Will Wine Make Me Fat?

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Q. I've been cutting back on portion sizes and stepping up my cardio and weights routine. But my big weakness is the one or two glasses of wine or the White Russian that I have every night. Are a few drinks OK? What are the effects of alcohol on my diet?

A. Recent research suggesting that wine has health benefits has led many people to believe that alcohol is nutritious, or at the very least can't hurt you. While a little bit of wine may have medicinal effects, alcohol can hamper your efforts to lose weight and decrease body fat. Here's the scoop.

Some well-publicized studies have found a link between drinking wine and a lower risk of heart disease. Men who drank two glasses a day and women who drank one were found to have a decreased risk of having a heart attack or stroke or dying from heart disease than non-drinkers or heavy drinkers.

At the same time, other studies have shown an increased risk in breast cancer among women who are moderate drinkers. So while heart-disease risk may improve, cancer risk may worsen. That suggests that the drug-like effect of alcoholic beverages may be beneficial for some people, but not for others. And as with all drugs, there are side effects. Too much alcohol has detrimental effects on the liver over time, and booze can be addictive.

Keep in mind that alcohol is toxic to the body. That's why the liver plays a role in metabolizing it. One infrequently recognized problem with alcohol is its biochemical role in digestion.

When you eat food, enzymes in your stomach and intestines break it down so that different vitamins, minerals and other substances can be absorbed and used by the body. Many people believe that alcohol aids digestion. In fact, alcohol inactivates some of the enzymes that are needed for nutrient breakdown and absorption. Alcohol can also impair blood glucose control—and this can have severe consequences for diabetics. Alcoholics wind up suffering from severe nutrient deficiencies, especially of vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B group.

Alcohol also has more calories per gram than the same exact amount of protein or carbohydrates, so adding liquor can lead you to taking in many more calories than you need. Research also suggests that excess alcohol creates a tendency toward having more ab fat (the term "beer belly" may not be far off).

If you are drinking fluffed-up cocktails like a White Russian, you may boost your calorie consumption even higher. While one glass of wine only has about 70 to 100 calories, depending upon the size, a cocktail can pack in around 300. That's more than a candy bar!

So, if you take in one or two of these drinks every night, in one week you could easily be slurping down an extra 1,400 to 2,100 calories. If you have party nights where you drink 4 or 5 drinks in an evening (or, yikes, more!) then simply cutting out these drinks could help you lose weight without having to diet at all.

But let's face it, most people enjoy relaxing over a cool beer or a glass of wine. Limiting yourself to one and choosing lower-calorie drinks like light beer, wine or wine spritzers, and small amounts of spirits with no fattening mixers are the better choice when it comes to your waistline. Most health professionals advocate moderation when it comes to your lifestyle. If you tend to follow a healthy diet and lifestyle, then a little bit of alcohol may be fine.

For more information check out: http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa22.htm

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Martica is a Manhattan-based exercise physiologist and nutritionist and an award-winning fitness instructor. She has written for a variety of publications including Self , Health , Prevention , The New York Times and others. Martica is the author of seven books, including her latest, Cross-Training for Dummies . (Read her full bio.)