The Dirty, Rotten, Terrible, Scary, Fattening Truth About Alcohol

The first thing that comes to mind when you think about college are parties. College parties are based around the idea that the more out of control you are, the more fun you’re having. So college kids Thursday through Saturday night guzzle beer, vodka, tequila, mixed drinks, wine... whatever they can get their hands on. And I know this from experience. I have had my own share of $9 handles of vodka and cheap frat beers. The experience can be exciting but the effects are lasting. Especially if you are apart of the majority of students who consider the weekend as a mandatory party.

This sounds repetitive, but alcohol really does have a shocking effect on the body, more than just the temporary inebriation. It makes you fat, depressed, hungry, slow, and much more.

Facts About Alcohol That You Don’t Want To Know, But Can’t Help But Read

• The typical shot of alcohol has 1.5 oz, but just 1 ounce of alcohol is about calorically equivalent to a baked potato or a glass of milk.
• Chronic male drinkers (and yes, you are considered a chronic drinker at the rate most students drink in college) have a reduced ability to get an erection, decreased sperm production and lower sperm counts.
• Alcohol affects the upper part of the brain that stores self control (obviously, considering how many guys get lucky in college). However, self control is what keeps you on track for diets. Plus, alcohol increases hunger and cravings. Mix together lack of self control and increased hunger/cravings and you get drunk late night munchies. Good bye diet.
• The brain continues to develop through the early twenties and studies have showed that alcohol may impair brain development.
• It takes a fully grown man 1 hour for a HALF an ounce of alcohol to leave his body. Three half ounces make one normal shot.
• Studies show that when alcohol is eaten before a meal, you eat an average of 20% more. When alcohol is eaten with a meal, you eat an average of 33% more.
• Alcohol raises the level of hydrochloric acid in your body which impairs the digestion process and causes you to feel bloated and fat.
• Alcohol is a depressant. Ever notice how in the beginning of the night you feel excited and happy, but by they end of the night you are negative and sad? It’s because alcohol initially elevates serotonin levels but as you drink more, it lowers those levels of serotonin. As you drink more, your tolerance goes up which forces you to drink even more in order to feel that initial leap in serotonin levels.

Table of Calories Per Alcoholic Drink

Alcohol	Serving	Calories
Beer-regular	12 oz	149
Beer-light	12 oz	110
gin, vodka, rum, tequila, whiskey	1 oz (average shot is 1.5 oz)	65
Red Wine	4 oz	80
White Wine	4 oz	75
Champagne	4 oz	84

And that’s not including the calories for the drinks used as chasers or to mix with.

So... Then What Do You Do?

There’s no avoiding drinking in college. And you shouldn’t avoid drinking in college because it can be really fun. In moderation. What I suggest is committing yourself to only drinking once or twice a week. And don’t feel like just because it’s the weekend you HAVE to get drunk. When you get to the point where you feel like you have to party and get wasted in order to have a good time... you’re in trouble. Considering that during the week you stress your body with school work and then on the weekend you stress your body even more with partying, eating junk food, and being hung over, you don’t give your body a time to rest. Your mind needs to have some mental down time in your week. Even just cutting down to drinking once or twice a week and not allowing yourself to get completely intoxicated to the point of memory loss, can have an incredible influence on your mood and weight. You may feel like your left out by not going out and partying every night, but when you wake up feeling refreshed and not bloated and your friends wake up feeling sick and tired, you won’t be too jealous anymore. There’s no real secret to alcohol. Everyone knows that it’s bad for you, maybe not to the extent that it is, but they know its not good for you. You can’t drink excessively and still feel good, but you can drink in moderation on the weekends, have a good time, feel okay the next morning, and not damage your body permanently.