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Alcohol on a diet
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Without a doubt, alcohol is strictly prohibited when on a diet, that is, when it is necessary to adhere to the principles of therapeutic nutrition, which is prescribed by doctors for various diseases and pathological conditions. But when "going on" a diet to normalize their weight, some people ask themselves: is alcohol allowed when on a diet?
According to most nutritionists, those who continue to drink alcohol while dieting for the sake of losing weight rarely achieve the desired result.
Alcohol in the Dukan Diet and Other Protein Diets
As the author of this carbohydrate-free diet Pierre Dukan himself notes in his book “I Can’t Lose Weight,” alcohol provides a lot of energy (not used in muscle work) and “helps calories increase fat deposits.” For this reason, drinking alcohol is prohibited on the Dukan diet.
The basis of the Dukan diet is the consumption of exclusively protein foods (lean meat and fish, eggs, dairy products, as well as legumes and nuts) for a certain period of time. The Atkins diet is also considered carbohydrate-free or low-carbohydrate. And in all "modifications" alcohol is not consumed with a protein diet. Also, alcohol is not consumed with the Maggie diet, which is a diet with a low content of carbohydrate products and a special emphasis on the consumption of eggs.
Keep in mind that in the United States, low-carb diets, particularly the Dukan Diet, are considered unhealthy due to the risk of developing metabolic acidosis, although they may help you lose weight temporarily.
We have already mentioned the disruption of carbohydrate metabolism when drinking alcohol - ketosis. And now we will have to return to it, since protein diets are based on ketosis. This is a metabolic state in which the body's energy expenditure is provided not by glucose from liver and muscle glycogen, but by ketone bodies, which are formed in the liver from fatty acids.
To bring the body to ketosis, you need to use up all the glycogen stored in the liver and stop supplying it with carbohydrates. And the goal of any protein-free diet is to switch the body's energy supply to another source of energy, that is, fat reserves, in the absence of carbohydrates.
Ketosis is a potentially serious condition when the level of ketone bodies in the blood is too high. Ketones are made up of acetone, acetoacetic acid, or beta-hydroxybutyrate. Very high levels of ketones in the blood can be toxic: like alcohol when dieting, they increase the acidity of the blood, which can damage organs such as the kidneys and liver.
The only diet that allows alcohol is the three-day wine diet. The products consumed during the day include a bottle of dry red wine (750 ml) and three green apples. In this case, the wine should be drunk in small portions - 50-60 ml, but often. Those who came up with this claim that in three days you can lose 2-5 kg. When these kilograms will return to you is not specified.
We hope you got an answer to the question: is alcohol allowed on a diet?
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Why is alcohol not allowed when dieting?
Answering the question of why alcohol is not allowed during diets, it should be recalled that one gram of ethyl alcohol gives almost 30 kJ of energy. So, according to nutritionists' calculations, the caloric content of 100 g of dry wine is on average 65-70 kcal, semi-dry champagne - 78 kcal, beer - 30-45 kcal, fortified wine - 230 kcal, vodka - 250 kcal, and whiskey - all 300 kcal. These figures will help you decide what alcohol is allowed during a diet. Unless, of course, we can convince you that drinking any alcohol and a diet are incompatible concepts...
In addition, let's not forget that ethanol contained in alcoholic beverages penetrates into the intercellular space and blood plasma and reaches the cells of brain and muscle tissue, as well as fat and bone tissue. And its biotransformation occurs in the liver. Ethyl alcohol is oxidized to the toxic metabolite acetaldehyde and acetic acid. Some places write that after this, acetic acid disintegrates to produce water and carbon dioxide... But this process occurs somewhat differently.
Under the influence of liver enzymes, acetic acid is partially converted into acetyl-CoA, which is used to synthesize fatty acids or ketone bodies. Increased production of ketone bodies most often leads to a disruption of carbohydrate metabolism - ketosis.
In addition, acetaldehyde damages liver cell membranes and acetylates proteins of its intercellular matrix. As a result, the intensity of fat synthesis in the liver increases and the rate of glucose formation to provide energy to the brain decreases.
By interfering with many biochemical processes in the body, alcohol during a diet - as well as in the absence of any dietary restrictions - disrupts the biosynthesis of lipids and cholesterol, the production of certain enzymes and hormones (for example, testosterone).
And if you drink alcohol while on a protein diet, then, firstly, it increases your appetite, secondly, too much fluid is removed from the body (alcohol acts as a diuretic), and thirdly, it slows down the body’s metabolism and the process of burning fat.