Proper nutrition is a must to provide adequate energy. It will also maintain excellent body structure and function. However, many alcoholics tend to eat less than what’s necessary to provide their bodies with the necessary vitamins and nutrients like carbs, protein, fat, and minerals.
Furthermore, did you know that drinking alcohol can interfere with the way our body processes nutrients? Even if we do take vitamins from reputable companies like Designs for Health in Supplement First, it may not be enough. Alcohol can affect your digestion, storage utilization, and the excretion of nutrients, especially in chronic heavy drinkers.
Let’s delve deeper into the ways alcohol affects vitamin and mineral consumption.
Digestion
Our digestive system is supposed to function like this: Bodies break down food into usable molecules in our mouths, continuing down to the stomach and intestines with some help from our pancreas.
Alcohol would inhibit the body’s natural nutrient breakdown in various ways, such as:
- Decreases the secretion of digestive enzymes from the pancreas
- Impairs nutrient absorption as alcohol damages the cells that line the stomach and intestines
- Disables transport of certain nutrients to our blood
- Prevents absorbed nutrients from being completely utilized as alcohol may alter the transport, storage, and excretion
- Alcohol may interfere with our body’s microbiomes
Energy Supply
A balanced diet helps give our bodies the necessary calories and nutrients to maintain great health. However, alcoholics ingest most of their total daily calories from calorie-dense alcohol. Because of that, fewer calories come from nutritious food, which results in fewer vitamins and minerals consumed.
While it’s possible to take dietary supplements from stores like Supplement First, it does not completely replace nutritious food sources from fruits, vegetables, lean meats, grains, and the like.
Furthermore, if one consumes more alcohol than carbohydrates, he will receive less energy. It can also cause malnourishment, and if one is malnourished, consuming alcohol may decrease blood sugar levels, causing serious injuries.
Maintenance of Function
We all need protein, vitamins, and minerals for our bodies to function properly. Unfortunately, alcohol may affect that as it causes nutrient deficiencies and disrupts the way our body metabolizes and uses nutrients.
Alcohol consumption may cause vitamin deficiencies in vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K. These can cause poor health and risk of illnesses, such as night blindness, neurological damage, less ability of blood to clot, slow wound healing, softening of our bones, and more.
Alcoholics also show deficiencies in minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc. While drinking alcohol itself won’t limit mineral absorption, the problems related to drinking it does, such as:
- Decreased calcium absorption due to fat malabsorption
- Magnesium deficiency from poor diets
- Magnesium loss because of diarrhea, vomiting, and excessive excretion
- Iron deficiency from gastrointestinal bleeding
- Zinc loss because of other nutrient deficiencies
This does not include the medical complications that arise if one were to consume too much alcohol daily.
Wrapping It Up
With all that information in mind, it’s high time that you begin taking care of yourself, starting today!
