Six packs and and the Sixth booze

From Bioquest Innovations Magazine

Bioquest Innovations Magazine 15 July at 06:54 Report

Have years of too many beers morphed your six-pack abs into a keg? If you have a "beer belly," you are not alone. It seems beer drinkers across the globe have a tendency to grow bellies, especially as they get older, and especially if they are men.

But is it really beer that causes a "beer belly"?

Not all beer drinkers have them -- some teetotalers sport large ones. So what really causes men, and some women, to develop the infamous paunch?

Any kind of calories -- whether from alcohol, sugary beverages, or oversized portions of food -- can increase belly fat.

However, alcohol does seem to have a particular association with fat in the midsection, when you drink alcohol, the liver gets busy, burning the alcohol instead of fat.

Beer also gets the blame because alcohol calories are so easy to overdo. A typical beer has 150 calories – and if you down several in one sitting, you can end up with serious calorie overload.

Alcohol can increase your appetite; so don’t forget calories from the foods you wash down with those beers.