How beer makes you fat

We show you exactly what that pint is doing to your waistline

1. You take a swig of beer.

2. Within seconds, the beverage passes through your oesophagus and into your stomach.

3. 20% of the alcohol is absorbed immediately into your bloodstream from your stomach; the rest passes into your intestines, and is absorbed from there.

4. The alcohol travels through your blood to your liver, where it's broken down. During this process, waste products called acetate and acetaldehyde are created. The stronger the beer, the more acetate and acetaldehyde.

5. Your brain immediately prioritises dealing with the acetate and acetaldehyde, signalling your body to stop burning fat. At the same time, it actually starts producing fat from another waste product of alcohol, acetyl CoA.

6. Your body can effectively process only 15-30ml of alcohol per hour.

So the more you drink, the longer your body is inhibited from burning fat, and the more fat builds up from the excess acetyl CoA. (A pint of standard 4% beer contains 22.7ml of alcohol. That means that on a six-pint night, you imbibe 136ml of alcohol – essentially, halting your fat burn for up to nine hours.)

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