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Aerobics/Alcohol & obesity

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Expert: - 4/6/2008


Question
Can the body burn off alcohol with exercise? I have heard that the body cannot burn off alcohol and that it can be metabolized only through the liver, which takes time. So that means I cannot have 3 drinks everyday, and then hope to burn it off with a one hour walk, right? To sum up, it means that I cannot drink everyday and hope to burn it off with daily exercise???

Answer
The body can burn off alcohol with exercise. You need to do a lot of exercise, as alcohol contains almost twice as many calories as carbs and proteins: 7 calories per gram as compared to carbohydrate or protein at 4 calories per gram. Alcoholic drinks are not pure alcohol either, they contain carbs as well.  Even though you can burn up the calories you take in from drinking through exercise, I'm not sure if that gives you "permission" to drink excessively!

Hope this helps.

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Ken Alan

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To build a strong body, build a strong body of knowledge. Exercise workouts, training programs, classes, program design, workout music, motivation. Cardio, strength, flexibility.

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AeroBeat.com, the first fitness music company. Program design/choreography, 7 Richard Simmons videos. Co-star, 4 Time-Life Medical exercise videos. Chapter author: "Physical Activity Instruction of Older Adults" (Human Kinetics), "Fitness Theory and Practice" (AFAA), "Fitness for Travelers" (ACE). Lecturer, California State University, Fullerton California, Department of Kinesiology.

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