For seven months last year, Jacob Kurian ate right and exercised diligently for an hour each day. His aim—to lose 15 kilos. Yet he managed to shed not more than 3-4 kgs. So what went wrong? “Regular consumption of alcohol,” says Francis Gill, Kurian’s trainer and associate director, Spa and gym, The Grand, New Delhi. “Kurian thought there he could drink all he wanted and get rid of the carbs by working out. He always complained about low energy levels but never watched his liquor intake,” says Gill.

From regular to occasional gym users, most, like Kurian, continue to sweat at the treadmill without being aware that the whiskey binge last night makes all that effort go in vain. Senior government doctors in the UK have come out with a report and are endorsing a factsheet, which outlines the potential impact of alcohol consumed at various intervals throughout the day. The report argues that “despite the fact that one gram of alcohol has seven calories, it is not a major food group and has scant nutritional value. In fact, the ethanol in alcohol, formed by the fermentation of sugar, has harmful effects.” Explains Dr S. Chatterjee, senior consultant, internal medicine, Apollo Hospitals, “The liver is slow in metabolising ethanol. It takes about one hour to break down every unit of alcohol. The liver has to exert itself harder, which impacts its capacity to produce glucose, one of the vital portions required by the muscles which you exercise in your workout.” So when is it safe to down a peg? We look at the options.

... contd.