However, as with all alcohol consumption, it’s important to consider the impacts of weight gain. Drinking vodka may not directly make you fat, but it can contribute to long-term weight gain when consumed excessively. Overall, the available experimental evidence reviewed in this article suggests that moderate intake of alcohol does not lead to weight gain. The systematic review by Bendsen et al. [3•] suggests that this trend is less likely in experimental studies examining beer consumption exclusively. A modest increase in weight of one kilogram over a 10 week period seems insignificant but over five years this could result in up to 26 kg of weight gain if no compensation takes place. To our knowledge, there does not appear to be any experimental evidence specifically testing the effects of heavy/binge drinking, or of drinking spirits or a combination of alcohol sources on weight gain/obesity.
Why does alcohol cause bloating?
First, diet mixers contain a mixture of artificial sweeteners and flavorings with zero calories, giving drinks a sweet taste. So, your drink will remain calorie-free if you drink a vodka soda or cranberry and use a diet mixer. There’s not much sugar in vodka—in fact, it contains about 0.9 can you gain weight from vodka grams of sugar for every 1.5 ounces of vodka. That’s compared to beer, which has the same serving size but 13 grams of sugar per serving! So if you worry that you’ll be piling on the pounds with sugary drinks, this could be why vodka is your best bet—it has only trace amounts of sugar.
Do Diet Drinks Contain Fewer Calories Than Regular Alcoholic Beverages?
Drinking too much vodka every night can also damage your intestines, which can lead to malnutrition as your body can’t absorb nutrients from food properly. And if you’re malnourished, you’re at risk for a whole host of medical problems, according to Medical News Today. Just remember to be mindful when you pair your vodka with any mixers to offset the taste of the alcohol.
The Connection Between Alcohol and Weight Gain
However, it’s not just beer that can cause weight gain from alcohol intake. Other types of alcohol, like vodka or red wine, can also contribute to weight gain if consumed in excess. But remember that moderation is key—too much alcohol can still lead to weight gain without added sugars. Unfortunately for people who drink vodka every night, ingesting alcohol every day has been linked with an increased risk of disease, according to researcher Dr. Sarah M. Hartz. “Consuming one or two drinks about four days per week seemed to protect against cardiovascular disease, but drinking every day eliminated those benefits,” she explained in an interview with Medical News Today.
- Several years ago we had dinner with an acquaintance who refused to take any bread from the breadbasket because he was on a diet, and lectured us on the evils of carbohydrates.
- Additionally, drinking alcohol negatively impacts your metabolism and body’s ability to burn fat, contributing to weight gain.
- Drink responsibly, make healthier drink choices, and start on a path to a healthier you.
- And while that might not sound like much, it’s also possible that you’ll feel fuller and turn down that second drink as a result of the carbonation.
- Alcohol inhibits fat oxidation, suggesting that frequent alcohol consumption could lead to fat sparing, and thus higher body fat in the long term [62].
Also, Beulens et al. [51] reported similar results in 34 male adults with large WC, consuming 450 mL of red wine per day for 4 weeks, compared to consuming alcohol-free wine for the same time period. Biceps skin fold was the only anthropometric measurement that was increased in their participants after the beer drinking condition [52]. In this case both diets were isoenergetic so this is not a surprising result, as the thermic effect of food https://ecosoberhouse.com/ was likely higher for white wine than grape juice [53, 54]. Finally, more recently, Cresci et al. [55] found that self-reported alcohol intake was not a significant predictor of success or failure in losing 5% of body weight during a 6-month weight loss intervention. While cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have controlled for a number of important lifestyle factors, there are many to consider when examining body weight regulation.
- However, it’s important to balance these potential benefits with the risks of excessive alcohol consumption, like weight gain and liver disease.
- In a study published in 2018, people who stopped drinking lost 1.6% more weight than those who did not change their alcohol intake.
- Steatotic liver disease used to go by the name fatty liver disease.
- Further, studies show that alcohol temporarily inhibits “lipid oxidation” — in other words, when alcohol is in your system, it’s harder for your body to burn fat that’s already there.
- Even moderate alcohol consumption increases the risk of all alcohol-related cancers, including oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, colorectum, female breast, liver, and esophagus, but particularly breast cancer.
- The United States General Services Administration also offers a list of resources for alcohol use disorders.
Why do I gain weight after drinking alcohol?
Decompressing after work with a single vodka soda is a perfectly reasonable way to unwind, especially if it’s been a long or difficult day. But if you drink vodka constantly from the moment you get home until the second you go to bed, you might be damaging your digestive tract in a variety of ways, according to Healthline. If you only drink one vodka cocktail every night, you’re not going to wind up slurring your speech or stumbling around. But if you are knocking back shot after shot, that can have a real impact on your cognitive function, according to Dr. Nick Knight. “A number of processes slow down,” he shared in an interview with the BBC’s Newsbeat.
- Eventually, you can develop permanent and irreversible scarring in your liver, which is called cirrhosis.
- Females may gain weight in their abdominal region after menopause when estrogen levels naturally decline.
- Alcohol does not cause weight gain the same way eating a donut does.
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- Anderson has worked with clients from all walks of life, but she currently specializes in nutrition therapy and lifestyle medicine for women.
- “You get a reduction in your executive function, so judgement, your decision making.” He added, “You become less inhibited and you are tempted to take more risks than you would usually.”
Your immune system may weaken if you drink vodka every night in excess
It makes it difficult to choose healthy options
