Author: John Carter

When You Drink Vodka Every Night, This Is What Happens To Your Body

Those are the same chemicals that are triggered when you do other pleasurable activities, such as eating, exercising, and getting intimate. One drink contains approximately 4 calories per gram, slightly less than the 9 calories per gram found in fat. This means alcohol can be stored as fat and cause weight gain over time. The effect of alcohol on fat burning can also contribute to weight gain, as alcohol can reduce the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel. But remember that moderation is key—too much alcohol can still lead to weight gain without added sugars. The good news is that some diet options for vodka are much lower in calories than regular vodka.

When your body is using alcohol as a primary source of energy, the excess glucose and lipids end up, unfortunately for us, as adipose tissue, or fat. Anyone looking to drop those final stubborn pounds may want to consider skipping their evening glass of wine. Generally, glands in your body release the right amount of hormones at an exact time, which send messages to your tissues.

  1. While cutting down on alcohol or not drinking at all will not necessarily produce weight loss immediately, it can be a good first step.
  2. This means that they provide your body with calories but contain very little nutrients.
  3. And some people think that this might be a healthier option because it’s lower in calories and alcohol.
  4. Alcohol can reduce your blood sugar level, which may increase hunger.
  5. The physical and mental effects of alcohol can also contribute to weight gain.
  6. “If you swish vodka around in your mouth a bit before swallowing your dental hygiene might improve,” he explained to The List.

Health Conditions

After a few drinks, you may be more likely to make unhealthy food choices without thinking about it. Some evidence suggests that heavy drinking may cause your adrenal glands not to regulate how much cortisol they secrete. As a result, people who drink heavily may have high cortisol levels. Flavored vodka is especially dangerous because it’s often higher in sugar than regular vodka or other spirits, with around 10-35g of sugar per 100 ml, depending on the brand and flavor. While cutting alcohol completely out of your diet isn’t necessarily the only way to lose weight, there are many improvements that can be made in your health journey by simply cutting back on the booze. Intake of alcoholic beverages can also inhibit proper digestive function.

Then, after dragging yourself through the day, you’re going to feel a lot more like hitting the couch than hitting the gym. Eating nutritious foods and controlling your calorie intake will put you on the fast track to sustainable fat loss and improved health. Cardio exercise helps you burn excess calories to deepen the calorie deficit, and strength training builds muscle, which increases your metabolic rate — the speed at which your body burns calories. Engaging in healthy habits every day can help offset alcohol weight gain. However, the best way to limit weight gain from alcohol is to consume less or no alcohol.

Studies have also found that moderate vodka consumption can reduce hypertension risk and help dilate blood vessels. Even non-drinkers who consumed vodka had better hypertension results than those who drank other spirits or beer. Most importantly, it contains calories but offers no nutrients for those calories. One serving of vodka, which is 1.5 fluid ounces, according to the National Institutes of Health, contains almost 100 calories, per USDA data. While cutting down on alcohol or not drinking at all will not necessarily produce weight loss immediately, it can be a good first step.

Habits to Offset Alcohol Weight Gain

“That’s why people talk about having an increased tolerance to alcohol, because the liver has adapted to cope with it.” When it comes to an understanding the impact of alcohol on your waistline, it all boils down to calories. All types of alcohol contain calories, and the calories found in vodka are no exception. However, the effects of alcohol surpass even social drinking etiquette. Changes in the way your body stores energy from food can make it very difficult to lose weight.

Plus, lower testosterone levels may affect quality of sleep, especially in older men. Alcohol lowers inhibitions and can lead to poor decision-making in the heat of the moment — especially when it comes to food choices. The combination also may cause nausea, drowsiness, or lack of coordination. It even may put you at risk for respiratory problems, internal bleeding, or heart problems. With all of those devastating effects, it’s clearly a good idea to drink in moderation and to be careful not to overindulge.

Lower sugar content

In addition, drinking while pregnant may result in fetal alcohol syndrome disorders (FASDs). Children with FASDs show a range of physical, behavioral, and cognitive symptoms. It’s not just your digestive organs that can be damaged from drinking too much vodka every night. Rather, pretty much every organ in your body takes a beating when you overindulge in alcohol in different ways, and none of them are pretty. If you only drink one vodka cocktail every night, you’re not going to wind up slurring your speech or stumbling around.

Lifestyle Quizzes

Drinking alcohol can cause your body to retain water in your feet, causing swelling. If you drink too much alcohol, you can also develop a condition called hyponatremia, which is a low level of sodium in the blood. The calories in alcohol are “empty,” meaning they contain little to no beneficial nutrients or minerals. Alcoholic beverages are often high in empty calories, with about seven per gram.

Calorie Count

Alcohol may have various effects on your health that link to weight gain. Alcohol is high in empty calories and may affect hormones that signal appetite, hunger, and stress. Generally, you must consume fewer calories than you use to lose weight.

Although these ingredients taste great together, they can add up to many extra calories compared to what you’d get from a mixer like soda water or diet tonic. In excess, alcohol consumption may cause adverse effects on your body, leading to weight gain. For example, alcohol may affect hormones that control appetite, hunger, and stress. Alcohol is high in calories and is likely to increase abdominal fat. The calories and physical and mental effects of alcohol mean that vodka and weight gain often go hand in hand.

General Health

A 2023 study found that alcohol consumption contributes to fat deposits around the body, including the stomach, which can cause a bloated appearance. A recent animal study found that mice given ethanol over a period of three days demonstrated a significant increase in food intake. This study suggests that alcohol can actually trigger hunger signals in the brain, leading to an increased urge to eat more food.