Prep your livers for some tasty news, ladies! In a recent article published by USA Today reporter Nanci Hellmich, women who drink a moderate amount of alcohol on a daily basis are LESS likely to gain weight than those who do not consume alcohol. This is pretty shocking to me, personally, because I thought it was the other way around. I always figured that those who drank ended up with so-called "beer bellies." It turns out, though, according to the research conducted by Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, that out of the 19,000 women in the study, those who drank "light to moderate amounts of alcohol" each day were more healthy and least likely to become obese than their sober counterparts. It is all due to the belief that the alcohol drinkers eat less carbohydrates, and less food in general.
Althought this may come as a surprise, Hellmich does mention that excessive alcohol consumption can lead to serious health problems, and only those who work out regularly and have a healthy diet will not gain the weight when they drink lightly or moderately on a daily basis. This is news to me! I can now tell my friends that are female who are afraid to drink and get the "beer-belly," that as long as they keep up with the gym and remain eating healthy, that they should have no worries about whether or not to take another glass of wine.
For Nanci Hellmich's original (full) article, the link is here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-03-09-womenandalcohol09_ST_N.htm
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This news is crazy. It definitely goes against the myths and the beliefs everyone has about drinking alcohol. We hear the terms "beer belly" and "gut", but who would think that women would be less likely to gain weight if they drink alcohol everyday? That's in a weird way, and blessing to some.
ReplyDeleteKyle, I love your headline and I love the first sentence of your story. Your style still grabs me out of all the blogs the class posts.
Ha, why thank you very much, Laurie! I think your style of writing far exceeds my own, though, so keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteWas the article more pointed towards all alcohol or only certain types? I only ask because I know drinking red wine is healthy, at least one glass a day. Of course with anything that will help you stay "thin" there are always the after thoughts about continuing exercise and eating healthy.
ReplyDeleteBesides "drinking" to stay thin, most get thin quick gimmicks fail to mention (or do in small print) that you must work out and eat healthy on top of everything else. Just as with any surgery aimed to help overweight people, it isn't a quick fix, you still have to do the work and maintain it.
Overall, it is interesting to hear such things. Next we'll hear about how "smoking" keeps you thin. (Even though a lot of people state the reason they wont quick is due to the weight gain). I like you title as well, very catchy. Good opinion piece towards the article as well. :-)