The holidays have arrived for some and they feel very close for others. The terraces are filled with social life that is inevitably associated with eating and drinking. This puts an end to the months of effort of the “bikini operation”.
Drinks and snacks are the most requested. Either to cool off from the intense heat or to accompany the relief of the night. The consequence is that at the end of the holidays, most likely, our weight has increased.
And it is that appetizers and alcoholic beverages are not mere spectators at our table, but rather provide kilocalories. An excess of kilocalories at the end of the day accumulates in the form of fat and leads us to gain weight. In addition, they contain high levels of other nutrients that are not recommended.
Among adults, the consumption of alcoholic beverages (wine, beer, vermouth, distillates) is common, and they are widely accepted and deeply rooted in society, for example, in Spanish culture. But these drinks provide what are called empty kilocalories, because they do not contain beneficial nutrients.
Due to its metabolism in our body, alcohol becomes more kilocalories than other nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates or fiber. The final amount depends on the graduation of the alcoholic beverage: the more degrees, the higher the percentage of alcohol and the more kilocalories.
To give an example, a third of beer or a glass of wine generate the same kilocalories as half a toast with tomato. What these drinks do not provide are the carbohydrates, proteins or fiber of the toast, nor the vitamins and minerals.
The only thing they contain is alcohol, a substance that generates dependency and whose consumption is associated with more than 200 diseases and disorders. These include mental and behavioral problems, injuries, and non-communicable diseases, such as cancer.
Alcohol is responsible for some three million deaths a year in the world and more than 15,000 in Spain. It is estimated that 741,300 new cases of cancer were due to alcohol in 2020 in the world. Of these, 103,100 were for moderate consumption and 41,300 for low consumption. And there is no risk-free level of alcohol consumption.
The usual alternative to alcoholic beverages are soft drinks. These are sugary drinks, which also come in sugar-free, zero, or light versions. Surely the reader is not surprised if we say that added sugar is a danger to our health.
Plus, if you’ve been keeping an eye on the science news for the past couple of months, it also won’t surprise you that we don’t recommend zero drinks. These have sweeteners that are turning out to be poor substitutes for sugar.
And it has been shown that they do not serve to lose weight, not even to maintain it. In addition, its prolonged use could pose a health risk. In fact, one of them, aspartame, has made the news again these days.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has just published its report on this sweetener. In it, he evaluates all the evidence to date and concludes that aspartame is “possibly carcinogenic” to humans (Group 2B). This classification goes to say that there is already some evidence that it can cause cancer, although there is still little. So it is not surprising that in the coming years we will find more studies that add certainty to what is now a possibility.
So what is the healthy drink? Water. Sparkling water is another option, although to hydrate the same we must drink the same amount of normal water. 0.0 or non-alcoholic beer is not bad and provides fewer kilocalories than the alcoholic version.
Potato chips, olives or nuts usually accompany drinks and also increase the daily kilocalorie count. Being shared, we touch little, but the addition of “a few” can add up to “a lot”, especially salt and fat. This is added to the excess that there is already of these two nutrients in our diet and the danger that they pose to our health.
Sometimes, we prefer to have lunch or dinner based on tapas. If we read the menu, we will find that salads, sausages, croquettes, chips, fried fish or seafood are very frequent. Again, these foods are also very high in fat and salt, so they taste tasty to us.
On the contrary, in the letters there is usually no trace of plant foods such as cereals, legumes, vegetables or fruits. And if there are, we don’t usually choose them. The consequence is that the consumption of beneficial nutrients for our health is very low.
Despite the dark outlook, all is not lost. First we must decide what our objective is and, according to that, make the changes. If our priority is health, the company will be our greatest enjoyment. And if what we want is for the weight not to skyrocket, we can follow these tips:
And it is that enjoying the company and the holidays should not be at odds with taking care of our health.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.
