Does Drinking Alcohol Slow Your Metabolism?

If you enjoy chilling out with a glass of wine, a gin and tonic or a beer, you're definitely not alone. However, it pays to go careful if you want to stay a healthy weight. When it comes to alcohol and metabolism, what's the story?

Along with other benefits, drinking small amounts of alcohol regularly could help rev up your metabolism. An October 2017 study in the FASEB Journal found that, in mice, moderate alcohol intake increased caloric intake but reduced body weight by increasing energy expenditure and thermogenesis,.

Though this study was an animal one, it fits with other evidence, such as that summarized in a January 2015 review in Current Obesity Reports. This review noted that frequent light to moderate alcohol intake isn't associated with obesity risk, though heavier drinking can be. It's possible regular lighter drinkers may have healthier habits overall, which protects against weight gain.

If you're trimming down, the October 2017 FASEB Journal study might encourage you to think you can drink alcohol and lose weight faster. Not so—according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, moderate alcohol consumption is only one drink per day for women and up to two for men. With higher intake, the calories contained in booze — 155 calories in a 12-ounce beer, 123 calories in a 5-ounce white wine and 97 calories in 1.5 ounces of gin according to the USDA — can't be dismissed.

An October 2012 study in Public Health Nutrition found that men who binge-drank, defined as more than seven drinks per session at least once a week, were more likely to have obesity and high blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides. Women who drank more than three drinks at least once a week are at risk of higher blood glucose and blood pressure.

Alcohol might also cause weight gain by increasing appetite. A small July 2015 study in Obesity found that women's brains responded to the aromas of desirable foods more dramatically after drinking, and they ate more of these foods when alcohol was in their blood.

​Read more:​ 8 Reasons I Quit Drinking 16 Years Ago — and Never Went Back

The aforementioned October 2012 Public Health Nutrition study found that the more frequently men binge-drank, the more abdominal fat they carried. Internal abdominal fat, also known as visceral fat, collects around organs such as the liver and pancreas and is harmful to health. Therefore, moderating alcohol, along with other diet and exercise steps to reduce belly fat, is vital.

It's possible that some types of alcoholic drinks might be worse for belly fat than others. A February 2013 review of studies in Nutrition Reviews found that consuming more than 1 pint of beer a day may be linked to abdominal obesity. Carbohydrates might be a contributory factor here; with 12.8 grams per 12-ounce serving, according to the USDA, beer contains more carbohydrates than many other types of alcoholic drinks.

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The September 2012 issue of International Journal of Obesity suggests wine protects against weight gain more effectively than liquor or beer. Overall, though, there's little evidence that one drink is any more or less likely to give you a wider waistline than another — the healthiest bet is to be cautious with them all.