Humans have been consuming alcohol for around 100,000 years.
At first, the early man realized that if fruit was left out in a container for a while, the juices that formed at the bottom would alter the state of consciousness they were experiencing.
It wasn’t until about 10,000 years ago humans started the production of domesticated crops which some scholars believe to be used for alcoholic beverages.
About 5,000 years ago it was used in ceremonies and reserved for the elites and religious practices.
Ancient Greeks enjoyed their beverages but often diluted them to help keep them more sober as opposed to their ‘barbaric’ neighbors who often sought drunkness to alter their state of consciousness.
When modern religion came around alcohol became more sought after for its Healthful benefits and social lubricant.
The healthful benefits they sought were just safe drinking beverages as many water sources for drinking were contaminated and caused sickness and disease.
Fast forward to the Industrial Revolution where the production of beer, wine, liquor became important products as these aided in enjoying leisure activities and offered a release from the intense atmosphere of city and factory living.
Through the 1800s alcohol was used in treating almost every illness while some religious groups were starting to promote the idea of alcohol being poison. Thus introducing prohibition in the 1900s and its revival shortly after.
Alcohol and its effects on your brain and body
As research into understanding how the body processes alcohol came about, more insight came to light exposing alcohol as a toxin to the body.
Alcohol (ethanol) is processed by the liver and then, skipping all the nerd talk, affects the neurotransmitters that lead to the behavioral and symptomatic effects of being intoxicated.
It is also interesting how your body metabolizes or breaks down alcohol and its effects downstream.
Since it is a Toxin, the body will prioritize the breakdown of alcohol first. We can utilize calories from alcohol as energy so there’s some benefit there but in reality, it is just excess energy we are taking in as it can’t be used for anything else.
When we consume Alcohol by itself (think straight vodka) it shuts down our ability to break down fat by 87%.
When we consume Alcohol with foodstuffs, it ramps up the breakdown of carbs by 249% while shutting down fat breakdown to almost nothing.
Thus leading to the storage of this excess energy in our fat tissues.
Take Aways
If you enjoy drinking alcohol I am not telling you to stop.
If you overconsume it, you know it will lead to damaging your life.
If your goal is to lose weight, alcohol is slowing your progress down.
If you aren’t where you want to be in life, alcohol won’t help you.
If your goal is to be healthy, moderate/occasional consumption is fine.
If you are going to drink, ask yourself why you are? Set a limit on yourself. Ask why you need 6 drinks as opposed to just sipping on 1-2.
Struggling to control your consumption? I am here for you. I’ve helped numerous men and women gain control over the substance they felt overpowered by. You can too. Let’s chat my friend…