Alcohol and Ketosis...How Bad Can It Be?

Skip the wine & cocktails! When you have an alcoholic drink, you burn less fat, and more slowly than usual, because the alcohol is used as fuel instead. Knocking back the equivalent of about two martinis can reduce your body’s fat-burning ability by up to 73%. Alcohol contains 7 kcal/gram so even one small glass of wine will add up to unwanted pounds over a period of time. Beer in particular has a very high sugar content and is manufactured to keep you drinking more and more. Your thirst is never quenched, and your sugar intake just keeps going higher and higher. As you start to develop a more healthy attitude towards nutrition, you will understand the many ways in which alcohol interferes with your metabolic processes, thereby causing you to gain weight.

Not only does alcohol compromise your weight loss success, but having an occasional glass of wine or cocktail while on a ketogenic diet like Ideal Protein (or DIY KETO) is downright dangerous and is strictly forbidden during the weight loss phases of the Ideal Protein diet! Ketosis relies on a metabolic process called gluconeogenesis to feed your glucose dependent cells, including your brain cells! Alcohol is a powerful inhibitor of gluconeogenesis. In fact, it forces part of the gluconeogenic metabolic process into reverse. This means that if all the glucose in the blood is being derived from gluconeogenesis then the consumption of alcohol will inevitably cause the blood glucose level to fall. Additionally, the alcohol also stops ketone body production, thus leaving the brain entirely without fuel. A person who is ketotic is 100% reliant on gluconeogenesis to maintain adequate levels of glucose in the blood. If, under these circumstances alcohol is taken, the person will become disorientated and might lose consciousness, not just from the alcohol, but from low blood sugar. Needless to say, this could be very dangerous, and even fatal.

In short, the message here is: do not drink if you are on a low carb diet.

As difficult as it may be to give up, it is absolutely necessary. Embrace it as a temporary change.

So what to drink instead? Here are some ideas!

• Ideal Protein Water Enhancers (Lemon, Tangerine, or Mangosteen) with San Pellegrino Mineral Water

• water or club soda with fresh mint leaves or lime

• cucumber water (slice cucumbers into your water and let it chill overnight)

• iced tea

• any Ideal Protein drink blended with ice

Make your drinks festive! Use a fancy glass, garnish with lemon or mint, add a straw and enjoy!