It's one of marketing's cruelest notions: A television commercial starring beautiful people -- at the bar, the beach, the rooftop rave -- dancing, flirting, and looking fit and fabulous. And drinking beer.
The idea that a person can drink plenty of beer and maintain a stunning shape is a trope that simply won't die. When a six-pack of beer is involved, the reality is probably more muffin-top or beer-belly than six-pack abs. But is beer really to blame? More precisely, is it the combination of calories and alcohol in beer that's working against your waistline?
The 150 calories in your average beer may not seem so bad, but most people don't drink just one [source: Zelman]. That single beer can quickly turn into two or three. The influx of alcohol wreaks havoc on your appetite, too. You may have intended to order a salad with dressing on the side, but after your third beer, deep-fried hot wings sound so much better.
If this weren't bad enough, your body stops burning fat when it detects alcohol, creating a worst-case scenario for weight gain. When you drink beer, about 20 percent of the alcohol enters your bloodstream where it's eventually metabolized in your liver. Once your brain realizes acetate and acetaldehyde --byproducts of that metabolism -- are in your system, it stops burning fat and concentrates on ridding the body of these byproducts. Ironically, it also begins producing a different kind of fat that also is a byproduct of alcohol: acetyl CoA.