind of alcohol, and came to ask myself “what is it that these people feel they need to drink?” So i compiled their most common objections to abstaining from alcohol.
IT’S GOOD FOR YOU
Not even kind of. Mayo clinic even says “If you don’t drink alcohol, don’t start because of potential health benefits.” This is because many of the health benefits with alcohol actually come from the fruit and ingredients within the beverage. I know we don’t like too many fruits, but a small portion of fruit is better than any alcohol says Berkeley wellness. “Wine does contain healthful plant chemicals, but no fiber and hardly any vitamins or minerals…though whole fruits are preferable. Fruit juice contains much less fiber and a lot more calorie, almost all from sugar compared to whole fruit.” So a small portion of whole fruit is preferable. With wine and beers you also get ethyl alcohol which will metabolize into acetaldehyde which is a toxic carcinogen, and will slow down or stop ketosis. This is mentioned in this study by Jennifer L. Steiner and Charles H. Lang which states “It has long been recognized that alcohol (i.e., ethanol) consumption perturbs lipid metabolism causing adipose tissue dysfunction”
IT IS NICE TO HAVE A DRINK AND RELAX
This is probably the sole reason to drink for many people. Can you relax other ways sure, but it is easier to have a drink with friends. I like to go out with friends and have a drink without getting the judgmental stares when I order a non-alcoholic beer or wine, but the heckling and peer pressure i often cave to a “real” drink which is very detrimental to my healthy keto life style. It is hard to actually tell what the psychological benefits are because many of these studies are observational and epidemiological which isn’t necessarily hard science. One proven side effect of alcohol is it dampens your inhibition in your frontal lobe and therefore make poor decisions like ordering the nacho tower.
IT IS LOW CARBOHYDRATE
Yes, many alcoholic beverages are low carb however they are still high calorie (1 gram of alcohol has 7 calories). So you will intake about as many calories as a can of coke of equal volume. Now I know not many people count calories, but calories are a factor with ketogenic diets just like other diets it depends on your health goals. Every drink with alcohol in it will push you further and further from ketosis even without carbohydrates in the beverage due to the way the liver has to jump through hoops to process the alcohol.
The real question is why do people fight to keep drinking even modest amounts of alcohol? I don’t know, but my guess is that there is a feeling of being a part of the group, and this feeling has been ingrained in us by our culture, and advertising as mentioned in the study “Exposure to Alcohol Advertisements and Teenage Alcohol-Related Problems” by Jerry L. Grenard, et al. If you would like to drink alcohol on a cheat day or something like that or during a wedding that is fine, but to have a drink every day or even on the weekends I believe is not very keto.
Let me know what you think. Do you agree or disagree, any research you have found, or how do you manage your alcohol intake. I’m interested.
